Hi all,

So I have a place to study an MPhil in Philosophy but I don't have any plans to push on into a Phd. While I enjoy the subject of Philosophy in its broad contours (hence my application), Phd and academic grade philosophy have become largely an exercise in pedantry and I just don't have the mental energy to neurotically work through the nonsense :).

Is there any point in studying for an MPhil if I'm not going to go further into an academic career?

Thanks for your thoughts.

Anyone who thinks ranking (which I imagine is consequently reflected in the size and quality of the department?) trumps funding?? Particularly any philosophy postgrads ...

Hi all,

I'm posing a question around a hypothetical scenario, similar to my own, in order to get some advice from anyone with their own credible experiences and opinions.

Imagine you hold an offer for an MPhil in Philosophy from two well respected departments.

The first offer is from a university such as UCL or King's which generally comes out very strong on both RAE and Gourmet rankings - usually 3rd, 4th or 5th in England after Oxbridge,

The second offer for the same course is from a mid-tier department such as Birkbeck or Reading which are good departments in their own right but ranked lower around 10th or 11th.

The dilemma is that you have a department scholarship to accompany the latter offer, but not the former. Now, I reckon with a bit of work, I can secure the finances to take the course at the higher ranked institute but it would definitely make life a little easier to know that my course fees, costs etc. can be taken care of using my scholarship.

Though I am not 100% sure what I plan to do after completing my MPhil, I am seriously considering the Phd route to see what opportunities there might be in academia. With this option in mind, I don't know how much of a difference it will make to my CV to choose one way or the other.

Thoughts???

Hi all,

I've submitted a few applications for an MPhil course at different universities. Assuming I receive an offer of a place from more than one of them, do I need to accept the offer in order to be considered for any studentship that is part of my application? You will normally receive an offer of a place earlier than when studentships are awarded.

Is it acceptable practice to accept an offer from more than one university and then depending on receipt of a studentship withdraw from the course where you didn't secure funding?