PhD The Early Process, Application and Interview advice

Original post by telltheking

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Original post by Jennys1977

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I'm in the first year of my PhD, studying history, having applied last year & won funding. AHRC studentships are, to quote one of my old tutors, like 'gold dust', so I would go into the funding rounds with your eyes open & in expectation that you will not receive anything. There were 26 of us on my MPhil course last year, and of us I am the only one to have received AHRC money to stay here. Now, a few others secured money elsewhere (at York, and Sheffield in fact) but there were really aren't a lot us who were successful :s-smilie:

It's never quite made clear what exactly it is that will secure you money, but obviously a fantastic research proposal is the basic thing; after that it is factors like the 'fit' between you & the supervisor, and between you & the institution, plus your past record & references. From my experience, only people who had firsts at undergraduate were successful with funding, but of course this not a hard & fast rule; in addition you really have to get the prospective supervisor on board in supporting you. The person I know who went to Sheffield is the first PhD student of her supervisor at Sheffield (he was previously here at Cambridge) and he was really keen to have a PhD student from his first year, which helped a lot in securing her money (she isn't on the AHRC, rather a Wolfson scholarship).

If you have any other questions I'd be happy to try & answer them :smile:

Reply 184

Jennys1977

Original post by gutenberg

I'm in the first year of my PhD, studying history, having applied last year & won funding. AHRC studentships are, to quote one of my old tutors, like 'gold dust', so I would go into the funding rounds with your eyes open & in expectation that you will not receive anything. There were 26 of us on my MPhil course last year, and of us I am the only one to have received AHRC money to stay here. Now, a few others secured money elsewhere (at York, and Sheffield in fact) but there were really aren't a lot us who were successful :s-smilie:

It's never quite made clear what exactly it is that will secure you money, but obviously a fantastic research proposal is the basic thing; after that it is factors like the 'fit' between you & the supervisor, and between you & the institution, plus your past record & references. From my experience, only people who had firsts at undergraduate were successful with funding, but of course this not a hard & fast rule; in addition you really have to get the prospective supervisor on board in supporting you. The person I know who went to Sheffield is the first PhD student of her supervisor at Sheffield (he was previously here at Cambridge) and he was really keen to have a PhD student from his first year, which helped a lot in securing her money (she isn't on the AHRC, rather a Wolfson scholarship).

If you have any other questions I'd be happy to try & answer them :smile:

Thanks for your response and congrats on securing funding. I am aware that chances of sceuring AHRC are zilch so am hoping I may stand a slight chance with university studentships. Do you have any idea how competitive these are compared to AHRC?

Reply 185

gutenberg

Original post by Jennys1977

Thanks for your response and congrats on securing funding. I am aware that chances of sceuring AHRC are zilch so am hoping I may stand a slight chance with university studentships. Do you have any idea how competitive these are compared to AHRC?

I don't know anything about the scholarships in the specific universities you've applied to, sorry :dontknow:

However, are the university scholarships spread across all faculties & departments? Because in that case you'll be competing with every newly-registered postgrad (and possibly even already-registered ones, if the university allows them to re-enter), which would include people in the sciences etc. So they can sometimes be even harder to get than AHRC, which is at least only for your subject. In my university they offer Home & European scholarships, for example, and there are apparently around 80 offered across the entire university; to put that in perspective, there were 100+ new history postgrads alone this year (if you include MPhils, as the awards can be given to MPhils too). But you know the situation at your prospective universities better than me, so you'll probably be able to judge your chances better; or else you could ask? In practice, at my university I've met more people who are either AHRC-funded or funded by a college than on a university scholarship.

(edited 11 years ago)

Reply 186

Is anyone else going absolutely crazy with the wait? I'm starting to think what if some places aren't even going to interview me... getting nervous. Damnit damnit damnit. GIVE ME A PHD NOW OKAY?!?

Reply 187

kpr

Hello all,

Does anyone know how important it is to the PhD application process to have a confirmed supervisor? I have read a few posts that seem to suggest that once a professor has committed to be a PhD supervisor, the application process is more of a formality to ensure the minimum requirements are met. Any idea if this is true? I have a prof who has confirmed he would be interested in supervising my PhD research, and I’m positive I meet the minimum requirements, however, I’m still sweating out the application process like everyone else. Some schools I have contacted seem to take the approach of just apply and a supervisor will be assigned if available, others seem to require one in advance...Any help is appreciated.

Thanks!

Reply 188

Jennys1977

Original post by kpr

Hello all,

Does anyone know how important it is to the PhD application process to have a confirmed supervisor? I have read a few posts that seem to suggest that once a professor has committed to be a PhD supervisor, the application process is more of a formality to ensure the minimum requirements are met. Any idea if this is true? I have a prof who has confirmed he would be interested in supervising my PhD research, and I’m positive I meet the minimum requirements, however, I’m still sweating out the application process like everyone else. Some schools I have contacted seem to take the approach of just apply and a supervisor will be assigned if available, others seem to require one in advance...Any help is appreciated.

Thanks!

Hi,

It is best to have a supervisor in mind and have met with them informally. They will support your application and guide you on improving the proposal for the application form. They will also advise you on the funding application (some supervisors will even look at rough drafts and make suggestions for improvement). Getting a place for a PhD isn't that difficult if you meet the requirements, its funding that's the difficult part. It sounds like you have an interesting project and the potential supervisor may suggest you meet to discuss it further. Treat it as an interview of sorts and show an interest in their research too. Good luck with it all.

Reply 189

itzme

hey everyone!
So on the form, I ticked that I wanted the university's funding, and then also wrote that I was applying for research council funding. However, the form said to only tick 1 choice (internal, external or self-funding)... I submitted the application, so what will happen? Will they not consider me for both sources of funding? Confused....

Reply 190

Got 3 interviews next week, aaaaah. So nervous and excited and aaah.
Hopefully I will get a few more too but I'll have to wait and see :wink:

Reply 191

PhD Candidate

Hello all,

I have had my phone interview this morning (first in my life - and I am applying for PhD in Applied Linguistics at the Uni of Melbourne Australia). Although it is a non-uk university, which might be irrelevant somehow to the issues discussed in this thread. However, I was really suffering looking for experiences with/tips for phone and/or in-person interviews specifically for Hums candidates. I finally got to this thread two days ago and, from the bottom of my heart, thanks to all of you who've participated and shared their experiences in this thread. Today, as a candidate who's already went through a phone interview, I am going to share you my experience so that everybody could benefit from it in a way or another.

Although I can call this as an informal chat with two of my potential supervisors, but they tended to ask some deep questions on my proposed topic. So, I encourage you to prepare yourself and read your proposal and write down any things you might anticipate to be questioned about (nature of study, questions of the research, hypotheses, methodology -though I wasn't questioned about it).

The interview lasted for about 25 minutes. I rang up the principle supervisor's office and she greeted me. I was somehow nervous at the beginning, but she calmed me down by trying to clarify that I shouldn't worry about anything (yet I forgot to say how are you! :eek:

) They started questioning me...

1- Would you tell us about yourself, research interests? --> 1-2 minutes

2- Why did you choose our university? --> 2 minutes

3- What made you choose this specific topic? --> 3-4 minutes

4- Would you please talk about research project? --> 4 minutes

5- Some questions about the environment where the study will take place (accessibility, participants, etc.) --> 3 minutes

They then told me briefly about the nature of study at the university and what should be done in the first year. Afterwards, they asked whether I have any questions. I raised some questions related to the elective courses I am supposed to take, the start date, their impression about my project. They answered all my queries. At the end of the call I was so curious to know whether I am on the safe side! (I read some suggestions here not to ask such question but I took a risk because I am a very impetuous person!). I asked; May I please know whether I am on the safe side for now at least? They both replied; (Oh yes you're, we will recommend you for admission but the final decision will be made by the RHD committee. So, so far things aren't actually finalized. You'll hear from them in a month time because some people in the department are still on leave).

After the interview, I sent them an email thanking them for the time they spared for this interviewed, they replied with a very motivating answer. :biggrin:

This is my first (and hopefully last) phone interview with my potential main and co- supervisors. I am just wondering whether anyone could advise me about the next step? Do you think things are informally finalized, just need some formal signature?

I hope this experience will be in support of you when attending any sort of interview.

Thanks again to all of you, I do appreciate all your advice and suggestions.

All the best, :smile:

Reply 192

231240

Hi,
Hope this article might be useful http://www.postgrad.com/editorial/advice/phd/interview_dos_and_donts/ too.
The dos and dont seem pretty obvious but not a bad reminder but i found the questions visual helpful to structure my thoughts and felt a bit more prepared!!!! :rolleyes:

Reply 193

So tired of waiting *cry*
Manchester get back to me with an interview already please? And someone tell me I have an offer, that would be nice.

Reply 194

nikita25

Original post by kpr

Hello all,

Does anyone know how important it is to the PhD application process to have a confirmed supervisor? I have read a few posts that seem to suggest that once a professor has committed to be a PhD supervisor, the application process is more of a formality to ensure the minimum requirements are met. Any idea if this is true? I have a prof who has confirmed he would be interested in supervising my PhD research, and I’m positive I meet the minimum requirements, however, I’m still sweating out the application process like everyone else. Some schools I have contacted seem to take the approach of just apply and a supervisor will be assigned if available, others seem to require one in advance...Any help is appreciated.

Thanks!

Hi! I had applied to bristol last year for a phd in psychology and had written to the professor too. The prof told me to look for other funding options as the scholarships were already allocated. I waited a year and in the meanwhile I never heard from them again. I applied for the commonwealth scholarship and wrote to the prof for a supporting letter if he was willing to be my potential supervisor. He gave an excellent letter of support but unfortunately I couldn't get through the second round. I have applied again to bristol and checked the boxes on the form for being considered for a scholarship. Its been a month now and the decision date of the scholarship is fast approaching but i haven't heard from them again whether I've got through or not. The whole thing is stressing me out now because I don't know where i stand. Should I write to the admissions team or to the professor? I'm seriously confused and worried! Any kind of advice or reply would be welcomed!

p.s: I'm an international applicant from India.

Reply 195

cwaltz

Hi everyone,

I need some advices. I applied to only one institution and I have got now an offer for a non-funded (I have not been nominated) PhD in the humanities in one of the best unis in my field.

I will probably be able to work part-time and fund it with the help of my family but I would like to know if you think that it would be preferable to apply for a less renowned department (where I will get more chances to have a scholarship)? Is the reputation of a department still important at the phd level, or is it better to have a phd funded with a scholarship (for the after-phd prospects..), even if it means studying in a less renowned uni?

thanks in advance for your answers

Reply 196

itzme

Original post by cwaltz

Hi everyone,

I need some advices. I applied to only one institution and I have got now an offer for a non-funded (I have not been nominated) PhD in the humanities in one of the best unis in my field.

I will probably be able to work part-time and fund it with the help of my family but I would like to know if you think that it would be preferable to apply for a less renowned department (where I will get more chances to have a scholarship)? Is the reputation of a department still important at the phd level, or is it better to have a phd funded with a scholarship (for the after-phd prospects..), even if it means studying in a less renowned uni?

thanks in advance for your answers

I am in the same situation: only applied to 1 uni. I got an offer, but have no idea if I have been nominated or not. How did you find out? How soon after your application/offer letter?
Thanks.

Reply 197

cwaltz

Original post by itzme

I am in the same situation: only applied to 1 uni. I got an offer, but have no idea if I have been nominated or not. How did you find out? How soon after your application/offer letter?
Thanks.

I applied in mid-January and had the offer letter last week. The department sent me a separate mail to inform me of their decision.

Reply 198