Hello- Hope you are succesful with your applications; as far as I know, an MA means 'Master of Arts' (i.e. social sciences, arts etc.) and an MSC is a master of science (i.e. physics, etc) (at least I hope thats right!). An MA usually takes a year to complete full time or two years part time- it might be worth checking out the Guardian newspapers league tables on universities and specific subjects to see which is 'best', Aberystwyth, in South Wales, is pretty good though.

Hello- It used to be the case that three banks: the cooperative, royal bank of Scotland and Barclays offer career development loans. I had one with the Cooperative, though I think in terms of interest rates (around 12%) they are all fairly similar. My experience with the Coop has been okay, some problems, but that was mainly my fault for missing a repayment which, given the interest rates, are extortionate. But it was worth it to get my MA.

Hi again- thought you might have read that. I'm doing a thesis on something a bit different now, but good luck with yours- ni dieu, ni maitre and all that!

Yes- I think she wrote her thesis on Kropotkin and scientific anarchism. Best of luck with everything. I was thinking of doing my thesis on the Russian anarchists- Incidentally, and sorry if you've already read this, but have you had a look at Tolstoy's 'kingdom of god is within you'?- you probably already have, but I thought I'd mention it in case you haven't as it relates to what you want to write. Good luck.

Hi Gary- I hated writing my proposal- I think proposals usually include an overview of your subject and why you think it is significant and needs further research. A methodology section and the relationship of your topic to existing literature, as well as maybe a section on aims if you can fit it in....Have you contacted Loughborough or York with your topic?- There is an expert on Kropotkin in Loughborough, and York have a really good political philosophy department. York also has quite a good guide for writing proposals...

Thanks for the comments both of you- really cheered me up. It's not something I find easy to talk about and I definitely dont want people to think I'm a complete whinger, but its just good to get some perspective on things which I am probably blowing out of all proportion and stressing too much over. Really appreciate it..

Hello everyone- I should start by saying this isnt a generalised moan, but I do need some advice. I've suffered with severe anxiety and depression for a lot of years (which has/is being treated). This, naturally, has really gone through the roof since I started my PhD and its made things, particularly socialising, very difficult. However, I have met up with other PhD students to go out at night and I've been to other social events as well (which, for me, is a big achievement)- problem is, there has been a lot of others which I just havent felt able to go to. I'm basically just wondering if I should feel as awful as I do about this or whether I should be pleased that I've been able to do what I have- I do seem to get on with everyone I've met doing a PhD, but I worry that they will think I'm arrogant or unwilling to get to know them better, when thats not really the truth. Anyone any thoughts or advice?

I agree with DanB- what you are doing is right; though I expect it is extremely stressful and soul destroying, all PhD students should appreciate that there are people like you who are prepared to stand up for your/our rights- you deserve a medal! (And, of course, a decent PhD place at a decent university with a less psychotic supervisor!) Good luck.

Hello Ophiucus,
really sorry and sad to hear about your situation- particularly as you obviously want to do a PhD so much and are trying to overcome what sounds to be completely awful treatment by your uni- your attitude sounds quite admirable, to be honest; I think I'd collapse in self-pity if something similar happened to me!

For what its worth, I think any potential supervisor, simply as a human being, should understand that students and supervisors do not always 'click' and that this is not a reflection on you or your abilities. I really hope that you can find somewhere which treats you a whole lot better than you have been.

Hi again Dee; I'm not too familiar with the research grant linked studentship but after reading the section on the website I think to apply your supervisor must firstly be a recipient of an esrc research grant (not including small grants or post-doc) for a project they are undertaking. They (I think) then decide that they would like a PhD student working with them as part of their research team and then contact the esrc for the studentship. If you do know of a supervisor who is undertaking a large piece of esrc funded research and he/she wants you to go down this route I don't think (though you never know with the esrc!) that this would have any bearing on your open and/or quota applications.
Hope I havent completely misunderstood the website!

Hi Dee; Is the 'research grant' offered by the ESRC, the EPSR or the university? Is it something to do with the +3 studentship program or is it different?

It might be best to ask at the department and university where you want to study..

Hi Dee- as far as last year was concerned you can either be nominated for the quota award or be put forward for the open competition but not both. However, I think in most universities if you are put foward for the open comp you can still also apply for the university/endowed scholarships. There are differences between all of these in terms of the total amount you receive and the specific terms and conditions (endowed are sometimes slightly less, quota, open and university scholarships usually around 12K). And there are also fees only awards (both esrc and university awards); but I think in terms of extra research costs etc the awards vary from award to award. Might be worth checking the FAQ's on the esrc.ac.uk website, particularly the section on postgrad awards though it's a bit of a pain to navigate!

Hi Dee-

It's a real minefield and this is purely from my experience of the ESRC last year; the ESRC runs two types of award (generally, there are others..) the quota and the open competition. Quotas are allocated directly to university departments by the ESRC and the departments then nominate students to receive these- they are usually in a specific subject area which the ESRC chooses to prioritise. The number of awards depends on how many the ESRC chooses to allocate to a given university/department in that year. However, the ESRC also runs an open competition and university departments put forward candidates for this. It is run nationally, is extremely competitive and there are now (at least for last year) far less awards awarded in this way (about 100 over all ESRC disciplines).

There are also university research scholarships which are often funded by the university itself, and sometimes endowed scholarships which come from specific departments. I hope that helps;

Hi Fabry!- apologies for slightly misunderstanding your question; as Ann says all I meant was that PhD students don't receive a 'salary' as a rule.

From experience funding is fairly complicated for UK students- there are research councils that provide funding, universities that have their own funding competitions and even separate funding competitions in university departments.
I hope it is less complicated for overseas students and good luck!

Hi Fabry- as a rule PhD students don't 'earn' anything; if you are accepted as a student you will have to pay fees and provide for your own maintenance/living costs etc.

However, if you are lucky enough to be awarded funding or a scholarship then you will receive some contribution either to fees, maintenance or both. Needless to say this varies depending upon your status (home/overseas student) and between universities and subjects- all of which often have different funding competitions and rules. I think your best bet would be to contact the department and potential supervisor where you would like to study and they should be able advise you from there.... Hope that helps..