Then, doing a PhD in Munich - that's another question altogether! LMU (Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München) is one of the best universities in Germany, a very big uni, lots of famous staff, good rankings, etc. The funding situation for PhDs is very different than in the UK. Well, you can go unfunded, then it is not so different, actually. But if you do get funded, it is usually in the form of a wage, not a stipend/studentship. you'd be looking at something between 1000 and 2000€/month, plus you would get child benefits. virtually no fees to pay. the contract would usually be for 50% FTE, that is, about 20 hours a week. you'd have to negotiate the details with your boss/supervisor, but this could mean that in those 20 hours you primarily work for him/her (such as, do lit-reviews for their project, help prepare teaching materials, help put together funding applications, help write research reports, teach classes and hold lectures, etc.)

as to open university: i've heard lots of good things about OU. my mum is currently distance-studying there, for a science degree. i heard that PhDs are good, too. however i have this notion, which might be wrong, that PhDs at the OU are NOT by distance learning. they have a campus in milton keynes and that's where PhD students are based (except that many of them actually live in london and commute). so you'd need to check that out.

hi there!
well you are definitely planning well ahead!

regarding funding: you can apply to AHRC with your own topic/proposal. it's not simply "apply for an advertised, funded project" OR "do your own, unfunded project"; but there is the bit in the middle where you "do your own, funded project"! to do this, you would usually need your prospective uni's endorsement. i believe the AHRC deadlines are at the beginning of may. leave plenty of time to get your proposal together. make sure you are accepted by your uni before you apply. that means, start talking to prospective supervisors about 12 months before you plan to start. it can be done faster, but since you are planning ahead, why let it turn into a rush?

myself, i skipped the informal contact by e-mail/going for a chat bit. i simply filled in the online application forms, paid the application fee and that's it. worked for me, though i do believe it is better to go see the place and the people beforehand.

i'd say it depends on you and your needs, and on the course and what it offers. so, finding out more about the course before you make your decision is probably the way to go.

i went to all kinds of things in induction week. at the time, they appeared as a waste of time. but later on, i never regretted it. i met people who had missed out on those events and i realised that i simply had a head start on them, in everything: in knowing the important people in the department (the secretaries!!), in being part of the group, in knowing where to go for what kind of information... some info they handed out at one such meeting and from then on just assumed everyone had received it.
most of all for "belonging". it is there that the "new students" meet, recognisable as such. later, everyone will just be quietly wondering "who the hell is that?" and go back to whatever they are doing.

sometimes i get angry when people who have much more than i do, are not humble, but rather complain about how badly life is treating them. but then, i try to be patient. i remember that i, too, used to think that i deserve being funded. it took a learning process. also, one unfairness does not make the other unfairness less. so why not complain when you are treated unfairly. just do keep the humility of realising how priviledged you are on other counts. that's what i ask for of myself and am always happy to see in others.

yes, i spent all my savings - if i had grown up in a different country, all my savings plus all my friends' and family's savings wouldn't have been enough. and they wouldn't have gotten a visa, either. for me the question was tough - i had to sacrifice a lot. but my choice was: if you really want it, you can make it happen. other people do not have this choice - no matter how much you want it, you can't make it happen. so yes, it has taught me humility, and to be grateful for what i have.

olivia, i think i feel very similarly to you.

some of you might remember me going on and on about not being funded and all. well, the experience, while not fun, did teach me some things. on the one hand, i learned that being good at what you do does not earn you the right to get funding for higher education. in theory it might be that the brightest, most promising students get the funding - in practice, there are many other things that factor into the decisions. be it the colour of your skin, or the colour of your passport. the world is not open to you if it's the wrong colour.
on the other hand, well, i really wanted to do this PhD and i started out, even though i didn't get funding. only because i am in a very priviledged situation to start with, did i have this possibility.

swantje, when i came over it was similar for me - all those enticing english sweets especially. the things you just don't get easily in other places but which you love because you used to get them as special treats when you were a child...
so you have learned to get them whenever you have an opportunity, because opportunities are rare...
and now all of a sudden, there are muffins etc. every place you look. soooo dangerous!
however i found that after a month or so, i was finding most things plain bland. i found that while all those muffins really look appealing, there are in fact only few which live up to my expectations. so, after eating myself through a whole lot of muffins (etc.) in the beginning, i now find it lots easier to retain myself...

on the other hand:

as Smilodon said, and i'm in a similar situation, funding is hard to get for interdisciplinary projects. being highly original also means inventing everything from scratch - quite a challenge, and sometimes gets little recognition. you are in danger of "not being a real psychologist" while "not being a real philosopher" either. to be successful, you really need to do the work (reading, research, thinking, writing...) for two PhDs - one in each discipline. you might find support lacking in one or in both disciplines. so, in a way, PhD level is the wrong level to start going interdisciplinary.

tough decision! some of us have chosen to go down that path. others have chosen differently. good luck in making your decision!

probably this won't be very useful to you:

on the one hand,

yes, do play to your strengths. the interdisciplinarity can help you find your own niche. it will be a lot easier to be original and soon you will find yourself to be "the" expert in your topic. i gather the brand of psychology you are talking about is strong in quantitative empirical research and biology. who needs another psychologist who is good at stats? no-one - there are plenty out there. but a psychologist who really understands theoretical concepts? well, that's something else altogether!

heya piglet, how are things going?

i like to use a very light blue blackground. so light that it hardly shows. then black letters. most people never notice that the background is not white - but it is less taxing on the eyes. i got that idea from a professional presenter in the business world once.

for graphs etc. it just means you have to use the same colour background when you make the graph or table, and crop images so that they don't have a white frame around them.

nooooooooo!
*raises banners in protest*

sounds good! in any case, it appears that you will be making an informed, thought through decision. i suppose that's as good as it gets. no guarantee, sadly, that it will indeed work out - but still, lots better than nothing!
i know someone who got her PhD from Bremen. she liked it a lot and is now a quite successful post-doc. have you had an opportunity to talk to current PhD students from there yet?
i'm swiss, from the german speaking part.

i made a point of going along to all "events" at the beginning. and i was surprised how many of my fellow 1st year students didn't!
so, i went to PhD parties, to reading groups, to drinks after classes, to lectures, to everything on the agenda really.
what happened was that after a month or two, everyone knew who i was and i knew people. that helped soooo much because then i could start talking to people "socially", outside of work.

so my advice would be: 1st phase, go to reading groups etc, and say something "academically". 2nd phase, start approaching people more personally. in no time at all, you'll be part of the group(s) and that's a good start for dealing with loneliness. however, it is an uphill fight and you'll have to keep coming up with new ways of fighting against or dealing with loneliness...