So.. I have a funded PhD position in Salford, UK which is not bad but not my dream place... Due to some surgery I needed to do, I obtained to start in January.

In the meantime I found the existence of a PhD in NYU and I have already contacted the professors, seems like its perfect place for me really good project and also better city,

However.. It starts in september 2015, no way to make it start earlier, and despite I have already applied, I wont know anything until May.

Now what I thought might be good for me is to join Salford until September, then switch to NYU for a new PhD in case of a positive answer.

I am not sure if this is a good strategy so I have few questions for you guys....

1- Being there only from January till august, would I be able to obtain some certificate out of salford? (e.g. Mphil ?)

2- Would I have to repay the funding given to me up to that point?

3- Would I be implied in administration issues? (e.g. nyu not accepting me as I started a phd elsewhere)

4- Would my reputation suffer in leaving a university for another?

If anyone has been in a similar situation I would like to know your experience,

Thanks,
Andrea

What is your discipline? Salford is not so bad. As a city you are 5 mins by train from Manchester City centre. There's lots of exciting things going on at Salford

Look into what your transfer (not leaving) options are from Salford. You might be able to do that.

1) I don't think you'll get an MPhil, that's generally a 2 year program, you wouldn't have completed enough work in order to get that by starting in Jan and then switching in Sept. You'd have to have had written 30,000 words (depending on your discipline), have had it examined and returned with No Changes by then. That's not possible in only 9 months, as it can take 3-9 months for examination depending on the examiners).

2) You might, I don't know. You need to get in contact with the school to find out what your obligations are regarding funding.

3) You might, again you probably should have gotten in contact with the postgraduate administrator for your faculty/school/department before you applied to the NYU program. Doing so now could cause more problems for you as they are your main contact for applications.

4) All depends on how you handle it. Lots of students transfer schools, you might want to see if anyone has done so and what their experience was?

Well I'd say the connections and opportunities in Salford are excellent in this field with major broadcasters based at media city Salford and Greater Manchester really being a creatuve hub.

I agree with you, but nevertheless my ambition is to move to new york. Now the question is what is the best thing I can do in order to get some experience in Salford while waiting next september

Then I'd say don't accept Salford. You would get very little from Salford if you intend to start NYU in Sept as any training modules, seminars etc effectively end in April/May and barely nothing occurs from May-end Sept. As a PhD this time is usually spent Pre reading and going through the particular hoops for that particular university e.g first year report writing, ethic etc. You'd be wasting your own and Universities time and they could re offer to other candidates. NY sounds exciting though.

If I were you I would go to NYU only if the uni offers funding. Otherwise it is not worth paying 3-4 (or more) years of fees+ expenses.

I think the safest bet is to accept Salford, and then if you get into NYU, do a transfer. If you don't get into NYU, then you've got Salford.

But I don't think anyone here on the forum will be able to give you the best advice, you need to try and get in contact with postgraduate administrators at both schools who have a much better understanding of the legalities of the situation, which is what I think you need advice on.

Thanks for the replies, both universities provide fundings, what im scared about is reputation and legal issues