Why in that case did you agree to what he wanted if you only wanted to do Masters in the first place? Under those circumstances, I'd have looked for a different Masters and not agree to a combined program I didn't want to do.

You need to talk to him diplomatically about future plans, possibly citing those personal reasons (not wanting to put marriage or kids on hold - partner is wanting to start a family, relatives that are ill, financial, wanting to retrun to work in your home country / area, etc.). You need to make it clear you only wanted to do Masters in the first place and also currently you are only enrolled as such. You have not signed on the dotted line to do PhD yet.

Tell him also that after doing the Masters, you realise that PhD is not for you. The Masters has helped you see that you do not want to follow an academic or research career. You can say that you feel a career path outside academia is more suitable for you, that you are ready for a change and you want to work in an environment where you want to see the results and goals of your work realised in the short term. You do not want to have to wait several years before your labours come to fruition.

You yourself know the situation better than anyone and therefore you know better what you need to say to him. I hope the above helps bring you clarity in that respect. Also, what is the point of starting down a path that may take a number of years if you know you are going to be unhappy doing it. A PhD is hard enough as it and you have to want to do it for the right reasons (the chance to do an original project, adding something new to you chosen field of study), not to just make someone else happy.

Ian (mackem_Beefy)

I'll add if you'd been within about 6 months of the end, my answer would have been different and I'd have suggested you see it through. But 15 months in with 21 months or more to go is a long way to go, to tolerate a situation where you felt you needed to seek counsellor guidance.

Ian (Mackem_Beefy)

Can you write up your current results an bail with an MPhil? At least you'll have something to how for your time to date.

I know what Angelette and Dr. Jeckyll are saying, however, I'm going to disagree with them. I know from my second post-doc that if you are miserable in a given position, all you want to do is get out. Like you, the gentleman who was in charge was outwardly charming, however, once employed I found him to be overcontrolling and yes, egotistical when I think back now. There's more, but I don;t want to be boring about it.

I tried to quit halfway through the post-doc, however, I was remined I would not be entitled to unemployment benefit if I quit and I was forced to see it out. I literally counted the days until my contract expired.

I note you mention a counsellor and if the situation has got so bad you need to see one, then perhaps the best thing to do is withdraw (use the 'family problems' excuse). A PhD is a challenge in itself without poor relations with the supervisor making it harder. It is not worth your mental health.


Ian (Mackem_Beefy)

Congratulations Dr. Pineapple!!!

Now you have nailed down your PhD, more opportunities will come your way!!!

Ian (Mackem_Beefy)

'An' is used before a word starting in a vowel or certain word beginning with "H". For example, it used to be "an hotel", however, "an" before an "h" does seem to be falling out of use.

'A' is used otherwise.

Your example sounds more correct because when you are pronouncing the "m", you are effectively inserting an "e" before it. Technically, "a" is right as "m" is a consonant. However, no-one is going to complain if you say an "m".

Ian (Mackem_Beefy)

You sometimes put other people's names in as a courtesy. Names are included for a variety of reasons.

For example, I was expected to put my second supervisor's name in as an author on some earlier papers even though he made no contribution as he filled in the grant application for my PhD. As with you, I thought a place in the acknowledgements was more appropriate. However, key financial contributor personnel are added as authors as standard.

For a later book chapter, I wanted to add the names of my two predecessors alongside mine on the project we'd worked on as we'd done the vast majority of the work for it, giving us our respective PhDs. Whilst they didn't contribute directly to the book chapter, there wouldn't have been a project without them. My primary supervisor and a further post-doc had been minor but significant (co-ordinating) contributors to the book chapter, so rightly they were listed.

In the end, I was only able to add the name of my first predecessor - he actually sent his raw data so strengthend his case for inclusion and his actions helped save the book chapter (without my recall and literally writing most of it - and I made sure I was 1st author - and his sending of data, the deadline could not have been met my supervisor and the other other post-doc had taken on too much). My former supervisor in return asked for someone else to be added who'd provided data for the overall project and that was fair enough too.

My second predecessor expressly wanted nothing whatsoever to do with the book chapter, even though I believed he deserved his name there as a co-author and his name was left out.

Translated, comply with the wishes of those concerned as you never know when you will need them again. It makes for a quiet life as you push onwards through your PhD. You often have to play the politics to give yourself the smoothest ride.

Ian (Mackem_Beefy)

Could you not arrange to drop off and pick up the copies on a Saturday via the weekend library desk duty staff?

The library doing the binding sounds a little like Newcastle Uni. and the Robinson Library. They may also accept the thesis and send the thesis back via stamped addressed envelope if you ask. If so, just don't mention Sunderland and the 3 - 0 defeat on April 14th. ;-)

Ian (Mackem_Beefy)

I did Masters years ago and not too long ago, PhD. Both were extremly tough and required a lot of work. No doubt there are complete geniuses out there who can put us all to shame and do both. There's no way I'd ever attempt this and do what you're doing. Why couldn't you have waited until the PhD was done before doing the MA?

I don't recommend you continue to do both as the workload you will be dealing with is beyond most people. As you're finding out, you've no time to finish your PhD. Both Masters and especially the latter stages of a PhD make massive demands on your time as I well know.

If you hadn't used up all your extensions, then I might have suggested this path if you're as determined as you seem. Suspend PhD, get the MA done, then come back to complete the PhD. You might try the ill health option to buy you time.

My advice is similar to your counsellor's. You need to drop one to be able to do the other. However, I'm not going to tell you which one to drop as there are arguments both ways. If the MA could lead more immediately to a job then you need to consider whether continuing the PhD is the right path, knowing in certain fields that jobs are like gold dust. However, you're on final draft of your thesis and close to the finish. Is suspending and probably restarting the MA once the PhD is over a possibility? The fact you've failed your first anatomy exam suggests to me the PhD is the more rescueable from your situation and perhaps restarting the MA after your PhD is the best choice.

You can't have your cake and eat it and you need to make a choice now if only for the sake of your own health. You could well walk away with nothing.

Ian (Mackem_Beefy)

Zheng,

In conjunction with my PhD supervisor and another colleague, we created a review from the literature reviews of mainly my thesis (the most up-to-date) and my two predecessors theses.

The review in our case was basically just an enhanced literature review of our field. Essentially, we took the three literature reviews, cut, paste, read through and edited them for new findings by ourselves, other researchers and groups to tie all the information together. Different areas of the review were covered by diffferent sections. We introduced a little new unpublished data of our own and a collaberating group whilst we were about it. It was time consuming (nine months part time), but not too difficult in our case to do. Others will have different experiences.

The one issue you do need to be sure about is permission of copyright owners to use graphs and data. This was discussed very extensively on here previously (see link at end - and there are different interpretations of the law on copyright - the UK is amongst the strictest).

If you copy large amounts of data then you need to seek permission of the copyright holders. However, if you are quoting information and data for the purposes of criticism and review (the odd quote or key equation here and there as per your thesis literature review) then as long as you refefence the copyright holder (as you do in your thesis via your bibliography) you should be okay. The odd diagram should be okay (no more than one from each reviewed paper or document) as long as the original author is acknowledged (again via your bibliography).

As we used large sections from my and both my predecessors theses and also a research group at another University, then I, my predecessors and a representative from the other University's research group had to sign permission forms. If in doubt about how much is too much, ask for written permission to play safe.

Send me a PM and I may be able to help you a little further.

Hope that helps,

Ian (Mackem_Beefy)

You might be asked to pay back the remaining money for the term or semester you quit during at worst. However, that depends in the wording of any agreement. I've not known a UK quitter have to pay money back and that includes the various UK research councils. If you call it a day and write up what you've got for MPhil, then at least the sponsors and University have some sort of return. Even without that, there's still the data you've produced that may still be of value to them so it's not a total loss.

I only know of one case where a foreign student overran (not his fault either) and thus breached the terms of his agreement with his sponsors. Although he eventually passed, because he did not complete within the specified time period (though within University regulations), he was dismissed from his job back home that was being held for him and it was made clear he'd be sued for the return of his fees and sponsorship if he returned to his home country. I believe the money the sponsor wanted to recover was both the international fees and his maintenance grant, equivalent to what was a reasonable wage in his home country.

The last I heard, he was looking for a job within the EU to avoid a very hefty financial sanction against him.

Ian (Mackem_Beefy)

Okay MeaningLife - my defence against those questions would have been as follows. ;-)

The potential difference had to be varied as although the base samples were metallic, sometimes metallic debris, sometimes oxide debris was generated during relative sample sliding previously during my test runs depending upon sliding environmental conditions (speed, temperature, load, etc.). It was this debris we needed to analyse. Variation was necessary to avoid overcharging (evident as a glowing effect) developing on the produced images on areas of high oxide (i.e. non-conducting). There was in effect a balancing act, between applying sufficient potential difference to produce a usable image and applying too much such that the glowing effect occurred.

This charging 'glowing' effect could have been overcome if I had 'gold or carbon' plated the samples. If I had plated the samples, however, I'd not have been able to conduct EDX or EDS (electron dispersive X-ray spectroscopy) on them. I'd have instead obtained the spectroscopic analysis for the plating layer. Plating to enhance imaging would also have meant further analysis would have been compromised - it was often necessary to return to previously analysed samples.. The samples had to potentially undergo further analysis, including X-Ray Diffraction and Cross Sectional EDX.

AFM (Atomic Force Microscopy) and STM (Scanning Tunnelling Microscopy - the latter preferable due to electrical conductance in the samples) was only just becoming readily available during my PhD and some samples were indeed characterised. Examples of STM on selected samples along with TEM (TEM turned out to be more useful) are presented and discussed at the end of both my results and discussion section. Through such techniques, we were able to determine that the grain sizes of the tribologially generated (due to sliding wear) oxides being produced was as little as 2 to 10 nm across. From this we were able to elucidate on the initial formation processes of the oxides generated during sliding, which turned out to be one of the original findings of the work conducted.

I've probably lost half the forum with the above!!! :-)

Ian (Mackem_Beefy)

I can't comment on the UK Border Agency requirement for proficiency in English, except to say I know they can decide even if someone's University education was in English then they can demand proficiency tests depending on where they've come from. Someone I know of educated in English failed the proficiency test by one mark and had to undergo extra English tuition before he was accepted onto a Masters.

As regards getting onto a PhD without Masters, it used to be a 2(i) was the necessary requirement for this. You needed a Masters if you were a 2(ii) if you then intended to do a PhD later. There's now a shift with increasing competition to needing a 1st to get straight onto a PhD (especially with funding) and anyone with a 2(i) needing Masters. Even with a 1st, a Masters is advantageous in many subjects. Relevant works experience can bolster your chances, however, and that was my route a few years ago (2(ii) plus Masters plus 5 years works experience got me onto a funded PhD). You could try to sell yourself on the point you missed out by the 0.02 you mentioned, however, your certificate says 2(i) and that is about the first thing people will see on your application - the 1st class people will stand out ahead of you. I would look at the 1 + 3 integrated models to be honest.

As Bewildered said, if you're outside the EU then funding from a UK or EU source is a lot harder to obtain unless you can fulfil specified residency criteria (three years within the EU or European Economic Area if not a refugee?). However, you may want to look at funding sources from your home country. As to how you'd go about finding out, I can't give you guidance. An example was the Thai government funded students on the condition they lectured in a Thai university on completion for I think five years (i.e. one way of transferring western expertise).

Ian (Mackem_Beefy)