Most people finish their research within three years, but take a little bit longer to finish their thesis. Many universities publish completion rates and times, it is a factor by which their level of future funding from the research councils is measured. If you are on a research council funded studentship you will have to finish within four years unless you have a valid excuse (usually health, rather than your research not working).

If your grant is exempt from tax (as far as we are aware this covers all full time studentship grants) then you will not need to make any loan repayments based on that income. If you are employed by the university and registered for a part time PhD you will need to continue repaying your student loan.

At least one of your referees should be an academic, but they don't need to be a professor. Your supervisor should be more than happy to act as a referee.

Whilst a PhD can help you into a number of careers and is essential if you wish to continue in academia, there are easier ways to make money.

If you wish to remain in India you will have to look for a distance learning programme. It is likely that you will have to pay your own course fees.

You should try and treat your PhD as a full time job. You may not need to put in more hours than you already are to pass, but the more you put in the more you'll get out. Most research council funded studentships allow for 30 days holiday (this includes the 8 public holidays).

Yes you would probably be able to take on a PhD in these areas.

A 2(ii) with a subsequent relevant masters degree is enough to qualify for a studentship. It may not be enough if you're going up against someone who has better grades. Have a look at the PhDs Explained section of the site for more information on qualifications. You can also search this forum for a number of relevant discussions

There is no difference between a DPhil and a PhD. A small number of universities award the DPhil degree instead of a PhD. The result is still the same and the qualifications are recognised as being equivalent to each other. The reason for the different names arises from the historical roots of degree courses and the independence of British universities, who have the freedom to call their degrees what they like. Despite PhD being the more common term it is in fact an American concept and it may be that snobbery has kept the name, if not the format, out of the vocabulary of some UK universities.

They shouldn't ask for your interview expenses back - especially if they were offered before you came for interview. Make sure you inform them as quickly as possible when you've made you decision.

See the information in our Funding section which gives links specifically for people wishing to study in South Africa and for members of the British Commonwealth.

This postgraduate forum relies on input from as many people as possible to provide a broad range of advice and opinion. If you have a web site which is used by PhD students, academics, recent graduates or any other students then please point them our way. In return we'll put a link back to your site in this forum and if your site is directly relevant to those looking to start a PhD we'll put it on our links pages or in our PhD life section.

Once you've got a link to this forum on your site, put your web address and a description of the site in your reply below.

The closest thing is the Teaching Quality Assessment score. This is a system which is currently being phased out, but departments still advertise their scores under the old system. It is not an ideal guide as it rates departments and not courses. The RAE score is an assessment of 'Research Quality'. It can also be used as a guide to the standing of the department, but no necessarily the quality of a course. Masters degrees are expensive and hard work - before applying to a particular course ask to be sent testimonials and figures on the employment of previous graduates.

If you are likely to be emigrating then you should wait before starting. In most cases the grant is made to your host university or to the academic concerned. The money can move with the academic if they relocate, but not with the student. Even if this were possible you would find it very difficult to find an appropriate new supervisor in your new home. A PhD is a very specialised thing.

It depends if you're any good and by now you should have spent some time working in the labs of your industrial partner. They will have an opinion of you by now. If it's a positive one, then you have a good internal reference supporting your application to work with them. If they don't rate you very highly then the opposite is true. Generally CASE awards are not created by the industrial partner as a recruiting tool. It's to get work done cheaply, that they don't have the skills to do themselves, and is a cost efective way of tapping into your supervisors expertise.