Search this site - . Also see our Funding and PhDs Explained sections for further links and information.

If your skill are applicable to work being carried out in physics departments then there is no reason why you cannot be employed in such a department.

See our Funding and PhDs Explained sections for links and information.

A few things to clear up here

To Matt: In rare cases people who are not considered good enough to receive a PhD are awarded an MPhil. This is the only occasion where your statement comes close to the truth. Most Masters courses have nothing to do with doing a PhD. A PhD is a training for being a researcher. In many subject areas where competition for places is high an MA or equivalent is required for entry as a PhD student.

To Sue: As sweetchic points out, outside of the sciences it is less common to start a PhD without a masters degree. Applications from overseas students to study a PhD in the UK usually require a masters degree.

To Amanda: Congratulations on the PhD offer. The fact that you are currently doing a Masters degree and references from your tutors will have helped get you the post as well as the examples you cite.

To Sweetchic: Pass or Distinction is usually all people will ever read. A distinction is usually 70% or above, a pass is usually 50-69%. You need to do consistently well to get a distinction (most scores over 65%). A distinction (or the prediction of one if you apply before you finish) will help you get accepted for a place and will probably help your funding application. It all depends on supply and demand - this varies from subject to subject. You should talk to your tutors about what you need to achieve to move on to a PhD in your area of interest. Good references are also important - performing well in your dissertation is usually the most important thing for these.

Dear Alison

If you want to send your template to FindAPhD we can make it available on the site.

Glad to hear of your success. Applying for a PhD is a mystery to most people, if you'd like to write about your experiences, we'd love to put them on FindAPhD.

We're after interesting, informative and/or humorous pieces of between 250 and 1000 words. There's a £15 Amazon voucher for any that we publish on the site and a £50 Amazon voucher for the best one. All the decisions are down to us and our decision will be final. Articles must be all you own work and must not be published elsewhere.

Please send your articles to [email protected] before Friday 20th May.

First search FindAPhD for projects which interest you. Send your CV or ask for further details when you find something you are interested in. Full funding (fees and living costs) is not usually available for students from outside the UK. However EU students will qualify for 'fees only' awards for most grants. If you are willing to fund your own living costs then you should mention this when applying.

See our Funding and PhDs Explained sections for links and information.

Full support for both tuition fees and living costs is very hard to obtain for students from outside the UK. See our Funding and PhDs Explained sections for links and information.

I'm afraid we're not sure whether you will qualify. You can pay the National Recognition Information Centre to let you know if your qualifications are equivalent to a UK 2(i) Bachelors Degree (the standard you need to have attained). Try contacting the university you are interested in first and ask the to assess your qualifications (they will do it for free).

A DSc (Doctor of Science) or a DLitt (Doctor of Literature) and a number of other such doctorates are all Honary Degrees. They are awarded at the discretion of a university. Usually to academics within a university or previous graduates they represent an acknowledgement of an outstanding contribution of that person to his or her field. Except for celebrity awards, given for PR purposes, they are usually only given to people who already hold a PhD (or DPhil!!).

Most academics will write a reference once and then send the same thing out every time. Don't worry about them being asked for too many.

Small Black Flower, these are questions with long answers. See our Funding and PhDs Explained sections for links and information. PhDs in the UK are like full time jobs, with little or no taught courses as in Holland. Unlike in Holland they only take 3-4 years. Tuition fees included, means that the fee that the university charges will be paid for you.

If you're doing a PhD in the Netherlands you may want to write a little about your experiences for our new PhD life section which will be on line next month. See this thread for details.

Sorry Dr Khan - this site isn't for selling cars so I've had to remove your email address - good luck with the sale.

Use the internet to identify academics who are interested in this theory. You will not be able to gain a PhD from work you have already finished (a PhD must be undertaken with the supervision of an academic from the university from which the PhD is to be rewarded.

Look again at that message - written by one "Ms D Meanour" (say it quickly) the implication was they might offend the Oxford Dons if they called the degree by the wrong name.

This is the problem with a forum for PhD students it tends to attract more than its fair share of pedantic and sarcastic answers (no offence Ms D Meanour).