What is your subject area Roberto? That might help people give better advice. As far as I know there isn't any general comparison thing across all disciplines/countries like you're looking for.

There are some lists of the "best" universities out there, for example like the one compiled by the Times and others, but that's across the board, not for specific disciplines.

I won't be watching it. I'm not a football fan, and I'm not in England, so not caught up in the whole thing, and trying to stay out of it. I'm much more looking forward to Wimbledon at the end of the month.

I found the last month really stressful, and I was up against an absolute uni deadline, barring getting an official extension. What got me through was thinking this will soon be over, if I can just get through the next few weeks. Work steadily, allow yourself breaks as you need it, and think positive.

Good luck!

Excellent! Huge congrats! Welcome to the Dr world :)

Based on what I've read in the past, and the experience of people I know, I think your reaction is very understandable. But people can get through this, and have a successful outcome.

As DanB said you should seek urgent clarification, but I'd also recommend you give yourself time to accept what's going on. Maybe chatting to a university counsellor would help with the emotional side?

You won't get the examiners' report for a little while anyway, so wouldn't be able to start on the requested changes until then. So allow yourself some breathing space.

And try to keep hopeful if you can. It's disappointing, but isn't the end of the road.

Sorry for the confusion. But I think you need to email your supervisor to clarify things.

At my university what you describe sounds like a referral/resubmission, where a student is given up to a year to fix problems, then has to resubmit, though may not need a second viva.

So it's not a pass, but a second chance. That might be what happened to you, but your university could have a different system, so you really need to talk to your supervisor.

On the plus side people can get through this process. One person on this forum recently did, and I know two people in my department who did too. It is sort of like a pass subject to corrections in that you're given a list of the short-falls, and basically if you do them you should come out with a PhD. But the corrections are more substantial than a pass with corrections, if that makes sense.

But speak to your supervisor about this properly. Arrange a meeting ASAP. Or even email.

Good luck!

Congrats Squiggles and Yellowtreble.

Good luck tomorrow, MumPhDStudent!

After I left the full-time computing PhD I studied history and classical studies with the OU. I didn't go for a named degree, but picked and chose courses that I was interested in. And that led onto a local Masters, and the subsequent second go at a PhD, history this time. The OU degree was very well regarded by the various universities and funding bodies.

I've signed up for another OU (undergraduate) course next year. Maybe one day I might do a classical studies Masters. But never another PhD again.

I applied further back in time, in 2004, and the odds for the open AHRC competition then were 1 in 5. I was extremely lucky to win funding. I had a distinction in my Masters (which I self-funded), and had already started the first year of my part-time PhD, and had Research Assistant experience. All of these made me look like a very strong candidate even though I'd left an EPSRC-funded full-time computer science PhD 8 years earlier.

I know lots of people who self-fund all the way through: it's very common in my department for people to do part-time PhDs, and very very few people have any sort of funding. And they can be successful. But it's aiming to complete for a whole different set of reasons (few of them going into academia for example), it's extremely hard to do, and is obviously expensive. So needs to be weighed up carefully.

Well I started two PhDs, but only finished the second one. So I have some experience of this, though not quite in the way you're asking. I did find it easier the second time (apart from the health problems): I knew better what to expect, and how to make the most of opportunities.

But I don't think having finished one I'd have another go now. I've had enough!

RELAX :)

Ok no you're not expected to memorise your thesis.

You can consult it during the viva (make sure you take it wih you on the day).

And no you don't have to remember the references. Actually I wasn't asked about any of mine ...

I felt like a bit of a fraud in my PhD, doubting myself constantly, right up until shortly before I submitted! And that was a very long time because I was a part-time/half-time student, so 6 years of feeling like that. Just keep going. Have faith you'll get there. And good luck!