The university want to keep you for two reasons. Firstly, your tuition fees and secondly you'll have had your viva in time for the next Research Assessment Exercise and successful research students are part of the criteria. If you have the support of your supervisor then it may be worth asking the MRC for advice, but it sounds like your current department has a strong case for keeping you. Good luck

BBSRC, EPSRC, NERC and MRC studentships can all be awarded as Fees Only grants to EU nationals. Awards from other research councils are probably the same. Not all academics are aware that their studentship can be used in this manner. When you apply explain that you are only seeking a Fees Only award and that you intend to fund your own living expenses.

The reason supervisors choose the UK only funding flag is because they can often be swamped by applications from EU nationals who believe the funding will include a grant for living expenses. Of course not all of the studentships will be funded by a Research Council, in which case eligibility criteria could be anything

Recent changes mean that if you are an EU national who is employed in the UK at the time of your application you may qualify for 'Migrant Worker Status', which would entitle you to a full studentship.

There's no harm in applying now and it could make things easier for next year (you'll be a long way away from any interviews). You'll probably get a mixed response. Some people will offer a defered start date if they think you're good enough, others may offer to consider you for any funding they might get in the following year (this offers no guarantees). Problems with funding mean that many will just ask you to apply again next year as nobody can guarantee getting a new studentship every year.

Have a look in our Funding section. As a member of The Commonwealth you may be able to qualify for funding to work in the UK or Australia, via the Association of Commonwealth Universities.

Your best source of information will be your current course tutors. They will know which labs around the world work in your area of interest. They may also know of some potential sources of funding.

Yes your experience will count.

Most projects on this site marked UK only do have funding available for EU nationals, but only to cover the course fees. You will have to find your own living expenses.

Like other degrees in other countries the majority of funding is available to home students for two reasons. Firstly, they, or their family, will have paid tax in the country that funds them. Secondly, once the government has paid for their training a home student is more likely to continue working in that country than a student from overseas. This means the country can benefit from the training it has paid for.

In general the entrance requirement for a PhD in the UK is a 2:1 degree or equivalent (eg 2:2 plus a Masters degree). Your first degree is not directly relevant to the research you'd like to pursue and this will also make it difficult to be accepted on the PhD project of your choice. If you have work experience in counseling this might help. We would recommend that you first take a Masters degree in a relevant subject.

Funding for Masters Degrees is very hard to come by, but without one it will be virtually impossible for you to obtain funding to pursue a PhD.

Your USA Masters degree should be enough to get you into a UK PhD programme (providing that your GPA for your bachelors was around 3.3 or above). Many UK departments insist that all prospective PhD students register for an MPhil first. At the end of the first year students are assesed and most are usually allowed to change their registration to PhD, only those not considered good or commited enough to continue will be asked to submit their work for an MPhil. Doing a PhD this way doesn't take any longer (because you never complete the MPhil, the work done in your first year counts towards your PhD). It also gives you a chance to finish with an MPhil at the end of one year if you decide not to continue.

A Swedish degree should be fine. Have a look in the PhDs explained section of this site for more information and links. Also look in the funding section for information for international students.

If you have funding and are suitably qullified you will be able to apply to almost any university in the world (providing you can speak the language of your host country). You should therefore try to identify who the leading experts in your field are. Authors of books or research articles on the subject are a good placce to start. Search for them on the internet and if they are based in a university write to them to ask if they are interested in taking students.

Many jobs and some studentships start with a probationary period. It means that the institution is only guaranteeing to fund you for this period. If they do not think you have reached the required standard at the end of the probationary period then they can kick you off the course. A probationary period can be anything from 3 months to a year.


You shouldn't get too concerned about this. The institution has nothing to gain by losing you at the end of your probationary period and will only ask you to go if your really not up to scratch.

The first thing to find out is whether or not you qualify for funding. Visit the funding section of our site for links and information

Searching this site will give you plenty of specific projects relating to biochemical aspects of oncology, neuroscience or neuro-oncology. Research at this level however doesn't easily fit into concise summaries. You just have to wade through all the things on offer until you find one of interest. Its something you'll need to get used to doing once you start your PhD.

If you pick a project which has a very biochemical leaning, your supervisor may consider your relative weakness in neuroscience or oncology as a fair price to pay for a good biochemist. Your first degree should have covered at least some neuroscience or oncology. If you’re offered an interview then read any reviews you can find. No supervisor expects their student to start off as an expert; a capacity to learn and understand quickly is what they are looking for.

You should contact the international organisations which currently fund your own and similar projects. Also contact relevant academics (search the internet for recent publications).

If you want to know a reason for your aplication being rejected then there's no harm in writing to ask. If you are looking for a fully funded studentship, then it will be hard to find in the UK. Even EU citizens only receive course fees under most UK studentship grants. We are not clear as to when these rights will be extended to citizens of the new EU members.