You are probably not too late to apply, but, with all the scuba diving, whale watching, coral reefs and sea otters, marine biology is a very popular subject. Look for projects on this site and seek out the web sites of Marine Biology, Environmental Science, Ecology and Zoology departments throughout the country (they don't all advertise with us and many don't advertise at all). Unless your first degree is in Marine Biology you may find the competition very strong, so get looking and applying now.

We would have thought that your MPhil would make you eligible, but the EPSRCs rules have proved hard for us to track down. One thing you could look out for is schemes funded under the EPSRC DTA (Doctoral Training Account) schemes. These do offer more discretion to departments in admitting people based on experience rather than qualifications.

Of course academics will sometimes use 'research council rules' as a polite way of turning people down. Whilst many people will understand the effects of a medical condition on your degree result, others take the view that these factors will (or at least should) have been taken into account when the degree mark was awarded. It might not be a fair conclusion to come to, but you should be ready to preempt people who take this view (but try not to sound like you're blaming other people).

Under the terms of most studentships transferring institutions will not be possible, unless your supervisor moves with you, which kind of defeats the object.

Most universities provide students with an advisor who the student can talk to in confidence about just such a problem. Before you do this try talking to other students in your research group to see how they deal with your supervisor.
If you have not been allocated an advisor then speak to the postgraduate admissions tutor or head of postgraduate research in your department. If you feel doing this may result in discrimination or victimisation of some form then contact your Students Union first for advice.

It is possible to change supervisors within a School, Faculty or Department, but if your project requires specialist knowledge or equipment you may find your original supervisor hard to avoid. If possible you should try and resolve your differences. In cases like yours many students stay with their supervisor officially, but in reality rely on the guidance of another sympathetic academic or a senior post-doc. Having a poor supervisor is not an ideal situation, but you can work round it.

Write directly to the supervisor to ask when you can expect to hear the result of your application. Be polite, don't sound pushy or as if you're panicking. There may be genuine reasons why they have taken so long - they may not yet have secured guaranteed funding or may even be still be accepting applications. Some departments allocate studentships by competition (academics submit projects and find a student - the ones with the best projects and the best students get the funding), this can also slow things up.

In the mean time keep applying for any projects that catch your eye.

If you have been resident for reasons other than fulltime education you should be eligible. A full description of the eligibility criteria used by UK research councils can be found in the BBSRC studentship guide.

You can check by contacting the international or graduate office of any UK university.

You should have received an acknowledgement of your application by now. If you are not eligible for the studentship concerned because of your qualifications or nationality then the institution concerned may have a policy of not replying to such enquiries. Sadly, as some people try to use bulk email techniques to find a studentship, UK universities receive very large numbers of such emails and have no time to respond and this can sometime effect genuine applicants.

Write to the university concerned, attaching your original application, to check if they have received it.

JASON is a search engine that contains information about postgraduate scholarships for Australian students wishing to study at home or abroad, and for international students wishing to study in Australia.


Full scholarships are available through the Commonwealth Scholarship Plan, for Commonwealth students to enable them to study in other Commonwealth countries. Grants are for one to three years and usually cover the cost of travel, tuition fees and living expenses. It is likely that the scheme is aimed more at students from developing nations, but have a look you may qualify.

I'm afraid we can't offer any tips specific to the Wellcome scheme. As somebody who is well qualified to take up a studentship it does sound like there may be something wrong with your application. Why not ask for some feedback from the people who turned you down. For somebody who already has an MRes, schemes such as the Wellcome one may not be appropriate as you have already received teaching in research methods. Why not got for the more traditional 3 year programmes?

Finally, any idea that one funding body discriminates against people trained though a different one is ridiculous.

As a working medical doctor probably have a better chance than most of sorting out such an arangement, but wouldn't it be simpler to do your research in France?

You will not be blacklisted if you drop out of a PhD, but you will have three other obstacles to starting another one. Firstly most potential new supervisors would want to see a reference from your old supervisor, who may not understand your reasons for leaving. Secondly you may not be eligible to receive another studentship from your particular grant awarding body. Thirdly, your track record makes you look like a risk. Don't be tempted into thinking you will be able to lie about dropping out, academic research can be a very small world and you may well be found out.


Whilst very few would condemn somebody for giving up a PhD which wasn't working out for some reason or other, starting one you don't think you'll enjoy in the beginning would be foolhardy. You should really sort out in your mind now whether you want this studentship or not. A PhD studentship isn't just valued by students, academics spend a lot of time applying for them and stake their reputations on the progress of the students they appoint. High drop out rates reflect badly on supervisors and their departments and can affect their future funding.

Start looking now. Funding yourself makes finding a supervisor a lot easier, but many will be concerned that you have a third (even with a good masters). Talk to one of your current tutors who works in the same sort of area you wish to do a PhD in. They will be able to advise you which labs are worth looking at. Academics are more likely to consider you if the reference comes from somebody they know.

It is possible, but practice varies from subject to subject. A UK PhD takes at least three years.

EPSRC DTA stands for Engineering and Physical Science Research Council Doctoral Training account. This form of funding is awarded by the EPSRC to a department. It allows the department more flexibility when designing studentships. Eligibility criteria are the same as for other EPSRC studentships. The qualification guidelines are the same (2(i) or 2(ii)+Masters), but the university can use its discursion if they feel the candidate has sufficient research experience. See the 'funding' section of this site for more details on eligibility and qualifications.

A PhD by distance learning is a posibility, but the criteria are very strict. You will need to be involved in an approved research project in your home country, which probably has strong links to the institution in which you'd like to study. The Open University International Centre for Distance Learning may be a good place to start your search.

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