Hi,

I am thinking about applying for a PhD position and would be really grateful if somebody could a little bit of time to answer one or two of my questions below! :-)

Is it a general rule that you must have an MA or MSc before undertaking a PhD or is it normal for a student to progress naturally from a BA/BSc to a phD?

How does funding work, I find this quite confusing? What does 1+3 or +3 mean? On average, how much can I expect to recieve funding wise and does this include any fees / living / research costs?

hiya,
I can think I can answer some of your questions.
For science based PhDs its not required to have a MSc before starting however, some people do choose to take an MSc before starting.
From what I understand for most art/social science based PhDs I think it is compulsory to have an Masters before doing a PhD.

The funding question is a little more difficult to answer, since there are many different types of awards available from different bodies and research councils and the ammount of funding can vary from fees only, to fees and a stipend. However again the amount you recieve for the stipend is really variable too. Also your fee status (e.g. home, EU international) can determine how much if any funding you will recieve.

Hope this helps

I'm going straight to a social science PhD with a BSc, no masters.
Am doing it part time self funded though so can't help with the other question!

Hi UK-Student - a masters is certainly not essential overall to do a PhD, but if you are in a competitive subject area it would probably be a distinct advantage.

Where you see a studentship advertised that says 1+3 funding it is usually from the ESRC (Economic& social research council) They fund studentships that run for a total of 4 years, so 1 year masters (usually am MRes) then 3 years PhD. I am sure people on this forum are in receipt of such funding so can explain better, but I think that 1 year masters is compulsory irrespective of whether you've got a previous MA/MSc. I actually think this is a good idea - you're funded to get 2 qualifications, and get a good grounding in all kinds of research methods.
Only thing I am not sure of is if people still have to have an upgrade to PhD status: IE- if they do the masters part, then the first year of the 3 years (so the 2nd year in total) but then have to be upgraded from the 1styr(2nd total) to the 2nd yearPhd (3rd total)

I don't think a Masters is compulsory, even in social sciences, although a good Honours degree is, e.g. 2:1 or above. I started my PhD without a Masters.

On the 1+3 - this, as said above, is for MRes (1) + PhD (3). The +3 is generally for students who already have an MRes and want to move straight into the PhD. Under new rules, Research Methods training is compulsory for most funded places - so, even if you have a Masters in something else - you need to go for 1+3 to cover the MRes (Masters in Research).