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Did anyone not manage to get PhD funding?

Hi everyone,
I'm currently in the process of preparing my PhD application (in the area of children's reading and literacy). I've been working with my potential supervisor this year while I've been completing my masters degree and she has agreed to supervise me and see me through the application process.
I have a research proposal, referees, and a personal statement all organised. She tells me that there shouldn't be any problem being accepted onto the PhD Education programme, but I'm worried about getting funding. Very worried.

I recognise that PhD scholarships are slim pickings, but has anyone actually not managed to secure funding? If so, what did you do?

Reply 1

chazwomaq

Yup, I didn't get PhD funding after my Masters course. What did I do? Get a job in a pretty unrelated area, and apply again next year. I didn't get the funding. Next year, I applied for a couple of PhDs in other areas. Unsuccesful. Next year, I applied with a new supervisor and was successful. That was 8 years ago. Now I have completed my PhD and am working as a lecturer in my subject.

Moral of the story? If you don't succeed, be persistent. But have a plan B. Don't put all your eggs in one basket.

A good tip if you don't get PhD funding is to try and work as a research assistant in your vague area of interest. You will stay in touch with researchers, get to hear about opportunities, and maybe even publish some papers which will help future applications. The downside is these tend to be short-term contracts.

Reply 2

cambio wechsel

Original post by turkishdisco

I recognise that PhD scholarships are slim pickings, but has anyone actually not managed to secure funding? If so, what did you do?

I hate to have to say it but most people fail to secure funding, at least in the arts and social sciences. If there seem at universities to be more doctoral candidates who are funded than self-funding then that is because many of those who couldn't find funding as well couldn't or wouldn't self-fund and so are no longer there.

In the event that you cannot get funding but determine to go ahead anyway, the most commonly adopted strategy is to register as part-time and resolve to finish in the shortest time period formally allowed for part-time students, this typically no less than 4 years. For most then it's a case of scrabbling for the fees (loans from family are better than from the bank but not an option for everyone, the university might be able to offer some help) and juggling supporting themselves with working on the dissertation. You'll often overhear awfully good conversation among the staff behind the counter at Waterstone's, because this is their situation. In the later stages of the dissertation life might become easier as the university perhaps offers work which pays better than would other part time jobs and even has a career-directed usefulness (this latter truer of leading seminars than of invigilating exams).

These are the hard-yards, yes, and I hope you won't have to put them in.

Reply 3

Klix88

I didn't get funding but I still had some savings left after my Masters. I started my MPhil as self-funding full-time last January, with encouragement to apply for funding during my first year to get the next two years' funding. Sadly this have proved impossible. The new strategy document for my principle funding body has changed their project criteria and mine no longer meets two of their five core objectives. The staff who were keen to support my funding applications, had few ideas about alternatives and despite their efforts, have been unable to help. My own efforts to find other sources of funding have proved fruitless. Even 'Bank of Mum & Dad' took one look at the potential bill and suggested that it was time I stopped messing about being a student and went back to work (it was a bit cheeky of me to ask anyway, but I was desperate by that point)!

At the moment, my plan is to (hopefully) pass my Transfer in Jan 14 and complete the academic year as full-time. I'll then go part-time from Sep 14 in the hope that I can find some kind of work to prop me up until I complete (then due Jan 17). My savings are due to run out in Jan 15 at the end of my second year. If I haven't cobbled together some source of income by then - I'll have to give up. At least I can say I've given it my best shot, and I'll have had an extra two years involved in my field, that I wouldn't have had otherwise.

As a cautionary tale, one of my Masters colleagues had a seemingly bullet-proof funding application. Top notch references from a couple of acknowledged experts in our field, and unfunded places at four universities including Oxford. After two years of trying, she's been unable to secure funding in the UK.

Reply 4

turkishdisco

Thanks very much for your replies, everyone. Quite disheartening, but truthful. I think I'll try to get work as a research assistant if I can't secure funding.
Does anyone know what typically happens in this situation? I've seen some assistantship vacancies that mention the possibility of continuing onto a PhD at the end of the contract, for instance.

Reply 5

username474976

It's pretty daunting as a masters student when you are faced with these likely outcomes, but I guess if you don't try you are guaranteed not to get PhD funding. I am currently trying to juggle beginning a masters at a new university with creating a strong PhD proposal and emailing suitable supervisors and it is incredibly difficult and pressuring. I sort of feel that the masters is getting in the way and that I just want to begin the "real" research now. I have silly seminar presentations to prepare for taught modules whereas I would rather be focusing on my research... but of course you need to do very well on the masters to get funding so everything has to be taken seriously.

As above, all you can do is try your very best, possibly re-apply a certain number of times, possibly look into self-funding, or possibly even research independently.

Reply 6

Ellim

Original post by maskofsanity

possibly even research independently.

This is terrible advice. Sorry.

If you want an academic career you must do the PhD - pre-PhD independent research (and even, in a lot of cases, post-PhD independent research) is not regarded very highly, if at all.

As for the actual question: The vast majority of people, as has been said above, don't get funding (at least in arts). You might not know because (at least around my department/discipline) we don't really talk about who has funding.

I got some funding (but certainly not a lot) for my first year and so borrowed from my parents to pay my fees. I ended up securing a pretty lucrative scholarship for my second and third years, which might be an option for you to try (try everything - as said above, if you don't try then you won't get). There is also an 'alternative guide to funding' somewhere (I'm pretty sure you can just get it online) which has some good advice.

The other option is to take a year off, and really REALLY REALLY make sure you have the best chance of getting funding by getting a super-awesome proposal sorted out.

Good luck.

Reply 7

username474976

Original post by Ellim

First, no, you don't need a PhD to enter academia, but it certainly helps and it is the traditional route.

Second, it was not a suggestion for entering academia, it was a suggestion to write books independently if your interest in the subject is that strong but you cannot get funding, i.e. a last resort. Regardless, I find your claim hard to believe that an independently researched publication on a PhD application would not look better than no publications or very little.

Reply 8

Kitty Pimms

Original post by maskofsanity

First, no, you don't need a PhD to enter academia, but it certainly helps and it is the traditional route.

I don't know what the case is in your field, but in mine (social science), new entrants won't get a lectureship without a PhD (or one about to be completed). There might be very rare exceptions for those with government experience, but to be honest I can't think of any - those who made the leap into academia all had a PhD under their belt before they worked in government in the first place!

There are still a few older lectures knocking about who managed to get a job with an MA, but it's not the case nowadays.

(edited 10 years ago)

Reply 9

chazwomaq

Original post by maskofsanity

First, no, you don't need a PhD to enter academia, but it certainly helps and it is the traditional route.

In STEM subjects, you pretty much do.

Original post by turkishdisco

Not sure what you mean. If you get an RA job, you do the job until the contract is up. Sometimes the possibility of extending the contract comes up, or doing a funded PhD, in which case great. If not, you look for a new job / PhD bursary.

Another thing to mention - there is a massive oversupply of PhDs, again especially in the arts, but in science too. The vast majority of PhD students who complete their theses will not end up with academic jobs. That doesn't mean you shouldn't do one, but worth bearing in mind. A PhD is in no way a guarantee of an academic job. So you might want to keep that Plan B open for many years to come...

Reply 10

username474976

Original post by Kitty Pimms

I don't know what the case is in your field, but in mine, new entrants won't get a lectureship without a PhD (or one about to be completed). There might be very rare exceptions for those with government experience, but to be honest I can't think of any - those who made the leap into academia all had a PhD under their belt before they worked in government in the first place!

There are still a few older lectures knocking about who managed to get a job with an MA, but it's not the case nowadays.

I could name a number of people who either secured or were offered positions without a PhD, but like you say they are older. Still, I would bet that public intellectuals with celebrity-status could enter academia, e.g. Christopher Hitchens would certainly have been able to if he had wanted to.

Of course, this is wildly unrealistic and irrelevant to my original post as Ellim misinterpreted what I was saying.

Reply 11

katyness

Wow this thread really opened my eyes. I'm a second year student of Clinical Sciences and I was hoping to apply for funding to get a PhD in Clinical Biochemistry, I can't believe how hard it is.

Do any of you guys have any advice that you wish you were given?

Thanks

Reply 12

Kitty Pimms

Original post by katyness

STEM subjects have much less of a bum deal - you usually get accepted to a lab that already has funding for a PhD student, so you'll probably be fine.

Advice I wish I'd been given - maybe do a STEM undergrad degree? :tongue:

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Reply 13

chazwomaq

I think things are a bit better in the sciences, especially clinical sciences. But it's like applying for any job - the chances are you won't get it. So make multiple applications multiple times. I guess a PhD is a bit different because you want it to me YOUR project, so my advice would be to consider a wide range of PhDs topics from the start. I applied to PhDs looking at anthropology in rural Africa; Puzzle solving in apes; Tool use in birds; before eventually doing one on experimental psychology in humans.

My other advice is to make contacts. Quite often you hear about funding opportunities through the grapevine rather than the official channels. This is because of the way academic funding often works - people have an application in but they don't know the result yet. If they know you are interested in their subject, you may get an inside line on applying or becoming their next RA. So schmooze your lecturers, offer to volunteer as an assistant over the summer if you can, generally make a good impression.

Reply 14

katyness

Original post by Kitty Pimms

Posted from TSR Mobile

Original post by chazwomaq

Thank you. I talked to my tutor today and she said she might be able to get me some lab research experience over the summer. So that's a good step.

Reply 15

apotoftea

Original post by turkishdisco

I applied during my MA year, failed to get it so took a year out, went home, kept my uni job but with more hours, did a load of voluntary work and applied again where I failed again to get funding. PhD offers are not the issue, it's definitely getting the funding.

Tried a couple of other ideas job wise, applied for a huge amount of graduate based jobs, had interviews but had the usual 'over qualified/no experience'. My uni job turned into almost full time with more repsonsibility. I was about ready to quit when a studentship advert came up, I applied thinking 'won't get an interview' and I'm now in my second year :smile: