[LSD]

It's early days for me yet, I'm still an undergrad (in scotland) but I'm thinking ahead, I'm fairly sure I want to do an MSc then hopefully a PhD, do people who get funding generally have a first at honours? Or if I was to get a 2:1 would I have a chance of also being funded? My marks are fairly good but I'm not quite at the level of getting a first yet, so I'm worried.

(My course is Genetics, and I'm also worried that there aren't many MSc or PhD places going in this field)

I think I'd want to do it even without funding, but it might not be worth it...

[poohat]

Funded MSc programs are rare in most fields. Getting onto an (unfunded) MSc should be a lot less competitive than getting a funded PhD.

Anything that makes you stand out as a candidate will help your admissions. Getting a first is a good signal, but so is undergraduate research experience, letters of recommendations, etc. If you arent likely to get a first then make sure you do a top class final year product, and perhaps ask if you can do summer work in a research lab (your university may or may not allow this).

If you can get a funded PhD place then there is no point doing an MSc first. If you fail to get funding for a PhD and decide to do the MSc instead, try to do it at the best university possible in order to boost your chances of getting funding for a PhD program after, or a good private sector job. You should (eg) probably apply to Oxford + Cambridge + Imperial; generally masters applications are less competitive than undergraduate and if you have a 2:1 from any russell group university then you have at least an outside chance of being accepted, although its by no means guaranteed.

[LSD]

(Original post by poohat)
Funded MSc programs are rare in most fields. Getting onto an (unfunded) MSc should be a lot less competitive than getting a funded PhD.

Anything that makes you stand out as a candidate will help your admissions. Getting a first is a good signal, but so is undergraduate research experience, letters of recommendations, etc. If you arent likely to get a first then make sure you do a top class final year product, and perhaps ask if you can do summer work in a research lab (your university may or may not allow this).

If you can get a funded PhD place then there is no point doing an MSc first. If you fail to get funding for a PhD and decide to do the MSc instead, try to do it at the best university possible in order to boost your chances of getting funding for a PhD program after, or a good private sector job. You should (eg) probably apply to Oxford + Cambridge + Imperial; generally masters applications are less competitive than undergraduate and if you have a 2:1 from any russell group university then you have at least an outside chance of being accepted, although its by no means guaranteed.

Thank you, I'm in a Russell Group university and I'm aiming for at least a 2:1 if not a first. Hopefully I can manage to get a place somewhere

[nonswimmer]

If possible do your MSc part time. Benefits: you can work during that time, so the financial burden is less; the workload is more spread-out; and, if a dissertation is part of your MSc programme, you have twice as much time to figure out what to do for it.