Hi All,



I've spent a lot of time this year researching PhDs and my ability to do them in terms of life and time etc.



I gained a 2:2 for my BSc and it seems increasingly likely that I'll need an MSc in order to secure a PhD place. That said, I live alone and therefore all bills are of course my responsibility and so clearly I cannot leave work so as to do an MSc full time or even P/T due to the nature of P/T MSc courses i.e. attendance is required on certain days for the majority of courses (well, I can't afford to work P/T!).



So, I have been looking into applying for a distance learning MSc as bearing in mind my current circumstances this would appear to be my only realistic option. This really limits the subjects that can be studied and so my question to you is, does it matter if an MSc is not directly related to the area in which you wish to do a PhD? Ideally I wish to study insects at PhD level and this really is not possible through a distance learning MSc.



The only other option is to wait until my life circumstances change and I'm in a position to do a part time MSc via attendance on certain days of the week...how long that will take is anyone's guess.



p.s. background info: I'm 27 and completed a BSc Zoology in 2003, currently lecturing in an FE College and hate it!

Hi all,

I am desperate to do a PhD, it's what I originally planned to do upon leaving university 5 years ago but circumstances changed somewhat and went into teaching.

I know exactly what I'd like to do and who the supervisor would be. However, he only has PhDs on offer that require self-funding. I really don't know how I'd fund this, I only have £1,000 in savings and to be honest I live in my overdraft and have done since I started work (ironically)...FE teaching really isn't well paid!

I thought about a career development loan but some of the repayment schemes that banks demand look like they may present a problem especially when one factors in my student loan for my BSc which still has somewhere in the region of £11,000 left.

A friend of mine started a PhD (music) and self-funded by paying £150/month. I can't seem to find similar schemes on offer for science PhDs, they appear to ask for somewhere in the region of 3 repayments for an installment plan and no less.

Accommodation is also a big thing, I'd have to move out as the rent on my flat is currently £495/month and I can't see how I'd afford that if I worked part-time which I realistically I guess I'd have to do.

I really haven't a clue at the moment and just feel like somethign I've always wanted to do is beyond my reach.


Any ideas?

Hi all,

I completed a BSc in zoology in 2003, gaining a 2:2. I really enjoyed the research element to my degree and wanted to do a PhD soon after gradating but in the end I did not, instead I now lecture in animal management at a further education college (for the last 4 yrs, I am 26). I am quite prepared to give this up for a PhD and have given it a lot of thought.

I'd like to study for a PhD but what concerns me is a) my 2:2 and b) do I know enough? Would I be expected to know substantial amounts in my chosen field? What do those progressing immediately to PG from UG know?

Social insects are my passion but I wouldn’t call myself an expert by any stretch of the imagination…I simply have a keen desire to study them further.

Should I study for an MSc by research first? But then part of a PhD is admittance to an MPhil initially. Is there a great difference between the two?

So yes, I'm a little lost