for most people it should be easy enough but I dont think you can transfer directly from a PhD into an Msc( they are two very different degrees). What you can do is drop out of your PhD or finish it and then apply to do an Msc.

You may be talking about an Mphil? not much less work than PhD. usually submit in two years but you dont get a Doctorte. Ive never really seen the point of Mphils other than as a consolation prize for people who want to leave their PhDs

I gather from your post that you havent written up any kind of a research proposal. If this is the case I think it is pointless trying to come up with a PhD project title and you are wasting your time asking questions like the one you have posted on this site

if you have access to peer reviewed journals, use them. identfiy a specific problem which interests you and is of interest to your peers and your title should parallel the problem you are trying to solve or the question you are trying to answer.

4 years is a long time to spend working on something you don't really like, hence why I have taken early retirement from my PhD studies

Prestige of the uni you do your PhD at is important but it depends on what you plan on doing after your PhD. If you are planning on a career in academia then I would say having published in well respected journals are much more important than having gone to a presitious university.

There is no hard and fast answer for this.

I had a similar problem in that I was offered 3 studentships, one of which was at Cambridge. I took the Cambridge offer even though I new very little about the topic and hadn't met the supervisor. I knew I was taking a risk and it did backfire

I ended up hating the topic and my supervisor wasnt very supportive when I needed his guidance so I dropped out after getting mauled in my first year review.

My advice to you is go with the topic you enjoy the most and the supervisor you think you will work well with. If this is at Birmingham then study there.

If you take the Cambridge offer, it sounds like you be doing it so as to have cambridge on your CV rather than working on a research problem you really enjoy.

Don't get me wrong Cambridge is a really nice place to work and live but I would advise you to only accept the offer if it is a topic you really like.

leaving your PhD shouldn't harm your future career prospects unless the job you want requires one.

I thought leaving my PhD would leave a big gaping hole in my CV and would damage my future career prospects but it hasn't at all. I've applied for other PhDs and Masters and the fact that I dropped out of a PhD made no difference as I have been offered a PhD position and place on two masters courses since then.

I suppose how exactly dropping out of a PhD will influence your future career will depend on the manner in which you leave. It is important that you can get a reference from someone who understands and respects your resasons for leaving and who will support your applications for future courses/Jobs.

I completely agree with olivia on this. Personal boundaries are important and you have to be very careful of what you say to people about third parties ( supervisors, PhD students or otherwise)

This kind of thing goes on whether it is in academia or in industry. You only have to watch "the Apprentice" to see this kind of behaviour in action: bitching, backstabbing and incessant scheming!!!

I find no matter how much a conversation is: " just between us " these conversations almost always end up being relayed back to the person being talked about.

Best advice I was given in this respect: Is to keep your ears open and your mouth shut!!!

lostinoz,
I would say this is actually quite common in academic circles. Ive experienced this in my old department and it is not very nice. My old supervisor does nothing but slag off his staff and students. Ive never really understood what he stands to gain by doing this.

I think some academics dervive a certain amount of satisfaction in belittling students that they feel arn't up to scratch and they do this because they can get away with it. It makes them feel big and important.

I'm not sure that there is much you can do about it. For the most part I wouldnt worry about what people say or think about you. If things are said to your face that are directly hurtful or insulting do take it further, otherwise forget about what is said.

Just concentrate on your research and getting your Doctorate.

I would think going to a more prestigious uni gets you more attention when you start out in your academic career.But ultimately your goal as a researcher is to diseminate the results of your research to your peers in order to progress the state of knowledge in your feild and to get recognition for your hard work.

If you publish quality papers in well respected journals, you should be able to get research positions at prestigious universities after your PhD.... but you should consider that the best research group in the particular topic you are research may not be at a so called "prestigious univeristy"

I went to a Uni that is arguably one of the most prestigious universities in the world and many postdocs and lecturers at this uni seem to have come from not very prestigious or well known unis

congratulations. enjoy your freedom while is lasts and your spirit in its uncrushed state

I know people who have completed their PhDs on one feild and then have gone on to do an Msc in a completely different subject.

It's a tough one to call. If you dont really hate your PhD then I would think you should finish, afterall it would be a shame to bail out if you are already two years in, but if the PhD is not going to be any use to you in your future career maybe you should leave

I hated my PhD topic and was thinking along the same lines as you, but I dropped out of my PhD after a year and have now been accepted for the Msc I wanted to do.

I could well have spended 4 years doing a PhD in a topic I hated and then do the Msc but that would have been a waste of time.

good luck anyhow

I think in situations like this, it is just a case of making the best use of the resources around you.

If your supervisor isn't going to lift a finger to help, there isn't really much you can do about it. However, there should be other people in your department who can help. lab technicians, postdocs.....

You really need to take the initiaitive and be proactive on this.

In my first year of my PhD I was afraid of asking for help and therefore spent a long time banging my head agianst a brick wall when all I had to do was ask for help

I agree with Jouri. A PhD is not something to take on if you are only half hearted about it.

You don't seem to be sure. If I where you I would think very carefully. consider:

Do you work well with your supervisor?
Do you like your topic?
Is a PhD going to help your career in any way?

You said your supervisor was surprised you got it. That kind of says to me that he may not be overly impressed by your work so far.

my gut feeling would be not to take it.

PC_Geek,
That is why I have asked. It is a degree that seems to be rarely offered but seems like a very interesting way of doing research.

From a productivity point of view. I can see a lot of merit in registering a student for an ENGD rather than a PhD.

In a univeristy environment you are very much left up to your own devices. There is a lot of scope for staying out late at night, Not getting up out of bed in the morning, taking days off here and there and generally working when as as you feel like it....

Doing research in a company environemnt would require a student to be more mature, diligent, focused and I think this has benefits for everyone involved. I would imagine there is a lot less room for arsing about.

correct me if im wrong?

Im heading to oxofrd for a masters next october and they offer EngD degrees, so its something I would seriously consider after my masters.

As I understand it, a ENGD is a lot like the engineering equivilent of an MD. i.e your research is specifically relevant or applicable to an industrial setting ( management/ manufacturing )

You are registered as a ENGD student at what ever university awards the degree and have an academic supervisor but you spend most of your time with a company rather than at the university. you work on a problem of industrial relevance to that company and you submit a fairly substantial thesis after four years. you are then conferred with the title of Dr.

Interesting way of doing research and I'm sure it pays a lot more than a normal studentship.

Im interested to know what people doing regular PhDs percieve the ENG degree?

You were offered your studentship with funding so there is no way in hell your supervisor can just turn around and say you now have to pay for this yourself.

I would think you have very strong grounds for taking this matter to your department.