Hi all, I am in my final year and recently got offered a full PhD scholarship with an enhanced stipend at a prestigious university (Uni A) where the department is considered top in the country in the area of my PhD. Now I don't want to sound ungrateful here as many would consider me "lucky" to be even offered a place, however, I am having second thoughts because I didn't really like the supervisor and the topic of study when I was called to an interview, so I was quite surprised I even got made an offer.

The problem is that I got accepted in my current university (Uni B) which I am happy to stay for another 3 - 4 years as I liked the supervisor and topic there. But unfortunately have been put on an indefinite "waiting list" as I missed out on the funding this year due to my grades (they give priority to students with pristine academic records).

Also the university that made me the funded offer (Uni A) require me to accept within 3 days or the offer expires. So I'm in a bit of a difficult situation here deciding...

Should I really accept this offer from Uni A and slug through 3 - 4 years in a topic I'm not really interested in and force myself to like it? Or should I reject this offer and possibly run the risk of ending up with no PhD positions this year if funding from Uni B doesn't work out?

I would also like to note that I cannot afford to take year out, so I need to get a funded PhD, job or anything...

Would greatly appreciate any advice regarding my situation. Thank you.


P.S: I have also considered looking around for graduate level jobs, however have not seen any luck there so far as I got rejected from a dozen odd places I applied last summer/autumn...

99% of the time I would have said, go for Uni A for all the good reasons you pointed out and I would have advised you that getting a difficult supervisor could be character building and teaching you about getting along with others in a professional setting.

HOWEVER, you said and I quote "I didn't really like ..... the topic of study". You might as well hammer your toes for 3 years for fun. A PhD in my humble opinion is part labor of love. Absent that passion and you are setting up for severe disappointment regardless of the money and perks being thrown at you.

Secure funding for a juicy PhD you really can throw yourself into. Forget Uni A.

Also consider chasing up Uni B to see how likely it is you will get funding. If there is a fair to good chance, go for Uni B, where you know the supervisors and will have more chance of a positive PhD experience.
Humble opinion of fellow PhD applicant.

But bear in mind, spending hours and hours studying a topic can indoctrinate you to love it... as many of the people can testify, including myself.

PS, you can always take it and cancel later if B offers you a place.

May be you will identify yourself with my situation. Here is my story; I was lucky to have been offered a fully funded scholarship by the University which I accepted, even though I didn't like the topic initially. I faced some dilemma when another university, a more prestigious one, with a topic that was close to my heart gave me an offer a month later but with a partial scholarship (partial tuition and full stipend). I decided to go for the fully funded position. It's now 6 months down the line, I have come to love the topic, the research group (Engineering) is fantastic and my supervisor has been very helpful . Got to say I made the right decision, no regrets.

Tough call...though UniA is an obvious choice but it is a pain to do PhD on something you dont enjoy....believe me in difficult moments, your love and passion for the topic will get you through (have felt that).....otherwise, PhD is living hell (if you dont enjoy the topic or supervisor but you want degree)

So, if you go with UniA, you must change yourself to love the topic...no other way around......or take treedoflife suggestion and join UniA....then leave when you get offer from UniB...

see below

I think then you should be careful about upsetting folk at Uni A by accepting and then changing your mind if they have any connections to Uni B, as it may not give a good impression. What about explaining the situation to Uni B in the chance that they could make your funding a bit more concrete and then you could make a better decision about whether you would like to do the PhD at Uni A or Uni B?

I agree it's not the best solution, but sometimes you have to put yourself first

Hi redmond89,

It is obviously entirely up to you what you do, but I personally think you would be making a mistake to turn down a fully funded place when the situation at Uni B sounds so indefinite (what are the chances of enough people turning down scholarships to make way for you? how far down the alternates list are you?) From past experience, a place on the waiting list is as good as a 'no'. I would take the offer at Uni A and work with the topic and supervisor as I would for any other job (calmly, thoughtfully, professionally etc. etc.)

Best of luck with making your decision xx

This is a tricky one.

What didn't you like about the supervisor at uni A? To what extent will s/he be the sole point of contact/support? Would you be integrated into a research group or very much be by yourself?

When you say you didn't like the topic... be aware that most PhD theses do not identically match the title that was discussed on day one. There is often scope for either deliberate change in direction, to suit one's own preferences, or change by necessity due to results, resources and other factors beyond one's control. This may or may not be relevant to you, depending on your field

Be aware that uni B might never yield a funded offer. Next year there will be a fresh crop of graduates to compete with. Have you looked into alternative sources of funding?

Have you made any decisions yet? Personally, I would go for funded. Chances are you'd do a project you love, which you then learn to hate ha ha ha so a luke warm reception to the funded research project is no reason to decline, you can always put your spin on it and make it your own in at least some way. You can never really tell what the PhD will be in the end either, the other PhD may look better from the outside but it might not pan out that way. Funding is getting much, much harder to come by. Whilst some will say wait for something better, the grass isn't always greener, other funding may never arrive! Well done on both offers though :D

In 2011, I turned down a PhD offer in Japan in preference to UK. I had just received an offer from Japan when a professor from a UK university approached my professor to recommend a student to work under him. I was recommended and was asked to submit my CV and relevant papers to the UK professor and had a wee interview with him. He was impressed with my background and promised me that I was going to enroll in September 2011 and he was just working on few "administrative issues" before everything could be finalised. I then decided to inform the university in Japan that I was not taking up their offer. Mistake!! After a few weeks, the UK prof sent me an e-mail that he had just applied for funding from EU and asked me not to worry. Wrong!!!! In September, I was still waiting, was told I was going to enroll in January 2012. January came and went, next I received an email around March that he was leaving the university to take up an appointment in another university. That was it, it took me 2 years to finally get a fully funded PhD offer.

Yep - never decline an often til a subsequent one is in the bag...