Hi guys, thanks for trying.

Ev I already have that one but thank you for trying for me.

Why is it that the papers that look they would be really useful are harder to get hold of?
Oh well I've got plenty of others to read that will keep me busy for a while :-)

Can anyone access the following paper?


Wang, Y P (2003) A comparison of three different canopy radiation models commonly used in plant modelling, Functional Plant Biology, 30(2), 143 - 152

Thanks in advance

======= Date Modified 12 Nov 2010 13:09:56 =======
I agree with the others. I started my PhD (advertised post) in October a month after completing my MSc at the same institution with the same supervisor. There was a 4 week gap in between and I was told by my sup to enjoy the time off and not do any reading, although he did offer to send me some papers if I wanted them. I decided to take his advice and had 4 weeks off and started the PhD feeling recharged. So you should definitely enjoy xmas and don't feel guilty about eating too much cake, it's what the holidays are for! :-)

Hi I started in October as well straight after finishing my MSc, well I had 4 weeks off in between and I did nothing and returned to uni feeling refreshed but it was hard getting back into 'work' mode. So far I've done lots of reading and not a lot else. I feel like I'm a bit behind because although this is my 5th week I've only done about 3 weeks work. This is due to the second week being taken up by boring induction stuff 9-5 every day for a week which was compulsory. Then I had to go in for foot surgery 2 weeks ago (it was elective but bad timing) and took a week off to recover. I haven't left the house in 2 weeks because I can't put any weight on my foot and haven't had stitches out yet, however the lack of mobility has made me focus. I think it's because while I'm working at home I can't keep getting up to respond to distractions e.g. doing random bits of housework so I am effectively chained to my desk. Fortunately I have a very supportive partner waiting on me. And my supervisor is very understanding (he was my MSc sup too), he just gave me a list of things to do before my op but also made sure I focussed on recovering first.

The only scary thing is my sup wants me to submit a 7-10k word lit review before xmas and I haven't written anything and am not sure if I can read enough in time. I've been told it's better to write a lot about a lot of papers rather than a lot about a few papers if that makes sense, so I think I've got a lot to do!

======= Date Modified 22 Oct 2010 09:04:48 =======
Hi, I'm doing a science PhD and my fees are £3500 a year and I am a UK student, I am on a fully funded studentship so fees are covered by that. My funding is half from the university and half from a research council. However as I am in the sciences I can't advise on funding for English but I'm guessing you would apply to the relevant research council. I applied for a fully funded studentship where the funding was already secured. With regards to fees I think the amount that my institution charges for my PhD is the same for all subjects, but I'm not entirely sure.

I have a first class BSc and MSc distinction but I know people who are doing PhD's with a 2:1 batchelors and/or a merit/pass at masters level.

Hope this is of some help :-)

hey I started my PhD this week too. I'm in physical geography and so far everything is good :-)(up)

Hi Tweety2boo, I recently completed an MSc and took out a career development loan to help me. As far as I can tell they are available for anyone doing a postgrad course and at the moment you can borrow from the Co-op bank or Barclays. The interest rate is lower than a normal loan from other banks and the application process was fairly straight forward. You can check all the details on the link below e.g. eligibility and how to apply etc. I think you still need to apply through the DWP and then choose the bank you want to borrow from. Hope this helps :-)


http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/EducationAndLearning/AdultLearning/FinancialHelpForAdultLearners/CareerDevelopmentLoans/index.htm

======= Date Modified 01 Oct 2010 12:53:42 =======
Hi, I'm about to start my FT PhD next week and am 24 and have been living with my partner in a 2 bedroom rented house for over 3 years. I will also be commuting 70 miles by train to get to my uni, also wondering who else does a lot of travelling? It takes me over 2.5 hours from leaving my house to get to uni and I've been doing this journey for the last 2 years as I studied a PT MSc at the same uni. Thinking about moving a bit closer in the new year but only if my partner can find a job closer to uni because we can't afford to live off my stipend alone.

Hi Jayeta, assuming that you are looking to start a PhD September 2011 and if you are looking for fully funded studentships then you will have to regularly check the advertisements for PhD studentships that universities put out. The time that you have to submit your application will depend largely on where you are looking to apply to, as different institutions place their adverts at different times of year and consequently have different deadlines for the application. For example I am coming to the end of my 2 year part time MSc and I applied for a PhD in February to start October this year. I didn't get it but I then applied to another one at the end of May and had the interview this week and I will be starting a fully funded PhD in October this year.

The process that I've outlined above was for studentships where the project was already defined. I'm not sure what the procedure would be if you are looking to get funding for your own project idea.

Hope this helps :-)

Hi Peljam, thanks for your reply, it makes me feel a little better. I'm going to try and read a couple of relevant papers to refresh me on the topic and hope that I can think of something intelligent to say tomorrow!

Hi everyone, I've been reading this forum for a while now but this is my first post. I have an interview for a PhD on Monday and I'm a bit nervous and confused because I'm not sure what to expect. I've applied for a studentship at the same university where I am currently doing my MSc and the supervisor is my current MSc tutor and is supervising my dissertation. I mentioned a while ago that I would be interested in doing a PhD and when this project had been arranged and the funding was secure he basically told me to apply for it. So I did and got offered the interview. He also told me that the work experience placement I am doing this summer (also whilst trying to write a dissertation - not good for stress levels) would be very helpful because it means that I wouldn't have to spend as long learning to program the model that I will be using because I'm currently working with something similar and therefore would be able to get into the interesting research part sooner rather than faffing around learning how to use the computer.

The main reason I'm feeling like this is because I will be interviewed by someone I have known for the last year and I have no idea what level of formality to expect because so far the relationship has been fairly relaxed. Also in the email from the admissions department inviting me to the interview said that if I am able to stay on campus for a while after the interview (it's in the morning) there would the opportunity to go to lunch with Dr XXX. So without sounding too cocky I think I may stand a chance of getting this but I don't want to get my hopes up too much.

Sorry for rambling on a bit, I was just wondering if anybody else had been in a similar situation e.g. staying with same supervisor and being interviewed by them.

Thanks