Hi,

I am currently a first year master student, and wish to apply for a PhD in the UK.

But I have a few questions that I would like to ask some questions to experts :P

I will need to explain a bit of my history :P

My dad died when I was studying in my 2nd year during the bachelor course.

Therefore my study results went down in the 2nd and 3rd year (bachelor), cause I needed to work in a restaurant to get enough money to survive...

Now I stopped working at the restaurant and my results turned normal (much better).

I would like to ask if the bad results of my 2nd and 3rd year will prevent me do to a PhD in the UK or not... (Meaning that the supervisors won't accept you as a PhD student)

And how is the funding system there? Is it possible to monthly get an amount?

Regards

Alex

OOPs Just woken up at 2am after a sudden collapse thinking about the Beast. I am on my own here(Even BB n Wally have retired). Never mind. Alextam! that was very saddening incident and reminded me about my own dad who passed away in my 4th year of undergraduate course. 'May God Rest Their Soul in Peace'. Boy, you need a 2:1 to get into a PhD course. With a 2:2 you will need 2-3 years of Industrial experience or a good masters degree. Try to talk to people in your dep where you are doing your masters. The major issue is always funding. IF you get a distinction in masters then It may open the doors for your funding.

hello! Goodboy is right. I'm in a hurry now so I'll make this short :-)
Dont worry about your 1st degree results; concentrate on your masters :-)
yes its possible to get a monthly amount
* rushing rushing
love satchi

Hey Alextam! It depends a little on your subject. Most places would ask for a minimum of a 2.1 to get onto a PhD, and some subjects will also require a masters as an entry requirement (some subjects don't though!). If you have a 2.2 and a masters you might still have a shot at getting a PhD, but it will depend on how competitive your field is. I have a pal who got a 2.2 for her BSc and a low pass at MSc who got a funded place for a PhD in health economics, however I don't know anyone with less than a 2.1 and a good MSc doing a PhD in psychology, which is my field. In terms of funding, it is very competitive, so you need to do as well as you can in your masters. There are often departmental scholarships and you can also apply to research councils for funding for the PhD, but it can be difficult to get so you need to start applying quite early on and maybe apply to more than one place. If you are self-funding then it would be a lot easier to get a place, but obviously this is quite difficult to do financially. Best, KB

Thanks guys! :D Over the past BSc years I got arround the 60 percent does that mean that I do have a 2.2? or is it just ordinary (pass)?

Hey again! If it was 60 or above then that would be a 2.1 (I think that cut-off is standard across all universities). If it was 50-59 then that would be a 2.2. So it sounds like you're on the borderline- it might be helpful if you could find out your exact mark! Best, KB

Thanks KB! I just checked it up my result was 61.3 percent... Do you think I now have a chance? I would like to do a PhD in medicine (stem cell research).

Hey Alextam,

I think your results are okay for a PhD. A good way to know is to check pages like Jobs.ac.uk for current PhD positions and see their entry requirements. Stem cell research is really interesting, so good luck with that :-)

p.s funding is monthly, at least it is for me.

CB

Thanks for your quick answer! :D I really do hope that i can do a PhD ^_^

But what about the monthly amount is it enough to survive with? Like does it resemble to a normal salary?

Hey, it depends on what you think is a normal salary! PhD's get between £12-15K depending on the course and funding, it's tax free so it approximates to £1k or so a month. For me, that's enough to go by, but everyone's different! :-)

Hey again! Yeah, I think you have a chance, you have a 2.1 (or equivalent!). I would do your best to get a distinction in your masters, but even if not you still have a shot. The minimum for a fully funded PhD is about £13k, so not a huge amount, but enough to live on! Some projects come with more funding than that, depends what you're doing and where you're going! Best, KB

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YeaY!

Sounds great! ;-D How is actually your PhD life going? =D

Besides the PhD programmes do sound intresting :-D

Alex

PhD life has its highs and lows but I wouldn't trade it for the world. If you read through some of the threads posted in this forum you'll get to hear about the successes and hiccups along the way with students so I hope you stay on this forum.
Best of luck with your masters and future PhD :-)

Hehehe I see ;-)

I hope that I can change my status to PhD student next year! I almost can't wait! ^_^

Alex

I just finished my first year of master got a distinction ^_^, should I make a bigger chance right now?