======= Date Modified 26 Sep 2009 19:33:04 =======
I was just looking at the vacanices, and at first glance it does look quite attractive i.e. teaching a basic course with a pay of £5k. But then I imagine it would be awfully time-consuming having 20 students, each producing 7 assignments, and each wanting individual help every week (I remember a friend telling me how he would email his tutor every week for advice and feedback).

I am tempted to apply though.

I also got the impression that it's competitive too. In my field, I noticed a lot of established academics did OU work, and decided not to apply because I didn't have any experience at the time.

I bought quite a lot of PhD/research guides when I started,and found them to be a waste of time and money.

An exception which lots of people mention (though I've not read it) is Joan Bolker's Writing Your Dissertation in Fifteen Minutes A Day.

When I read it, all I could think of was a Flash Harry St Trinian's-esque character leching over Buckingham University's female student body.

@TheAce, a Germaine Greer follow-up would be funny.

Many uni's take on PhD students in January, so some funding may after the Sept/Oct intake. But generally speaking, you'll have the best luck applying for next year's entry.

I agree Badhaircut, a two-tier system is alive and well, and it's not only Oxbridge who take approx. 50% for their students from private schools, but also many other top 20 uni's (both Durham and Newcastle have approx. 50% private educated students). I remember Bristol enforcing a positive discrimination policy for state-educated students then private schools boycotting Bristol (despite a large percentage of privately educated students still gaining entry).

Many FTSE 100 companies don't entertain job applicants unless they have an undergraduate degree with a Russell Group uni (or in some cases from the top 5 or 10 uni's). I remember talking to a recruiter who had a list in his hand of universities they consider (basically Oxbridge, London, and the city uni's...Durham, Bristol, Manc, Newcastle, Leeds, Edin, Sheffield etc) - he said applicants from anywhere else get binned. More recently, a recruiter told me they are only taking on people from the top 10, because of the economic conditions. So, in practice, there is no need to distinguish between a good 2.1 and a bad 2.1, because companies already have their own filtering systems in place. This is unfortunate because a lower ranked university may have 'pockets of excellence' (to use the RAE term) but their graduates will still never be considered for the top jobs. Universities should have a duty to tell students this corporate reality before they spend what will soon be 15k on their education.

I also disagree with the 50% policy, and favour fewer, better funded universities and better pay for academics (because we are losing too much talent). I also favour traditional universities becoming more open eg. having part-time/evening/distance courses, so people can work/bring up a family and get a great education at the same time.

======= Date Modified 21 Sep 2009 15:54:44 =======
I think we have accept the 'no fee' option is now a thing of the past - but where do we go now, higher fees?  unlimited fees? a graduate tax? or privatisation?

I like the idea of a graduate tax (although many don't) - this at least shifts the financial burden to when one is earning. I don't agree that there should be no threshold for fees (something the Russell Group wants), I think this will price people out of education (already seen at masters level). Or what about privatisation? From an academic's point-of-view, salaries would be more commensurate with the private sector (eg. the London Business School pay staff much higher salaries), but then I think this would be a very bad thing for students. Imperial says privatisation would create a more equitable system "like the US" (to paraphrase), when I asked some American friends about this they laughed.

I'm very cynical about the CBI's views, it's full of the same rhetoric from the Russell Group, and it wouldn't surprise me if their alma maters have lent on them to produce this report.

I'd like to know if there are going to be higher fees or unlimited fees, are academic staff and admin staff going to get a better wage?

======= Date Modified 21 Sep 2009 17:49:50 =======
My brother used to do lots of presentations (for much more important things than academia) and he always reminds me that most of the room has switched off within 2 mins apart from those really interested (students usually switch off after 20 mins). He also says if you can't be confident, then act confidently (sounds strange, but does work).

One interesting thing I read is that while a person may feel terrible nervous, your outer appearance only shows 1-10% of the nerves you are actually experiencing. On two occasions when I've been pooing myself about big presentations, I've got feedback that I was very confident (ah but I wasn't!).

Also, try slow breathing before you start, this will slow your heart down and thus lower the adrenaline.

For shaking hands, use a lectern or hold something (your hand can't shake if it's holding a book).

Sue, I had an informal interview for a prospective position (which I didn't apply for eventually), but the Head of Dept encouraged me to apply to lots of universities on a speculative basis. He said just email the Head of Dept for every uni I was interested in, and say a little about myself in the email, and attach my CV (no need for cover letter or snail mail).

Hi Joey, you're right, I'm sure others have had the same experience.

To add, you might benefit from sending your CV to potential supervisors and see what they say (don't make an issue of having a degree without honours).

Where are you from Joey? And are you looking at PhDs in the UK?

On a very general basis, UK PhD requires:
A First class honours degree,
or an upper second class honours (2.1) plus a Masters degree.

A degree without honours in the UK is the lowest possible pass, but your degree equivalency might be much higher (if not from the UK).

Work experience can count towards gaining admittance (especially if closely related to your research field).

Will your degree give you entry to a Master's course? If so, this probably the better route to take rather than bringing an undergraduate degree up to honours level. That said, if you can't get access on a Master's degree, you won't get access to a PhD programme.

You're not wrong. Quite a lot of posters ask for advice and then never bother to reply or say 'thanks'. But to be fair, I suppose a lot of non-regular posters may be asking advice from multiple sources, so simply forget to reply. I tend not to post replies to as many new posters now because I feel I'm simply wasting my time. Although, a few weeks back a poster sent me a PM thanking me for advice from ages ago and telling me they got a great PhD offer.

It would probably be cheaper to register on a part-time Masters course just to get an Athens account (rather than pay subscriptions).

Depending on your location, the British Library's Boston Spa facility in Yorkshire holds most journals on site.

Literature isn't my discipline so can't comment specifically, but lots of people change their direction from Masters to PhD and make much bigger leaps than moving from one genre of literature to another. I wouldn't foresee how admissions/potential supervisors would consider it a problem if you presented a well-researched proposal.