PhD English, 12 Offers

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From what I know, bad advice! I think that finding a good supervisor who fits "your" interests than "his" is important. After all, you have to live with the work, not you. In sciences and technology, where people are interested in the field and therefore finding the final topic and associated funding works differently. On the other hand, in arts and social sciences it is very important that you take up your topic.

Remember, you can lie for 6 months feigning interest, not for 3-4 years.

If funding is not a concern, my suggestion would be to take up the one where the guide is the best, and the library excellent, and the department supportive and encouraging.

The rest is what you make of your phd: what papers, networks you write/build up.

Good advice. I said the same thing to the admission panel when they asked me why I chose the Uni and some of them nodded with approval :smile:

Original post by gumball

My opinion (as I didn't really express mine before), is that you should go to whichever institution does research into (or as near to as possible) your field of interest. There's no point attending somewhere just for the name if you're going to do something you're not interested in, as that'll be evident in your research, which will be of lesser quality to those who actually enjoy it, and you risk burning out.

If Oxbridge aren't interested in your field of study, so be it, and attend somewhere else. The institution which grants your PhD isn't particularly important, and I doubt a future job would penalise you for attending one establishment over another. Perform the research on the topic you're interested - especially if the money isn't particularly important, as you originally stipulated.

Very true.

Original post by Someonelik

Royal Holloway offers after all one of the best supervisors.

The best supervisors argument could be subjective OP - it might be nice for some but it might no be nice for us :/ Try and visit the place, meet the supervisor(s) and see the environment. If it all matches with your persona, then go ahead with the application! :biggrin:

It's 3-4 years; that's a long time if you're working with someone you don't like :/

(edited 11 years ago)

Reply 21

BeaCastle

Hello everyone,

I got a question to Someonelik, Have you apply to any of the Newcastle universities??

Reply 22

Someonelik

Dear BeaCastle,

No, I didn't apply to any Newcastle University. Should I? I'm quite unaware of the UK PhD opportunities, please let me know if I am missing out.

I also forgot to mention that I also applied to Edinburgh and two foreign Universities, all which turned me down (the two foreign universities had acceptance rates of 1/30 and 1/50).

Kka25 and others have productively discussed the importance of the supervisor. I find its difficult to weigh the relative merits of the supervisor, department, university and location. In my mind, a rational choice would formulate the decision, on where to pursue amazing research, solely on the basis of the supervisor. Am I wrong in thinking this? Should the department and location count for 40-50% of the decision? What's the percentage divide?

Then, of course, the currency of the university brand name for future employment prospects is important. In my previous university, in the USA, they had over 100 applicants a place for their English PhD. This is admittedly a very highly-ranked university, but the acceptance rate is indicative of the competitive nature of PhDs in the USA. My assumption is that they are unaware of Oxbridge's 40% acceptance rate, and will, in general, assume that it is equally competitive. (The ones who wrote me letters of recommendation were all surprised by my many acceptances -- they are rather clueless as to how the system works in the UK.) As such, I assume that an Oxbridge degree will open doors in the USA. Since everyone in the UK knows how the system works, I don't see any reason to go to Oxbridge for the name if one plans to stay and work in the UK.

Should my incentives for doing a PhD be questioned? Certainly. Do I occasionally get bored by sitting in my solitude and researching? Absolutely. All sane persons would; variety is the spice of life. This is not to say however that I lack a sincere passion for my research, or that I can envisage something more fun than doing a PhD.

Given this need for variation, I would love to gain teaching experience during the PhD or interact with the department. This is why I am so interested to know if there's a university that would allow me to truly be a part of its environment. For example, St Andrews told me that essentially all of their incoming PhDs will gain teaching experience from St Andrews during their three years. When I contacted Royal Holloway with the same question they said that this was virtually unheard of; students received supervision and nothing else. Since teaching experience is required by most academic jobs, I am hesitant to whether I should go with the best supervisor (royal holloway or glasgow) or a perfectly decent supervisor and possibility to teach (st andrews -- there might of course be other universities that should be added to this list).

Reply 23

Someonelik

Original post by cryptic-clues

And you make some simplistic assumptions about how you can do it: live next to a good library and skype! PhD has a residency requirement, so that you benefit not just from your guide's advice but also the on-going events at your school/faculty/department. This is meant to enrich your world-view, learn how to make academic presentations, learn about other topics, and so on!

Good point. Could you tell me about what on-going events you are referring to? How often do they take place? Weekly? Monthly? If this is an important part of the experience, it makes sense to pick a university for which my interest match the department as much as the supervisor. Would you recommend me to live in the proximity of the university the first year?

Reply 24

Aeschylus

OP,

If you are doing a PHD, generally you will have a clear idea of what area you want to study and who the hot-shot academics are wrt your interest Often these academics are all over the place, not just at the 'elite' universities.

Just that I've not seen anything about your interests. It's all very well going to a place whose brand name helps you but if you don't have the support or guidance in your research it might really create some strong headwinds. Best of luck

Reply 25

Someonelik

Original post by Aeschylus

My interests are in modernism. Royal holloway and glasgow have the best experts on the author that interests me.

Reply 26

hobnob

Original post by Someonelik

It may vary a bit between departments, but here the smaller-scale events like graduate seminars (where graduates specialising in a particular period present short papers or visiting academics give a longer talk) happen once or twice a week. In addition to that there will be various talks and lecture series spread across the term, and maybe one or two conferences that are relevant to your area of interest. Social things like pub evenings or graduate lunches will also happen once or twice a week.

Reply 27

cryptic-clues

Original post by hobnob

I agree with hobnob! There are PhD led seminars, then a number of universities also organise joint seminars where you benefit from the advice of other faculty members from other universities. Not to mention, your interaction with your guide, speaking to them, sharing smokes, over cups of coffee; your interaction with other doctoral students: you understand how differently they approach a problem, their wider or narrower interests, their moments of epiphany and despair. This richness of a departmental setting cannot be replicated in a library or over skype.

Of course, I study a completely unrelated subject. So some of it may not hold in your case.

Reply 28

cryptic-clues

Original post by Someonelik

Do I occasionally get bored by sitting in my solitude and researching? Absolutely. All sane persons would; variety is the spice of life. This is not to say however that I lack a sincere passion for my research, or that I can envisage something more fun than doing a PhD.

I just want to say that pursuing a single interest is not equivalent to thinking on one topic/subject all the time. Even variety will bring its own set of loneliness!

But that the PhD training is about rigour, the training and disciplining of the mind to think through, to think about the associated strands and underlying assumptions, to ponder over potential results and outcomes, and its implications. These new ways of "seeing", and not new "knowledge" is what makes PhD interesting and worthwhile.

So the loneliness is no more than a step in training the mind. And you must soldier on.

My best wishes for whatever decision you may want to make.

Cheers, CC