Thanks for the advice so far, though a little worrying! Dafydd said that a PhD would involve less supervision but I don't think that would be the case for me as I had literally zero supervision for my MSc. That, and other reasons mean that I can probably just about defend it, and a PhD is certainly what I want to do.

Am I right in thinking that my quest to find a few months of research experience, and get a glowing reference, is very important?

And while retrying the dissertation to prove that I can seems wise, wouldn't it be of no use - or actually harmful - to my current PhD applications?

I'm in a tricky situation and hope someone can help. I've just finished a MSc but have failed the dissertation. I can either redo the diss. within a year and get a MSc pass, or get a PG Diploma with Merit for my other 120 credits.

I'm now applying for PhDs (in a somewhat different subject) and am sure I'll have to defend my failure in either case, but which will serve me better for academic applications (PhD and beyond)? Are PGDs respected? And is it important for PhD applications that I'd be able to graduate with that soon but wouldn't if I opted for resubmission?

Also bear in mind that resubmitting would cost more money and quite a lot of time, and that I could possibly spend that time instead gaining research experience in a field more relevant to my PhD applications.

Any advice would be much, much appreciated. :-)