Dear International Student,

Welcome to postgraduate forum. There are many nice Phders on this website, who are happy to help with any queries you may have about PhDs in the UK. But please be considerate:

The requests made by many international students for information about PhDs in the UK can often appear to be vague, ill thought and in many cases insulting.

For your benefit, if you are going to ask for information on this site. Please consider the following:

1. If you are interested in doing a PhD. Be specific in the areas you are interested in. It wastes peoples time if you ask about PhD opportunies in a general feild rather than a specific topic.
People are more likely to be able to help you if you name a specific research topic you are interested in.

2. Indicate what avenues you have explored in searching for a PhD int the UK. It can be very insulting for people to ask for help in finding a studentship when they dont appear to have made any reasonable effort themselves to find one. People are more likely to help you if have made an honest effort in finding the info yourself.

As a general rule, google is a very good place to start searching.

3. Dont expect people to do everything for you. People will point you in the right direction. i,e websites, universities, specific department maybe even, particular professor but ultimately it is up to you to do the searching...

As a general rule. Google is a good place to start.

4. If you are from outside the EU/UK, you are likely to have to source most of the funding yourself. It is best to discuss funding options with any prospective department you may apply to.

The british council website also has alot of info on funding for foreign students

good luck,

Rob

can I ask if you are part of the admin team

I'm not part of the admin team, but threads on this very topic always end up descending into very heated debates about western society vs the poorer nations which is completely off topic and doesn't benefit anyone.

I just want to help: I am currently Phdless having dropped out of my PhD in december after a rather miserable first year I think I understand more than many people the importance of having a strong peer support network when you are in need. so im just happy to help

I would think that if people heed the advice I have given, then we will all get on like one big happy family I have a feeling many people will not heed this advice though....

I am really sorry to hear that, I hope you find a PhD soon, if thats what you want to do.

But no, I really thought you may be part of the admin, it wasnt meant in a sarcastic way.

I think you did a great job

Thank You.
I would love to do a PhD. Im not going to do one straight away, so im going to do a masters first (in Oxford) and probably even work for a few years after that.

Oxford is a lot like Cambridge but I noticed the colleges are a lot more spread out than in Cambridge.

Well at least Oxford has a proper Irish bar I went to Quinns in Cambridge one day and I asked for an irish coffee. They didnt even know what an irish coffee was

Duh. You have to go to the Cricketers. They play jazz and it does not have the stereotypical setting, but it is the closest to an Irish pub I have found in Cambridge. The landlord is Irish, and would be more than happy to make you an Irish coffee I reckon.

Quinns is indeed fairly disappointing. The one time I went they were playing reggae and they were out of Guinness!

Wow! reggae music in an Irish pub! What more can one ask for?

Hi rjb. None of my business but why did u drop out of ur phd??

Anup,
I suppose I could say I dropped out for a number of reasons. I didn't really like my project very much. I had a supervisor who was extremely hands off and wasnt very supportive when I needed his input( he was also a backstabbing little s*%t )

There was serious pressure to deliver on the project. I wasn't even 5 months in and he was already making threats about "changes of personal on the project"

I would say poor project management and interpersonal problems combined to scupper any hopes of the project being a success.

I knew under the circumstances that I wasn't going to produce what was required by my supervisor so there was only one natural conclusion: leave before I get kicked out.

In essence, I jumnped a sinking ship and it's the best decision I ever made. Some people might think its nothing other than taking the easy option when the going gets tough. But I think it was a smart decision to make.

This isnt to say I will never do a PhD again just that Ive learned lots of valauble lessons first time round which I would be put to great use should I ever do one again