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Factors considered in phd applications ??

Does anyone have any experience on how universities assess phd applicants??

Which of the following would be a more reasonable choise so to pursue a phd in a top10 UK univ??On the one hand, i could do my master degree there ( but apply only after 3-4 months from the beginning of master),while on the other hand i could attend a strong nonUK programme and apply during the 2nd year of my master(so the university will be able to assess me based on more facts)..

What else should i bear in mind?? Any thoughts or advise would be very usefull..

Reply 1

Gregorius

Original post by v2gls

Does anyone have any experience on how universities assess phd applicants??

This will vary from university to university and from department to department. From my experience, there are two (possibly three) hoops to jump through. The first is: do you meet the general admissions criteria of the university/department? The second is: does the department believe that it can supervise you? The third is: do I (as possible supervisor) believe I can supervise you successfully.

I'll address the third. What I'm looking for in a putative PhD student is this - do I believe that this candidate has got what it takes to develop from a student at the beginning of the PhD programme into a colleague by the end of the programme?

What does it take? (a) raw intellectual horsepower; (b) a sufficient base of knowledge and (c) (the hardest one to judge) some degree of originality of thought and/or sheer perseverence.

Which of the following would be a more reasonable choise so to pursue a phd in a top10 UK univ??On the one hand, i could do my master degree there ( but apply only after 3-4 months from the beginning of master),while on the other hand i could attend a strong nonUK programme and apply during the 2nd year of my master(so the university will be able to assess me based on more facts)..

Either of these courses of action would be acceptable. What is more important is the detail of what is in these programmes and how well you do on them. However, one of the advantages of the first is that you can get yourself known by the relevant staff - and you can get some insight into whether you want to be supervised by them!

What else should i bear in mind?? Any thoughts or advise would be very usefull..

Some PhD studentships come with a project already attached; would you prefer one of these, or do you want to carve out your own project?

Reply 2

chazwomaq

Good advice from Gregorius above. The other big thing to think about is funding. This is often the factor that limits you getting on a PhD program. You need to consider whether there is departmental funding, whether you will apply to an external source (with a supervisor), or whether you will self fund (which I don't recommend in general).

It's a bit unusual to choose a university to do a Masters and a PhD (unless it a combined program). You should choose a Masters based on the course, university, staff etc. Your choice of PhD university depends on the specific project you want to do, a supervisor who is an expert in the area and the availability of funding. People often apply to many different universities and supervisors before finding one that will accept and fund them. So targeting one specific place before a Masters is not always the best.

Thanks a lot!!

The advice above have been very useful for me while researching this subject.. My professors gave me almost the same advice..
Something which is relevant to this subgect... I recently learned that many UK master programmes place their entire examination period in May..
Supposing that a student starts a master in a UK univ and finds there a professor who could be a possible supervisor..
So, how can the student persuade someone supervise them without having taken any graduate exams..?
By the time the student will apply for a phd the supervisor won't have anything to assess them..
How could the supervisor be sure for the students potential??