Hi,

Just wondered if anyone had any advice with regards to appealing examination outcome. Am appelaing the award of an MPhil instead of Phd on grounds of procedural irregularities....
just wondered if there's any one else who's been through similar....i'd like any 'happy endings' to inspire me, but also, any horror stories to brace myself.
I am mainly 'braced' already....going up against some heavyweights.....but hey, you neve rknow till you try :$

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well I'm raring to go now...

Do you know what I hate? I hate that i spent 3 years researching something utterly obscure and busting my backside to learn a ridiculously difficult language, dealing with idiots and t*&%$*s at every turn but managing to make a decent thesis and find some original materials only to be shot down with a fricking MPhil. I hate that my Viva was a humiliation and mortification which still cuts to the bone 7 months later and turned into a crucifixion after my supervisor gave me a load of twaddle about it being a sure thing. I hate that i never listened to my gut instinct the first day i met my sup and cried becuase i sensed doom. i hate that i spent 3 years living on no money and miles away from my partner to study something i cared about only to get the consolation prize. and worst of all i hate that all this has made me doubt myself to the extent that it is killing my commitment to my subject and wounding every enthusiasm i ever had for academia.

i hate that everyone says 'mphil! wow' when really i want to scream at them "no, not wow....fricking waste of time that's what that is"

pheeew.....feel better now. useful thread ;-)

Hi everyone,
just seeking some advice really, after horrendous viva experience (detailed elsewhere on this forum) I'm now in a position where I'm doing corrections for an MPhil award (not the PhD I was hoping for, but it's a long and highly annoying story)

So my question is this, do I even have a leg to stand on in terms of looking for and applying for academic jobs? Does the MPhil even count for anything in terms of posts? Anyone else been in the same boat and come out on the other side?

Viva examiners said "you should be proud, this is a research degree", but that does not help when all posts specifically say "post DOCTORAL", or specify PhD as lecturer-criteria, what' s for the best I wonder - it's always been about academia for me, I don't know if I can just turn my back on that dream - but do these circumstances leave me no choice?

any thoughts or stories much appreciated.... :-(:-(

Thanks for all your comments....

Really, I accept the judgement of the examiners, but what has really irked me is that there was no prior indication that this just wasn't viable - all the upgrades and progress reports were accepted without problem; I am very angry with my superviosr for putting me in this positon, which has essentially screwed up all my life plans. Not least, the fact that I was made to look so bad in front of two very eminent examiners.

I'm interested in the comments about pursuing a complaint; because that is the crux, I want to rant about the ridiculousness, not necessarily appeal the examination which was fair and sound.

I can't quite believe this has happened. sometimes I feel accepting and others I am literally just devastated and feel like a complete failure, despite positive comments and eveidence to the contrary.

It's probably one of the worst things that's happened to me. Tried to explain it to my family that it's kind of like getting a B and not an A; and I only accept As

:-(

Thanks for all your comments folks.

In terms of corrections, I said I wanted to make a go of doing what they saw as necessary but was told that the corrections they would require would essentially result in a completely different thesis and that it was too high risk a strategy for me to undertake them only to be placed in the same position again.

They also indicated that they're launching an enquiry about my supervision; but that's not going to change the result.

Am going to explore options about still getting a Doctorate, some how, some way....
I just feel that an MPhil essentially ends any chance of working in academia, and that was always the goal:-(

Well, I don't normally post, I'm a lurker, however need to vent to the like-minded.

I had my Viva today after I was told unofficially I was likely to be mauled. The examiners were very preofessional and their comments constructive, but one of them told me that my thesis was essentially "mission impossible" - I'm attached to a bigger project so it was somewhat prescribed.

The verdict was that the corrections were too major for me to attempt (and frankly at this stage I'm not sure I possess the inclination or the energy after an extremely difficult PhD which required learning a 2nd language from scratch within the 3 years and dealing with some major sup issues)

So I've been awarded an MPhil, and am not sure whether to be relieved or devastated. I'd always wanted a career in academia and this will obviously put the kybosh on that.

so the question is, does anyone in a similar situation have any advice, does this Mphil essentially exclude me from academia full stop? Is there anyway of upgrading to a doctorate in the future? I never foresaw this outcome so am completely in the dark.

What a cr*p day.

The use of these words recently has amused me greatly in my writing up:

conundrum
bombast
credence

and others, all far too pretentious but highly amusing....

at this moment.....I'm wishing I'd canned the academic aspirations and joined the armed forces.

Just had feedback for my first article proposal....and let's say this, it wasn't good.....I'm doing a prescribed topic in my area, but one that I would never have picked myself due to the fact that it's never be done (and for flaming good reasons it seems). I'm in my final year, due to submit in September....there's no jobs to go to, I've got oodles to do and other phd-ers seem to effortless get published/offered book contracts/ appear like geniuses while I'm stuck here with this albatross round my shoulders.

Not a good day....fed up, bored, disappointed and questioning the whole freakin' point...

So no, Wal.....I don't think it is....

(then again, ask me again tomorrw)

Hi,

I didn't get a distinction in my Masters (a merit, which in itself was miraculous, but that's another story.....) and was accepted as a PhD student; I had a First in my undergraduate degree, and that seemed more important... I would maybe speak to potential PhD supervisors before you commit to another masters, as you might be sigining up for a year delay and extra expense that might not be necessary.

I'm the opposite...have a very detached Supervisor who, bless them, is not not I think entirely in tune with reality at the best of times....

But I would have stuck my finger up at them Maria, and they should have felt lucky if you did that and didn't launch into a verbal tirade.... :)

That was hilarious!!! I've bookmarked the page to read for the dark moments....

ahh, hilarity....how I love it!

shove a couple of pictures in there....that'll do the trick ;-);-);-)

ooo, I have this problem!!! I'm trying not to expand to the point where they will have to winch me to the viva...
So here's what I do:

Drink low-fat hot chocolate if you're really craving chocolatey stuff....or have a milky way as they're quite low in calories.

Farley's original baby rusks (no I'm not mental....they're quite sweet and susbstantial so you only eat one, unlike Jaffa cakes with their evil moreishness)

there's other stuff too: I'm not a big fruit fan but grapes are quite good, ice lollies, quavers are low in calories, or of course, there's always the old favourite: cup-a-soup...

now, if any one has a suggestion for resisting super noodles, I'd love to hear it ;-)

I completed my degree and Masters at Holloway, before moving onto a PhD elsewhere....

I will cheer-lead for Holloway until the cows come home; great work ethic, great staff....I was in the history faculty but had friends across the Uni. Also, you get the benefit of being part of the Un.of London while being a bit further away from the centre....

Also, the campus is beautiful, which is conducive to good working conditions.....

Yes, I am very biased ;-)

as a fellow at-home worker, I've found I easily get distracted by domestic things (being a cleanaholic doesn't help)! But being more of a late-afternoon/ nocturnal worker, a home-setting is actually more productive. To try and stay focussed, I shut the door of the spare room and pretend like the rest of the house doesn't exist.
Also, making your work-area very task-specific helps. Little things like arranging my work like an office - filing cabinet, box files, etc psychologically shows me what I should be doing in that space....
But we all procrastinate - I curse, curse, curse the day Free Cell was invented ;-)