Doing a PhD (Funded EPSRC) with a 2.ii in Biochemistry and Masters in Computer Science.

Yes it can be done, it may take a while and involve many rejections but keep plugging at it. Good references, a good C.V and cover letter helps greatly.
For me, i would agree with the user below that the previous 2.ii degree did not matter in as much as i could show i had done lots of work in the area, (programming wise) and show i was enthuisiastic about the project.

Also i could be cynical and say the position hadn't been filled for over a year it seems :D and it isn't a Russel Group+ University, but meh who cares i REALLY enjoy the work and the people I'am with, so anyway good luck anythign is possible.

Regards Wolfe

Hi all,

So is anyone else going to the EPSRC workshop in Cambridge :), looking forward to it? been to a similar one before?

Hopefully it will prove useful, now all i have to do is make sure i know what to talk about :D.

Regards Wolfe

Ohh Pamplemousse I live in Bedfordshire or there abouts (Bletchley).

Hmm nice to have a lie in now and then :), the chance to get out into the fresh air and go for a jog is nice aswell.

Also being a masochist :) nothing beats the torture and turmoil of doing some work that is killing you only in the end to defeat it in a blaze of glory :) *cough* ahem.

For me it is generally in the computer coding part :D

Regards Wolfe

Good luck anyway,

Also a silly question but, how do you know the impact factor of a journal you are submitting to?

Regards Wolfe

Well I don't know how receptive people may be knowing your lack of Academic experience, have you done any degrees of any sort?

I would imagine your best bet is to seek out possible supervisors from a University which lie within your area of interest and expertise, (politics and radical islam in southeast Asia). Because I would imagine your first major hurdle would be to convice a suitable supervisor that you are capable of completing a PhD.

Can you fund the PhD personally or are you seeking funding?

All this will depend on how you approach a supervisor or topic. Funded places will be advertised generally, with instructions on how to apply, generally a CV and a cover letter to begin with, + some references. It will probably all depend on a good cover letter to open the chance for an interview I would feel, but funded places are hard to get and even moreso if you don't have the qualifications.

If you are funding yourself, then seek a suitable supervisor in a University that you are comfortable with (may not be easy), prepare a short brief statement of intent, who you are, why you chose him, what PhD topic you want to research / look into and try. Hopefully this will catch his interest and he may reply back asking for more information.

Oh and yes apply to as many places as possible :).

Regards Wolfe

I would'nt bother appealing, the reality is that rejection comes hand in hand with PhD applications once in a while. And it seems to be an annoying fact that some Universities have a snobby view of other MSc's from other Universities and always seem to plug theirs as better.

Good luck though and keep applying elsewhere if you can.

Regards Wolfe

Hmm some interesting views :)

To be honest I don't even take the view of self-plagarising as even exisitng but thats for another time. Surely one of the first things an examiner will do when reading your thesis is check to see if you have published any work related to it. Therefore I would wholly encourage anyone to get work published in a peer reviewed journal, of course though this means most of the work will be 'In Press' no doubt even by the time you come to your viva.

Still i can't think of any specific problem with publishing your work, as long as it is written / shortened for an appropriate article size / style etc.

Regards Wolfe

I can't comment on the particulars of a 'Creative Writing' Phd and the effect of publishment, however I would assume that for a large majority of PhDs the publishment of work is a good thing as it means the work will have gernally been peer reviewed before hand, it assures the examiners of the 'possible' quality of the work given it has already been read by someone else and deemed publishable.

I would imagine most Phd'rs look to publish there lit review in some way before submission, with also a look to getting some methodology type papers out. With regards to originality or as some call it self plagarism, that normally depends on the University as far as i'am aware.

Regards Wolfe

"Thats the sound of the police?"

Sorry couldn't resist... :)

Congratulations, enjoy the next couple of weeks eh :).

Regards Wolfe

Mmmm Matlab, my poor brother had to code in it for his MSc,..... haven't heard from him since :P.

Are you a programmer or have a programming background? I only ask because no doubt you will want to make the test as fair and accurate as possible and as inherently comes with programming there is always something that goes unnoticed until the very end of the experiment, then you do notice it and it ruins your results lol, speaking from experience anyway ;).

For example it loks like you want to time how long it takes to get an answer, loading differant pictures may take longer to load then others effecting the response time, though i doubt it would be anything noticable but who knows eh :).

Regards Wolfe

Hello all,

I was curious to know whether anyone currently doing or finished a PhD had written a review paper on the area of their research. I understand that generally there is the opportunity to create one from your lit review.

Anyway, currently a group of us working, I guess, on an interdisciplined project towards creating a review paper in our area of research, with each of us contributing in someway, generally on our PhD topic areas.

I just wanted to know how others felt when/if they wrote one, what did it take, what they felt they should/shouldn't have done etc. At the moment i've been reading,... lots :) generally because the section i'am writing is very new to me and the piece i have produced seems to be a general barrage of summarised papers (on design optimisation techniques).

Just seems to be a giant mess of paraphrased summaries loosely linked together. I feel i have around 80%+ of the general background work in the area I'am looking at but feel slightly overwhelmed in how i can structure it into something coherant.

Anyone else find a similar problem? Did it work out eventually?

Regards Wolfe

Crickey did i post that long ago :P.

Well considering I'am starting one of those topics i mentioned it is all and good now, hopefully Jorges had the same success.

Luckily one of my project colleagues has written on over 20+ languages so that is always a good thing :)

Regards Wolfe

No it is a University studentship for three years supplied by the EPSRC i believe, not a 1+3 course. I understand and agree how it would be useful for a undergraduate given the jump in level they are expected to go into to, and the reassurance it may give the university to see the student is up to the task. however when you already have a MSc by research on your PhD subject it seems to be just a giant waste of time and money.

Regards Wolfe

No one has a view?

Not even one which tells him to get on with it and muddle through :) I'am dissapointed ;)