Thanks for your replies, Marasp and Lemonjuice.

The paper is not from my thesis. It focuses on another topic I am interested in.

Hi guys,

I am in the middle of writing a journal paper. It is my first attempt. I have almost completed the data analysis and will start the write up very soon. I did not consult my supervisor before I worked on the paper because (I think) she is not familiar with the topic of my paper. Although I am not sure if my paper can be published, I still want to try in order to improve my CV.

But do you think that I should let my supervisor or other professors who are familiar with the topic have a look at the paper after I have finished it? Do you also think that I should choose a high-ranking journal to get the paper published? Once my paper is rejected, I can go for another journal (maybe a low-ranking one).

Thank you for your help.

Tung

Hi guys,

I have a question about how to call the people in my department. As you know, academics have their own academic ranks (from Assistant Professor to Professor). If an academic is at the rank of Assistant Professor, would you call him/her 'Professor X' or 'Dr. X'?

I usually call an academic Professor if he/she is at the rank of Professor. For Associate Professor and Assistant Professor, I call them 'Dr. X'. Is that right?

I would like to seek your views on this matter. Thanks.

Hi Alex,

It's very hard to tell. Whether you can be admitted into a PhD program depends upon many factors (e.g. research experience, applicants' education qualifications, potential supervisor's interest and experience,etc ). Of course, a good academic performance and good proposal are also the major factors.


For PhD funding, the competition is so keen among applicants from all over the world who have similar or better education backgrounds and qualifications than you do. I don't know where you are based. From my observation, it's difficult for international students to get funding as compared to EU (local) ones.

My advice to you is that you can first look for a potential supervisor whose research interests are similar to yours. Then you can contact him/her to discuss your proposed research topic and ask if he/she will be interested in it and will be willing to supervise your project. If your potential supervisor says 'yes', then you will have a higher chance of being admitted. (This is just my experience and observation!!!) Be reminded that there are many other factors. But you had better check out the websites of the universities that you plan to apply to. Different universities have different requirements. For example, some need applicants to look for supervisors themselves before submitting applications and some do not.

Good luck!
Tung

Congrats! Your new job is way better than your current job. At least you will work in a university, making you closer to academia. I agree with kikothedog. Your boss will not care.

Saadi,

Sorry! I wish I could help. It is not in my field. But I think you can get some journal articles to read or look at what topics professors in your department have been working on. This helps you get some ideas for your thesis.

Are you planning to do your MA in other Asian regions like Singapore, Taiwan or Hong Kong? If you prefer the UK, I would recommend Lancaster University. Check out its website for details.

Congrats, Vilhelm. You got one offer in your hands.

I think you should think twice before you make a final decision. You had better double-check with your second university whether you can really upgrade yourself for the PhD candidature after the first or second year of your MRes and under what circumstances can you do so? Is it difficult and competitive?

You mentioned that the second university is leading the field in your discipline with a large center of different research groups. What about your supervisor of the first university and the first university itself? Is it as prestigious as your second university? Is the supervisor as famous and experienced as your potential one of the second university?

I personally think that a distinguished supervisor is more important than a prestigious university (not the top 5 or 10, I mean) because some renowned scholars are not working in famous universities like Cambridge, Oxford, Imperial College London, etc. I do not know which field you are in. But this is the case in my field. If you have a distinguished supervisor, why not do your PhD with him/her?

Of course, doing an MRes will not put you at a disadvantage on your CV because taught and research master programs are totally different things. Unlike taught masters, MRes gives you more substantial research training or even teaching experience, which is useful for novice researchers to prepare themselves to conduct large-scale, independent and high quality research like most scholars do. But you will most likely need to spend another one to two years (I don't know how long your MRes is!!!) before you start to do a PhD. Is it worthwhile to do so? (because you have a funded PhD offer now!!!).

I hope my info helps.

I am INTJ. I think all those types are applicable to academics in different disciplines.

Do you usually talk to your supervisor before you start your research and publish it?

I am planning to conduct small-scale research and then submit it to a local academic journal or give it in a conference.

Thank you, BilboBaggins.

Sorry to hear that, Bioinformatics 1.

To whom did you make your complaint? Department Head or Research Program Leader? What did they say to you? Also did you talk to your supervisor? any advice from him/her? I think It is your supervisor's responsibility to help you out with all the problems. If you did and no further action was taken, then you could talk to the Head of the Graduate School to seek advice.

What types of skills do you want to improve on? I think your university should provide some different research courses for students like you. Check out the website of the Graduate School. I think you are not allowed to take any courses at other universities because you are not studying there. You can do so unless you apply for 'visiting scholar/student' to them. You can check their websites for further details.

If the situation keeps going worse, the only thing you could do is to leave and continue your PhD study in another university. But this is your last resort!

There should be someone facing the same problem as yours and they could give you more useful advice.

Hope it helps. Good Luck!

Thank you all for your replies. The books seem very useful to me. I will go back to my university library to borrow them after work today. haha!

To make my CV look better, I am thinking about submitting a paper to a local academic journal. Perhaps it is easier for me to publish it in a local academic journal than an international one. Also, co-authorship is common in academia. Should I work on a paper with my supervisor or other academics ? Would there be a higher chance of the paper being published in an international academic journal?

I am not so sure about the difference between peer-reviewed journals and academic journals. Which one counts more?

Thank you for your reply, Timmy. I will try and hope I can make it. Thanks!

Hi Dolly,

I think there are no quick-fix tips. Generally, good performance comes with hard work. It does depend on how much time you are willing to spend on your studies. But I think I can give you some general advice as follows:

1) Understand what assessments you are going to do and how you are going to be assessed in the program;
2) Do more than what is required in the assessments (e.g. essays and presentations).
3) Think and research deeply before you do the assessments
4) Proofread and revise carefully after you have done the assessments

It is true that getting funding is not easy. But I am sure that you will come close to your goal if you can get a distinction.

Hope it helps!