When you start a thread and someone replies an additional box next to 'quote' and 'pm user' appears saying 'helpful poster' (or something similar). I always click on everyone's helpful button!

(I do think anyone who has submitted their thesis should get a discretionary star!).

1) Do you think I will be thrown out?

It all depends what you actually mean by fighting and 'minor pushing' (who was doing the pushing?). If the other guy has formally accused you of assault then it's quite possible you will be thrown out. The question arises as to why you didn't walk away from the fight and/or why you haven't formally complained about his behaviour...

2) How possible is this in general?

I've heard of UG's being 'asked to leave' due to bullying and/or involvement in a drunken brawls, but never a postgrad. As H.E. is very litigious now, they'd need witnesses etc. to throw you out on such a basis. On the other hand, many universities have a zero-tolerance approach on such matters. If this was to happen, you'd probably know about it by now.

3) Has this ruined his impression of me and therefore the phd even if i dont get thrown out?

In all honesty, it doesn't look good. Take heed of your supervisors suggestions and keep a low profile. It might be fruitful to tell your sup your side of the story in full (and in writing) and also attend a psychobabble course on conflict resolution.

I would say go for the an examiner that your supervisors know personally and/or have a good record of passing students, i.e., don't go for someone they haven't used before, or are unaware how they'll perform in the exam. This is definitely the biggest recipe for disaster.

Go for the most senior examiner (they will be in the room to examine you, and not to perform or look clever in front of the internal examiner). They are likely to be a little more forgiving (I was told this in a viva course).

I'll lose my feminist membership for saying this but....choose a man. In my limited experience, I find women are more inclined to rip into someone (based on academic interviews and upgrades I've witnessed). Obviously, this is a personal preference, and one can't generalise. May be I've just been unfortunate enough to meet more than my fair share of not-so-nice women.

Quoting an examiner in your thesis is not a big issue as long as you know their work and you haven't criticised it.

Don't pick an examiner who is from a much higher or much lower ranked university than your own. Some academics have snobbery or inverted snobbery issues, and you don't want that to be a factor when they judge your work.

You should be guided heavily by your supervisors opinions, because they ultimately want you to pass, and will hopefully be directing you towards the best examiners for that eventuality.

All I can add is: treat academia like the acting profession, there will be lots and lots of rejections and they're not to be taken personally.

Thanks for the replies guys.

@Apple & Alice: you've both made me more tempted to use LaTeX. I really like the finished product - it looks similar to a good published textbook finish. My problem is whether I can get to grips with it in super-quick time. Thanks so much for the info.!

@H: well I'm basically the same as you. I haven't managed to change my heading settings to get the content page to work...grrrrr. I purchased Word 2007 (as part of the student Ultimate Steal promotion) and now regret not sticking with the older software. When I convert the document to PDF it looks okay, but it still lacks that professional touch.

@Heifer: eww, Century Gothic is not easy on the reader (I could foresee that annoying an examiner). I'm lucky that the university has absolutely not style rules (apart from margins), so I pretty much do what I want with the text.

I found this software for converting Word to LaTeX (for anyone brave enough to make the switch):
http://www.grindeq.com/word2latex.htm

Here is the LaTex PhD template:

http://openwetware.org/wiki/LaTeX_template_for_PhD_thesis

I'm in the throws of finishing my PhD. My work is mainly text with the odd table, and a very large table in the appendices.

Currently, I'm using Word 2007, but I'm not very happy with the presentation. The tables don't look very good, and I haven't used the automated heading system, so it won't create a nice content page for me.

My question is: can anyone recommend a good PhD template for MS Word, or a good style to follow? Currently, I'm using Times Roman, 12 pt, 1.5 spacing, and my own headings and sub-headings. I'm not sure if I'm just being fussy, but it doesn't look very professional.

Equally, should I change to LaTex if I want a very nice finish to my text? The LaTex PhD template looks very nice, but I've never used this software...would it be very time consuming to learn the system at such a late stage?

======= Date Modified 10 Dec 2008 06:57:27 =======
Interesting up date on this issue from THES:

http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=26&storycode=404586&c=2

(Oxford is consulting on whether they should award three different professor ranks or offer all permanent dons the title of Professor).

I agree with you Rubyw, with respect to distinguishing between 'the researcher' and 'the teacher'. I know some universities have started doing this by giving a 'teaching fellow' title rather than 'lecturer' status, but I have noticed the salaries are generally no different. Unfortunately, they haven't extended this practice to the so-called 'visiting professors' who have absolutely no research backgrounds (e.g. Kevin Spacey).

...but I do think a title or name may result in a difference on an international setting. I was recently talking to postdoc who thought a visiting 'assistant professor' from the US was considerably higher up the academic ladder than a lecturer who had been in academia for five years. Simply, being unaware of the US system, she assumed any 'professor' was senior to a lecturer/reader over in the UK. I've also seen similar confusions arise when attending conferences in continental Europe, where students thought a 20something 'assistant-professor' was more senior than 'senior lecturers' from some eastern European countries, and they treated them accordingly.

I'm sure these are exceptions at our level, but I wonder if these nuances in academic rankings are known to UG or Masters students, and if not, does it affect their choice of university and country of study? Some people at Oxford must think so as they think it may be harming their international 'branding'.

======= Date Modified 09 Dec 2008 01:27:36 =======
No worries Phdbug - big misunderstanding! See my PM reply.

Mods, can you kindly close/delete this thread? As it's not offering nothing constructive but a case of crosswires.

Doh! I gave the completely wrong URL!! I mean't www.spareroom.co.uk also (not flatshare).

Often rooms do come with double beds/skytv/broadband, but pay the early bird subscription on the site to first dibs at the new adverts (it costs £7.50). At the moment there are quite a lot of families offering rooms because they can't pay their mortgages, and I'm sure they'd like a PhD student...although introduce yourself as a 'PhD researcher' to avoid the 'student' stigma.

Try www.flatshare.co.uk for some good accommodation. Often professionals (usually in London) will advertise for a 2nd/3rd flatmate, and often the rent is not all that more expensive than student accommodation (which has become such a rip-off in recent years). My brother who refuses to pay a lot for accommodation no matter how much he earns, usually gets a good place off this site.

Olivia, I'd also suggest living in private accommodation. There is no way I could contemplate living in student halls now. It was a nightmare when I was an undergrad, and since that time I've always rented a private flat.

Doesn't your university/college have accommodation dedicated to postgrads? Normally they are apartment style blocks which are much quieter normal halls, and often universities have some houses they rent to postgrads. Xmas tends to be the time when these coveted rooms become available.

Another option is to flatshare/rent with a professional person, or lodge with someone. You'd certainly be able to lodge with someone for the same price as student accommodation.

Well damn...given your initial reaction Phdbug... it sounded a very interesting opening post! :-)