Thank You.
I would love to do a PhD. Im not going to do one straight away, so im going to do a masters first (in Oxford) and probably even work for a few years after that.

Oxford is a lot like Cambridge but I noticed the colleges are a lot more spread out than in Cambridge.

Well at least Oxford has a proper Irish bar I went to Quinns in Cambridge one day and I asked for an irish coffee. They didnt even know what an irish coffee was

I'm not part of the admin team, but threads on this very topic always end up descending into very heated debates about western society vs the poorer nations which is completely off topic and doesn't benefit anyone.

I just want to help: I am currently Phdless having dropped out of my PhD in december after a rather miserable first year I think I understand more than many people the importance of having a strong peer support network when you are in need. so im just happy to help

I would think that if people heed the advice I have given, then we will all get on like one big happy family I have a feeling many people will not heed this advice though....

I would of thought it is pretty much convention that your supervisor should get their name on what ever paper you publish, but as group author.

As a general rule, google is a very good place to start searching.

3. Dont expect people to do everything for you. People will point you in the right direction. i,e websites, universities, specific department maybe even, particular professor but ultimately it is up to you to do the searching...

As a general rule. Google is a good place to start.

4. If you are from outside the EU/UK, you are likely to have to source most of the funding yourself. It is best to discuss funding options with any prospective department you may apply to.

The british council website also has alot of info on funding for foreign students

good luck,

Rob

Dear International Student,

Welcome to postgraduate forum. There are many nice Phders on this website, who are happy to help with any queries you may have about PhDs in the UK. But please be considerate:

The requests made by many international students for information about PhDs in the UK can often appear to be vague, ill thought and in many cases insulting.

For your benefit, if you are going to ask for information on this site. Please consider the following:

1. If you are interested in doing a PhD. Be specific in the areas you are interested in. It wastes peoples time if you ask about PhD opportunies in a general feild rather than a specific topic.
People are more likely to be able to help you if you name a specific research topic you are interested in.

2. Indicate what avenues you have explored in searching for a PhD int the UK. It can be very insulting for people to ask for help in finding a studentship when they dont appear to have made any reasonable effort themselves to find one. People are more likely to help you if have made an honest effort in finding the info yourself.

mokey,
I understand where you are coming from and i've always thought it take me a lot longer to write anything of decent quality than it should.

I think this usually comes down to two problems, you are not sure exactly what to say ( i.e what is revelent ) but also of how to develop your writing to a standard accepable to your audience ( supervisor and examiner )

Reading good journals in your feild is always a good way to develop the right lingo for your writing.

Also consider that there are here some very good guides on writing:

Have you read " The Elements of Style " considered to be the orignal text on good writing.

if you find you are very slow at writing my advice is, write on a regular basis and try get feedback on it.

Is your research in an arts topic or science/engineering based?

If you put in the keywords PhD and UK into google: The first entry that comes up in the search results is this website and this website has prety much all the information you need about PhDs in the UK.

How difficult is that?

Simuzosha,
I have to say, I agree with Badhaircut on every point and I am a foreign student.

The kind of posts you are refering to basically imply:

I am from country x. I graduate with degree. I want PhD in feild y. Go find me a supervisor, project and funding and don't forget the coffee either...

Many of these people don't appear to have done any searching of any kind for studentships or funding or certainly not made much of an attempt!!

I think many of the regular posters on this website go out of their way to provide onfo for people who are in need, but it is quite insulting to the people of this forum when people are asking for help without making any obvious effort to help themselves.

Am i being unreasonable? someone please back me up!!

Smiliodon,
Lab based PhDs get better supervision? That's an interesting comment. I wouldn't be so sure about that.

I started last october. I had my first project meeting about one month later. The next meeting after that was about 6 weeks later.

Then around March or April I was asked by my supervisor what I had been up to for the last 6 months? because he just didnt know. In fact, the first time he had a look around my lab, while I was in Cambridge, was in April about 6 months after I started!!!

verdy. is not actually true. I had to take exams and do course work as well as my research during the first year of my PhD in Cambridge

maybe not every grad student has to take courses and do course work but I would argue that this doesnt make things easier and research is the primary concentration of any PhD

lrya,
Ye Pembroke is a great choice.you may be interested to know that the Trinity college library has the original copy of the first winnie the poo book

but you didnt ask what is being funded, you asked what resarch is being conducted at third level. I do think that is a rather silly question. a quick search on google and you will find everything you need to know
what kind of research are you interested in. science, engineering, arts? i think you need to be more specific...

After getting stabbed in the back at my first year review, I left. My head of department, advisor, and college tutor got involved. They took my side and so I had a lot of support to stay in Cambridge but decided it was best to move on...

I do hope you enjoy your time in Cambridge. A beautiful place to live and a world class environment to study and work in.

You may feel intimated coming to a place like Cambridge, but these are feeling most people experience.

I went for an interview at Imperial College London a while back and a comment was made by a Professor about the relatively little support students get at Cambridge compared to Imperial. This may be a bit of a generalization, but he has a point in saying that in some quarters, there is a big swim or sink mentality at Cambridge

It suffices to say I had a bit of a rough time in Cambs ( I'm off to Oxford in October)

In my case, I didnt really make any progress in my proejct in my first year and my supervisor wasnt at all supportive. I would on average have a project meeting every two to three months with him. other wise I would have no other formal contact with him. The project wasnt very interesting or novel for that matter but there where huge expectations.

To Lyra777,
Congrats on your offer. Pembroke is a beautiful college and Downing isnt so bad either. I was initially accepted into Downing but turned it down as they couldnt offer me accommodation ( I didnt apply till july )

Both are located in the centre of town. Where abouts will you be based?

As regards how tough things can be at Cambridge; it really does vary quite a bit for grad students.

Everyone who comes to Cambridge is expected to work quite hard, but how intensive it is going to be for you will ultimately depend on how much support you get from your sup, as well as the demands of the project you are working on....