Advice on PhDs

.

2) Is anyone doing the 4 year doctoral programmes rather than the 3 year PhDs, and how are they finding the difference ins structure and does the additional year help ? I am leaning towards the 4 year one because I would like some taught component to supplement my PhD. Also, I presume in a 4 year programme, there would be more time to search for a good supervisor ( something I am concerned about in point 3) ?

Hi there,

I am currently on my 1st year of a 4 year doctoral training programme and I know a number of people currently on or who will be embarking on one. If you have the chance, and can find a DTP related to your field of study, I would strongly recommend it.

Most DTPs differ slightly in their structure. For instance, the first year in the Oxford CDTs basically count for nothing whilst those at UCL contain an MRes section you have to pass. But the overall aim of the first year is the same.

In any case, I'm finding the first year extremely enjoyable and it really does feel like it will make a difference in the long run. I will have an extra years experience working roughly on my PhD topic. Secondly, the taught modules I have taken this year have been tailored specifically to my needs. Consequently, I feel I have a good understanding of the mathematical techniques out there and other related fields of work, which will most probably help me in the long run.

Have you looked at EngD or similar programmes? They sound like they might be something that you would be interested in given your overall aims as they will give you direct exposure to an industrial partner.

Thanks for your response. Yes I have found a DTP that I am really interested in but was wondering whether the extra year is worth it. I feel I would need the extra year to give me the technical knowledge and additional skills like programming/ simulation and other soft skills to complement my research project and the taught modules tick my boxes. From your experience it seems that its worth it. Is the first year quite intensive (i.e. 9 to 5) and does it have a major practical element complementing the taught modules ( e.g. mainly labs , coursework rather than exams) and do you get time to do other things as well e.g.take other courses to work on improving transferable skills etc. I presume there is funding to go for conferences/ external courses etc ?
How much time do you get to search around for a good supervisor in your first year and has this been difficult or do you get a lot of advice/ support from other students and supervisors regarding the good supervisors and ones t avoid etc. Do you have to stick with the same project you did during the first year for your Phd or is there flexibility in that respect.
Did you start your DTP straight from uni or did you have some experience working ? Are there any older PhD students in your cohort and how are they finding the 'ride' and transition from work to being a student again ?

Just out of curiousity why don't many people pursue EngDs ? I only realised a few months ago that these programmes existed, by a random google search !

Just so you are aware, all (I think) of the EPSRC funded Centres for Doctoral Training (DTCs and EngD Centres) are currently up for renewal. They were funded for 5 years and are now recruiting their final intakes which will start in September 2013.

The deadline for outline proposals for the successor Centres has just passed and EPSRC will now identify those which it wants to see developed into full proposals with a deadline of July 2013. They expect about 50% of full proposals to be successful and the decisions will be made before Christmas this year, so that successful Centres can recruit for a 2014 start.

What this really means for someone looking to start postgraduate study in autumn 2014 is that it is not yet clear what opportunities will exist for you. Some exisiting Centres will be looking to carry on more or less unchanged, while some will be looking to make substantial changes in the way they work. Some rebids for existing Centres will fail and those Centres will go, and will be replaced by new ones, which may be in a different university and in a totally different scientific area.

However, EPSRC has said it is looking for balanced coverage of its research scope so big and important areas will not just disappear overnight (for example, last time, there were no successful bids in Mathematics in the main call, so they held a supplementary call just for Maths and funded two Centres through that). However, just because there is currently a Centre focused on a particular topic in University X does not mean that there will be one in 18 months time. The Centre I am involved in has competition from three other bids so we will have to fight hard to keep ours.

So what will happen to centres past the final intake of existing DTCs if their funding is not renewed? Will students on the final intake still be supported, in which case the centres will dissolve after 2017? I'm starting at one EPSRC DTC this September, will I have anything to worry about?

Just so you are aware, all (I think) of the EPSRC funded Centres for Doctoral Training (DTCs and EngD Centres) are currently up for renewal. They were funded for 5 years and are now recruiting their final intakes which will start in September 2013.

The deadline for outline proposals for the successor Centres has just passed and EPSRC will now identify those which it wants to see developed into full proposals with a deadline of July 2013. They expect about 50% of full proposals to be successful and the decisions will be made before Christmas this year, so that successful Centres can recruit for a 2014 start.

What this really means for someone looking to start postgraduate study in autumn 2014 is that it is not yet clear what opportunities will exist for you. Some exisiting Centres will be looking to carry on more or less unchanged, while some will be looking to make substantial changes in the way they work. Some rebids for existing Centres will fail and those Centres will go, and will be replaced by new ones, which may be in a different university and in a totally different scientific area.

However, EPSRC has said it is looking for balanced coverage of its research scope so big and important areas will not just disappear overnight (for example, last time, there were no successful bids in Mathematics in the main call, so they held a supplementary call just for Maths and funded two Centres through that). However, just because there is currently a Centre focused on a particular topic in University X does not mean that there will be one in 18 months time. The Centre I am involved in has competition from three other bids so we will have to fight hard to keep ours.

In terms of the structure of my DTP, we pick three courses out of any at the university, which will best compliment our field of research. These three courses are examinable and count for our yearly mark. We also have a compulsory Journal Club every week, which has helped me to gain a wide knowledge of the field. Apart from that, we have our own research project but depending on the courses you take, you can end up actually working mainly on those, if there is a lot of coursework. In any case, we are also free to turn up to any other lectures we may find useful.

I can't really give you an answer regarding conferences/external courses as this will depend on the DTP but my guess would be that in most cases, you are given a yearly budget ? Maybe somebody more advanced in their studies can answer this. I am quite lucky with that respect, since our DTP is funded by various massive grants and other sources, so these types of costs are not a problem.

I kinda chose my research topic when applying so I haven't really been fishing for supervisors so I can't really answer that question.

I started the DTP after an MSc. There are a couple older students on the programme. One worked for about 2years after his undergrad, whist another worked in software development for 5-6 years. Don't think they have struggled at all. One mentioned he found it weird to be in lectures again. Otherwise, they are enjoying it and you wouldn't have thought they'd taken a gap from studying.

Thanks for this info. Yes I was told by the director of one of the DTCs that Sep 2013 would be the last cohort. Just to make sure I understand you correctly, does this mean that there may be new DTCs in the same or different subject area (currently there are three universities which have established DTCs in the programme I am interested in, so are you saying there may be none next year). What is the criteria for a successful proposal ? I would have thought DTCs which have been running for the past 5 years should have a good case for getting more funding for the next 5 years especially for something in the sciences with substantial Mathematics content. If a centre does not continue to get funding for 2014 intake , does it mean that the centre isn't all that great and may not be recognised by employers in the future ( and is this something I have to be aware of ?).
Just out of interest, was it only 5 years ago that DTCs were developed and funded ( I thought they were around for a lot longer) ?

Thanks for this. This may not be relevant to you at this early stage of your DTP, but have you ever been affected by the fact that friends and other people are working and earning more money and wondering what you may do so many years down the line ? Does your DTP have a support system in place for students ? I have read articles of PhD students on 3 year PhDs that have felt this way so was just wondering.

Perspective can be helpful. I spent 20+ years working in what ended up as a well-paid and successful IT career. Even in my darkest PhD days thus far, I'd still far rather be doing the PhD than return to that soul-corroding toil. There's more to life than money and career progress - which are OK in principal, but what you have to do to get them can sometimes be numbingly unfulfilling and infinitely more stressful.

My PhD supervisor doesn't phone to swear at me at 3am, or force me to work through Christmas Day, both of which were frequent and apparently acceptable occurrences in the preceding ten years of my working life.

I think the situation may be a bit different for you though. If you have worked 20+ years , then you already have all that experience and probably saved up a lot of money.

Hence the risk of doing a PhD is a lot less.

I am 27 and have worked for 2 and a half years or so in a very junior post where I get treated like thrash and noone really appreciates what I do or give me any respect ( not to mention the massive divide between junior and senior staff and how some of them can be so rude etc).

The danger for me is that if I do choose to do a PhD and if for some reason that decision backfires ( e.g. if I don't manage to complete if for some reason, not that I aim to be in this position but sometimes circumstances arise and you can't do anything about it) then Im pretty much screwed for the rest of my life.

If I don't do it , then the fact that i missed a once in lifetime opportunity will also bother me so much.

That's true, but I'm spending pretty much every penny of my savings on my PhD. In reality, my savings run out next summer before I complete and my chances of further funding are slim. So I won't complete and I won't have any money. No advantage there.

No more than I am. I don't really see an uncompleted PhD as the end of the world for anyone at any age. If I don't get it (which is 99% certain unless I win the lottery), I'll just go and do something else - as will you. And yes, that probably does mean it's back to the abusive phone calls in the small hours and cancelled festivities. No different than you really.