Overview of Juc on PostgraduateForum.com

J

Signup date: 03 Sep 2008 at 1:48pm

Last login: 18 Jun 2010 at 11:20pm

Post count: 68

Juc 68 posts
15 years ago

Quote From stressed:

I was told it was not so much how much do you want to do this, but more can you imagine living without having researched this - does that make sense?

Yes I am feeling dat. Like they say on X- Factor - I just don't want to do anything else. 8-)

J

Juc 68 posts
15 years ago

Quote From stressed:

although my supervisor was on the board he too could see that the AHRC would not be as happy with my proposal as the one that is far more their thing.

Ok but re AHRC how do I know what 'their thing' is for the proposal? Also did you get help and advice with your proposal or are you expected to do it on your own?

Of course I would rather not bother with the whole funding thing 8-) but in my case no funding = no PhD :-(

J

Juc 68 posts
15 years ago

This table is helpful for York but this is the first website I have seen as clear as this...

http://www.york.ac.uk/graduatestudy/finance/ahrc.htm#awards

J

Juc 68 posts
15 years ago

======= Date Modified 29 Sep 2009 20:15:42 =======
Looking at the Glasgow website it seems that a uni applies to the AHRC for funding in specific subjects, in which case it seems that the AHRC approves or rejects the uni's application for a specific subject.

http://www.gla.ac.uk/faculties/arts/graduateschool/funding/postgraduatestudentships/

Postgraduate Studentship Information

The University of Glasgow will be offering postgraduate studentships in a wide range of subjects in the Arts and Humanities for studies at Masters and Doctoral level commencing in October 2009...

We have submitted a proposal for a significant number of AHRC awards to be made through the new Block Grant Partnership scheme, and the results of this proposal will be announced in February. We have proposed awards at both Masters and Doctoral level in the following sixteen areas within the AHRC subject domain.

* Archaeology
* Celtic Studies
* Classics and Ancient History
* Creative Writing
* Cultural Studies (including Human and Cultural Geography, and subjects in Law, Social Science and Education which fall within the AHRC subject domain)
* Dance, Drama and Performing Arts
* English Language and Literature (including Scottish Literature; some topics in English Language and Linguistics also eligible for ESRC studentships)
* European Language and Culture (including German, Hispanic, Italian, Russian, Polish, Czech)
* Film Studies and Television Studies
* French Language and Culture
* History (some topics in Economic and Social History also eligible for ESRC studentships)
* History of Art, Architecture and Design
* Librarianship, Archives, Record Management and Information Science
* Music
* Philosophy
* Religious Studies

J

Juc 68 posts
15 years ago

Quote From stressed:

then there was a big meeting where the funded proposals were chosen - there was only 1 PhD for all of the arts and humanities

Holy moly that is crazy, I am guessing your uni is not big on arts and humanities. :-(

. I heard that mine was in the last two but was slightly too quantitative in research methods and so the grant was given to the other student - life sucks sometimes ;-)

Boy that sucks! When you wrote your proposal did they first tell you what they were looking for and did a staff-member ok for it you to submit or are you just supposed to guess stuff like how quantitative they want it?

Thanx

J

Juc 68 posts
15 years ago

I think I need a PhD just to understand the AHRC website :-s

Anyway I am just wondering - when a uni receives a block grant, is it the uni or the AHRC who decides on which courses the grant is allocated ie do the AHRC say to the uni here is some money do whatever you like with it or do they say here is some money for an MA in X, a PhD in Y etc?

This list of which unis receive BGP...

http://www.ahrc.ac.uk/FundingOpportunities/Documents/BGP%20List%20of%20Awards.pdf

... is close to useless because what I need to know is which uni has a studentship (and preferably how many) for a PhD in my subject starting next year. Can I find this info anywhere or do I need to trawl through the website of every uni in the country?
:-(

J

Juc 68 posts
15 years ago

======= Date Modified 29 Sep 2009 16:34:48 =======

Quote From jk:

2) I applied quiet late, around January/February time I think.

Holy Moly is January considered late?? Anyway it seems that a response to your app to do the PhD comes first and then the response to any app for funding comes later.

J

Juc 68 posts
15 years ago

======= Date Modified 29 Sep 2009 14:53:42 =======
You can attach at least 20 MB if sender and receiver both use Googlemail. Otherwise something like this...
http://free.mailbigfile.com/index.php?referer=www

J

Juc 68 posts
15 years ago

======= Date Modified 29 Sep 2009 12:28:09 =======
Dear Orainn,

You don't say if you have an MA / Msc or whatever it is called in maths, which I imagine would make a big difference to your situation.

As for time of year, as I understand it, deadlines for applications for funding are around April / May, and in this old thread re AHRC people are still waiting for responses in late August.
:-(
http://www.postgraduateforum.com/threadViewer.aspx?TID=10046

J

Juc 68 posts
15 years ago

Thanks for replies. Does this make any difference - suppose a person is doing is MA but before completing it he upgrades it to a PhD, so the full-time year he has almost done for the MA becomes the first year of a PhD. Therefore he is not 'recycling' anything but in effect is going from undergrad to PhD, bypassing MA. So the question becomes does a UK university ever accept people for PhD without an MA? Would this be at the discretion of the university or is there some rule that an MA is mandatory for those applying for PhD? I am not sure if this is the same thing but I know that a university has discretion to waive A-level requirements for someone applying for an undergraduate degree.

J

Juc 68 posts
15 years ago

Dear all,

I think a humanities PhD in the UK generally takes three years full time, but I heard someone saying that they were hoping that their MA work would count towards their PhD ie that their PhD research would be a continuation and expansion of their MA dissertation, so that their PhD would take only two years rather than three. Does this sound right, does this happen often / occasionally / never?

J

Juc 68 posts
15 years ago

======= Date Modified 23 26 2009 22:26:08 =======
Dear all,

Does anyone understand the significance in the changes this year re AHRC funding? Is it good or bad news for someone hoping to get funding for a humanities PhD?

http://www.ahrc.ac.uk/FundingOpportunities/Pages/StudentshipCompetition.aspx

J

Juc 68 posts
16 years ago

Quote From missspacey:

Translating and analysing is a proper work of scholarship - but I don't think it would count as the standard necessary for a PhD. You seem to equate a PhD with 'argument', but it's not that simple:

For a PhD, you need to a 'distinct contribution to the knowledge of the field' and 'afford evidence of originality' by 'the discovery of new facts and/or by the exercise of independent critical power'....

I understand the need for the three things above...

Quote From missspacey:

'be an integrated whole and present a coherent argument'.
[London University Regulations]

So...argument is essential...

I also see that it should be an integrated whole and should be coherent, but I don't see why all the above adds up to argument being essential. It seems to me that it can be artificial to have to find something to argue about. I agree that many or all universities require an argument but I don't understand why argument is considered so important / valued so highly. :-(

J

Juc 68 posts
16 years ago

======= Date Modified 05 Sep 2008 21:06:45 =======

Quote From missspacey:

I think in the sciences you're more likely to be able to present a PhD as an analysis, but for arts/humanities there must be a clear heuristic or deductive reasoning that seeks to answer a hypothesis.

Is the method of argument considered to be inherently superior to that of analysis? For example, suppose that someone were to translate a previously untranslated scripture and analyse its contents - is this not a proper work of scholarship? Would it not a qualify as a PhD because its author fails to find something to argue about? What need or point is there for argument in such a project? It seems to me that argument is a method which is appropriate in some cases but not in others and so I don't understand why finding something to argue about should be considered essential. :-(

thanx

J

Juc 68 posts
16 years ago

======= Date Modified 03 Sep 2008 23:08:58 =======

Quote From missspacey:

I mean that the analysis in a PhD is okay as long as it has a purpose in providing evidence for your argument/thesis. I have lots of analysis in my thesis for the purpose of drawing conclusions that provide evidence for my overrall argument.

OK sorry for confusion - I would expect any PhD to include some analysis so I am not asking can a PhD include analysis, rather I am asking can analysis be an alternative framework / method to that of argument. In the argument framework I am taking a particular position and then trying to prove that whereas with the analysis method I am not taking any particular position. I think these are two alternative approaches for an MA so I was wondering if analysis (taking no position) is an option for a UK RS / Humanities PhD.The two abstract examples I gave don't seem to suggest any argument at all ie they seem to promise an analysis of their subject without taking any position:

"this investigation attempts to understand the ways that films about Jesus aid in spreading the message of the Gospel."

"This dissertation examines the place of Immanuel Kant in the works of Jacques Derrida."

I can't see any position to be defended or argued here.

thanx

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