Hi-Your reasons for PhD study are very similar to mine!Although, generally you will need to have a good academic background-which you have-for a PhD, but I managed to get a place with a 2.2 and two MScs. Also, if your searching for funding opporunities such as the ESRC, you may find, as I found, that you may need to obtain additional research training before embarking on a PhD. I found the the ESRC 1+3 funding studenthships were extremely competitive, I ended up studying for an additional MSc (which was +1 ESRC credited) so that I could apply for +3 ESRC studentships (which seems to be less competitive). You may be lucky to have a health psych MSc which is also ESRC +1 credited. Also, from my experience, its not just about your academic marks; work experience, networking and publications really helped and I won a funded (advertised) PhD studenthship at a good uni. However, some unis( UCL) do favor candiates for PhDs who have a 1st and an MSc Distinction

Having said that, the bps health stuff seems to have changed, before one needed to have a Merit to progress to Stage 2, looks like you just need to pass Stage 1.

http://www.health-psychology.org.uk/menuItems/training.php

If your interested in progressning onto stage 2, the BPS has a list of unis offering Stage 2 courses. If clinical psychology doesn't work out for me, my back up would be to get onto stage 2 health psychology training at City.

http://www.bps.org.uk/bps/careers/accredited-courses/accredited-courses.cfm?action=results&level_of_study=PGRD&in_id=all&pg_cat=DHPTC&submit=Search

Good luck with your MSc!

Hiya!

Yep my 1st MSc was a health psychology MSc which is credited for Stage 1 Health Psychology. (My second one was an MSc in Research Methods in Psychology). Im currently on a social science PhD, but I have the option to do Stage 2 (via taught doctorate-can't bare another PhD!) after my PhD, if I decide to go down that route!

If you get less than a Merit and less than 80% attendance (I think!), you will not be able to go onto stage 2. A few people just missed out on the Merit and as a result, have been unable to go onto stage 2 :( I hope this will give you some motivation to focus on getting above an average of 60!

Hiya! I completed my second MSc at UCL and I remember having a similar situation-loads to do but struggling with motivation to complete it. One of the main things I did was have a list on my desk of things to do. I also counted back from the final deadline what I have to acheive and how long I had to complete it. I managed to get everything done, but I will always regret not working harder enough. I missed the distinction by a few percent, and if I had worked instead of procrastinating, I would have got that distinction. Perhaps you may regret it later on! Friends of mine on my 1st MSc didn't work hard enough and only managed a pass. As a result, they will not be able to progress to Stage 2 (Doctorate) which requires a Merit. One failed the whole MSc. She ended up paying £3k for a course that she ended up failing in. Also, you will feel so happy once its all finished with! Furthermore, there are only a few more months to go, then you will never have to go through such MSc stress again!

Hiya-your reasons that you've outlined above were similar to mine when I decided to do another MSc. I wanted to enrich and develop my skills which would help me practice psychology professionally. There will be people out there who will disagree studying for another MSc and perhaps go into employment or PhD, perhaps partly due to the financial constraints of an MSc. Speaking from experience and Im sure people will disagree with me, studying for 2nd MSc has opened many doors for me and has opened up an opportunity to practice psychology in another area if I wished to go down that route. I have put myself into further debt, but having another MSc has definitely helped me!

I have a psychology MSc from UCL. I don't know much of the LSE MScs, but I throughly enjoyed my time at UCL. The department was excellent; well resourced and taught by experts within their fields. The libraries and research facitilites are great and at UCL you will be close to the main research libaries (British Library, Senate House). The career opportunities were great to. 50% of us got immediate (funded) PhD offers during our MSc, and all of us were in employment after a month of graduation.

As others have said, both LSE and UCL are top unis!

mmmmm yummy creame eggs!

I found the registration process to be soooo annoying-ie having to provide evidence from banks, universities, your course etc etc. Oh well-I guess it comes with the territory! I'll probably be there collecting articles next week to! Bringing a laptop is usually a good idea to, if you've got one. My handwritting is terrible-so by typing up my notes it saves some time.

Hope you have fun!

I tend to collect all of the classmarks etc the day before so it saves some time!

Im usually in the science reading room-and the guy with the big beard is very helpful(to me anyway!). I know what you guys mean though, there is some really grumpy gits in there! Also, they charge loads for the photocopying which can be very expensive.

I love the BL.

It has helped heeps in collecting articles. Anything that is marked with numbers and DSC is not onsite and takes a few days to be delivered (I think!). Also, it helps if you look on the catalogue to collect all the classmarks you want then either order them when you get there, or collect those slips to order any offsite stuff. Another issue is that you will be restricted on how many articles you place on order. Something like 10-12?! if you order stuff which is onsite; ie will be at the readers room reception in 90 mins, 2hrs, 4 hrs etc. You can order loads of stuff (without restriction) using reference request slips. It mayb an idea to visit Senate House as well if your collecting stuff. Senate House has open access to the majority of journals so you wont have to go through the process of ordering stuff. I hope this is of help to you.

Hi Danny, My phd is a funded advertised project so I didn't have to go through attracting supervisors and funding bodies. After my interview, they nominated me for an ESRC studentship (I get nearly 15k tax free per year). If you have a very good proposal and one which a supervisor at a university is very keen to take on, your more likely to receive an offer from any university, although this is most likely to be complicated by the popularity of the university and funding available. Also, if your supervisor is particuarly keen in your proposal, then they are more likely to help you with the funding process. Having said that, certain unis such as my previous one at UCL who offer funded phd positions do have stiffer competition for PhD candidates and are therefore very picky about applicants. However, a friend of mine bypassed the competition for funding by self funding herself, and as a result, managed to secure a PhD offer from UCL almost immediately-so I think it depends!

Funds:

I have a serious overdraft (limit 3k) and I havent had any problems in getting funding from banks etc!

I got a career development loan and I relied on my savings for my second MSc if thats any help? My first MSc was a part time evening course so I basically funded it by working during the day. As I was made reduntant in the middle of my MSc, I got a student loan to help me pay for the fees.

Both of my loans were from Barclays.

I have a 2.2, 2 MScs (65, 68 average) and am on my 1st year of a PhD. Im funded by the ESRC (A CASE studentship) and receive 14.5k per year. So, yes its definitely possible to get funding if you have a 2.2.

Hiya!

There were several reasons why I decided to do 2 MScs.
1) I have different interests in psychology, so I wanted to specialise in various areas. 2) Psychology as a profession, is competitive. I have completed Stage 1 of its chartership, so if I decided to go down that route and get chartership via stage 2, then I have this option. 3). My second MSc is in research. I took this on as my research skills were extremely weak. After completing I received a funded PhD studentship. 4) I have had plenty of practice in building up skills such as team working, interpersonal skills etc. I have also learnt heeps and have published stuff. 5) I have found it easy to get assistant psychologist and a research position.

Overall, I've throughly enjoyed having the chance to branch out in areas for my own interest and improving my career aspirations.

I think in virtually all cases, PhD students are registered for a Mphil then are 'upgraded' to a PhD after satisfactory progress and a short viva (I think!)

Also, in terms of social science funding bodies such as the ESRC, one would not be able to get funding for a PhD, without having a credited research methods MSc or MA. So I think the movement is towards having completed an MSc/MA before embarking on a PhD. I think previously, you were able to jump from BA/BSc to a PhD, but I don't think that's the 'done' thing these days.

Furthermore, although it takes longer, I'm really glad I did my research training at UCL. Without some extensive training in research methods, I would have been really stuck with my MPhil/PhD, I suspect particularly with my second and third year when it comes to statistically analysing results.