That's a good point kronkodile. I would think that if yabbas has had a good enough backround to be accepted to read for a Doctorate and sussessfully transfers to a PhD after first year then the department should be able to source funding from somewhere. It would at least be a courteous for them to try.

Yabbas said the topic is Medical Computer Vision. I would of thought they should have plenty of dosh floating around in that area?

I doubt going to Oxford will close many doors for you. I'm on my way to Oxford for a masters in October and possibly a PhD after that... looking forward to it.

As regards money it depends on your financial situation and how much you think a PhD at Oxford is worth? Personally I think, having a PhD from Oxford could well give you a big edge in todays very competative job market if you decide to go into industry after.

If you want an academic career I'm not sure that it matters too much where you do your PhD provided you publish quality papers in well respected journals.

hope this helps

I think the most important consideration is which topic you like the most. After all you want to study the topic you enjoy the most.

Next think about supervisor. The kind of supervisor you want to work with will depend on the kind of student you are. Are you very independant and happy to spend long periods of time without guidance? or do you prefer to work with a hands-on supervisor who you will see on a regular basis?

Chances are if you go for the less important supervisor he/she will have lots more time for you whereas the important supervisor is likely to be very busy with other committments and hence will probably have less time for you. They might also be a lot more demanding in terms of what they expect you to produce during your PhD. This might not be the case, but its my observation of the supervision styles of experienced/well respected supervisors vs new/inexperienced supervisors.

As Ms1981 says there where: ( economic, health and financial reasons ) sounds to me like there could be plenty of valid reasons for leaving. Again it is probably best to ask MRC themselves or if you dont feel comfortable doing this,then approach the personal tutor assigned to you by your departmant or college (who ever it is that deals with students problems).

Like I said, I've never heard of anyone having to pay money back although I'd be interested to hear otherwise.

As regards the money end of things, I’ve never ever heard of a student having to pay back grant money and id very sure that legally speaking your supervisor hasn’t got a leg to stand on. What you could do is make a call to the MRC and ask them what the story is. I’m pretty sure you are under no obligation to pay any money back.

He is clearly trying to get you upset over this, so don’t let him. Put this down as a learning experience and move on. Let him be the one who is upset and bitter about this….

I dropped out after a year and my supervisor complained behind my back that I had wasted 25000 pounds of his money. I was funded by the EPSRC and im pretty sure the if students could be obliged to pay money back my supervisor would have done everything he could too make sure I had to pay back

It sounds to me that your supervisor is nothing more than a bitter troll!!! He is trying to make you feel guilty for the failure of the project. He is obviously pissed because there are serious repercussions for him. Consider that when a student drops out this can be very embarrassing for a supervisor. He may well have staked his reputation on this project and a lot of money might well have been invested. Departments can lose funding if students drop out….

Of course every student is ultimately responsible for the success or failure of a project but the whole point of having a supervisor is so that they can advise and guide you through the process and help you reach your potential as a researcher. As you progress through the project you take on more responsibility and rely less on guided supervision. If your supervisor hasn’t given you appropriate support and the project fails then he needs to accept a good measure of responsibility for the failure.

just read your blog Jola. very nicely written. keep it up

I was told by my supervisor that I should of been working 60 hours a week during my PhD. B*llsh8t I hear you say!!! I thought so.

I suppose it depends on the kind of research you are doing, the pressure put on you by your supervisor and other research groups (if it is a collaboration) and your own attitude to the research. Some people treat PhDs just like another job, for others it's their entire life!!

I know plenty of people who get by with 40 hour week in their first year but that is not to say this works for everyone!!

I know when I was doing mine I did a 9-5 but on an average day would probably get very little done becuase I would be easily distracted by emails, facebook, wikipedia or just even general chatting in the office and the fact that I just hadnt got a clue what I was doing !!!

I would say most people could get enough work done 9-5 if they are focused enough.

Has anyone noticed how unfriendly this forum has become? I say this from looking back over some posts of people who are having trouble with their PhDs or thinking of quitting or maybe asking what appears to be a silly question.

It just seems to be the case that when people make a post asking for advice there are always a few users on this site ready be judge. They tend not to be very supportive or offer any kind of constructive advice. It strikes me that there are a number of users of this site who need to grow up, lighten up and realise that just because their PhDs is going well, other people can go throguh a very sh**ty time with their PhDs and they just need to be a little bit more understanding.

I think why procrastinator finds this blog hard to believe is that it vomits sunshine!! ( that phrase reminds me of a particular episode of Scrubs ) It's almost too sqeeky clean.

you forget that many people on this forum arn't having a nice time with their doctorates and therefore they like nothing better than to berate other people on this forum for asking questions and/or not being miserable.

I agree that a PhD is more about determination and stubbornness than raw ability. Your supervisor believes in you, which says to me that you do have what it takes. Sounds to me that everything is still to play for so if I where you id give it your best shot.

If after a few months things don’t improve there is no shame in leaving academia and doing something else. I initially though leaving my PhD was the end of the world but it turned out not to be the case 

thenotoriousjpg,
I am sorry to hear that your transfer report hasn’t been received very well. I completely parallel pineapples comments about his/hers experience with failing their transfer. Feelings of embarrassment, depression, self doubting: am I clever enough. how will people think of me know? How will this affect my career prospects?

Failing a transfer report can rock your confidence to its very core. I know this from experience. I effectively failed my first year review and was so demoralised that I dropped out even though I was given three months to revise and resubmit.

Consider that a lot of people experience these feelings and continue on to successfully complete their PhDs. You just need to learn to take criticisms of your research/writing as a positive thing which can help you improve your Project and Transfer thesis (provided that these criticisms are valid)

Are you not going to get college accommodation? Most colleges offer college accommodation for first year grad students. I think it defeats the purpose of the the collegiate sytem at Oxbridge if you live outside your college. My advice is if you want to have fun in your first year and meet lots of interesting people then move into college accommodation. It usually costs around 65-100 pounds a week depending on the size of room and facilities you get.

Im starting in Oxford in October and ill be moving in college accommodation if they provide it.

I can see a lot of PhDs going toward the DTC year model over the next few years.

I can see a lot of benefits of doing a PhD this way. You take courses relevant to your proposed study area and you get to do projects in a few different areas and scope different supervisors, so when you finally come around to doing your PhD its not just a case of being thrown completely in the deep end and you have a better chance of finding a good supervisor.

If you find after your first year that a PhD isnt for you at least you graduate with an Msc and no harm done.

all in all sounds to me ike a great idiea