Signup date: 12 Jul 2006 at 9:56am
Last login: 19 Apr 2010 at 1:40pm
Post count: 1766
I use Chicago so all my references are listed as footnotes
Annoyed because I found out today that footnotes count towards the final word limit (they didn't for my Masters) - thought I could dump a lot of stuff in the footnotes and stop myself going over the limit
A lot depends on where you want to work eventually. US PhDs are accepted in the UK, but UK PhDs are sometimes seen as 'inferior' in the states because there are no comprehensive examinations involved in the UK PhD, whereas in the US you will have to complete a set of relatively diverse exams within the discipline; UK candidates can be seen as too narrow in their specialism. My husband has a UK PhD in political science and he found it easier to get a job in he UK despite being an American citizen.
The US PhD takes longer due to these exams. However, in the UK a Masters degree is necessary for an international relations/political science degree and you would have to complete this first - it isn't like the sciences where you can go straight from undergrad. Professional/vocational postgrad qualifications are unlikely to count - mine didn't.
Some subjects in the social sciences require a Masters, but I don't know about geography
My PhD is a million miles from my Masters dissertation and another million miles from my undegrad dissertation - it was never a problem for me. I was able to demonstrate some excellent marks in units I'd taken related to my PhD thesis proposal so they didn't have a problem with it.
The supervisor relationship is really difficult to define - the PhD is your way of showing you manage your own project independently, but the supervisor is supposed to guide you in achieving that. Where the boundaries between too much/little guidance fall aren't clear. I think you need to talk to your supervisor about your expectations - don't see it as a confrontation, but as a discussion where you go over what each of you expects from the relationship. Tell him you feel you haven't had support in certain areas and discuss what can be done, but you have to calm down and not see this as an argument. You're obviously feeling let down, but your supervisor may see it a very different way
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