Thank you for clearing that up for me, as at undergraduate level it is made very clear, i.e. what grades are considered to be good i.e. 1st or 2:1, however it is not so clear at masters level. Most places just ask for a masters in an appropriate subject. I have been given an uncondidtional offer for my PhD on the basis of my first degree but they havent said anything about my MRes as in what they expect only that starting the degree wouldnt require me to wait for my MRes result since I already have my first degree. But I expect that they would expect me to pass as well as I can.

A merit is 60 - 69.5 %

Hi guys, just wanted to ask a silly question. What kind of grades are expected for a masters degree to be considered good. I'm on course for a merit and should be able to achieve this relativley easily if I continue to work hard. However I can't help but feel that is is an under achievement since at undergraduate level 60-69 was a 2:1.Is it seen in the same way coz I have been told that its the same as a third at undergraduate level. I also read somewhere that you should expect to get about 10 % lower in your masters than you got in your final year at undergrad level

West Indies as they are hosting it.

I've been told by various lecturers that students have written in their assignments southern blotting was invented by mr Southern and northern blotting was invented by mr Northern, and western blotting was invented by mr Western

I have had these thoughts too myself reccently whilst in the lab. Glad to see I'm not the only one.

The first time I applied for embryonic stem cell biology, the second time I applied for genetic factors of immunisation and the last time which was about 2 weeks ago I applied for micro RNA regulation of embryonic stem cell differentiation. Have had no luck with any of them

Just out of curiosity gizmo, what area are you working in?

will you be applying to do a funded PhD in the UK or abroad?
And where did you do your undergrad?

I agree with H it's not known for Biological sciences, I actually did my undergraduate degree there, am now doing my masters at York university and I can say that if you can afford to go to Leeds you really should, as the facillities the department have to offer are very limited and also the research activity of the department is very low compared to other universities,very few publications in the last 3 years and very few of the academic staff are actively researching. In addition to this, the department is not well funded and so I think you would be very limited for future PhD study in the Uk.

The RAE score for the department is 3b (max is 5*) and it's ranked at 94 in the Times good university guide (out of 109).

Hope this helps.

Well the institution where I did my undergrad is probably one of the worst in the country (i'm not joking), it's about 94 in the league table and it's definitely not known for Biological sciences, so being at Brighton should put you in better stead than I was and based on all you said about your personal statment and references you should have a really good chance.

I didnt do particularly well in my A-levels either, well not in my science ones did ok in law and psychology and I applied to Imperial last year to do an MRes in Biochemical research. I was offered a place on the course on the basis of my application including personal statement, referee reports and transcript of results obtained so far (as I hadn't yet completed my degree). I didnt have to go for an interview. Although my average at the time of applying was 79% I think that you stand a good chance with your average. Also being a mature student counts for a lot too
What institution are you at?

Teek, going back to your original post, I'm starting my PhD in October at the centre for Infections at the Health Protection Agency and so I will be away form a university setting. Have been told that doing a PhD away from an academic setting may mean that you lose academic perks e.g. clubs and the like but it is better in terms of access to equipment and having a supervisor that is not so busy. So maybe both places are equally as good. I'll have to wait and see.

Good luck with your interview

I have been hooked on oriental literature for about 3 or 4 years now I think it was the Joy Luck club by Amy Tan that set me off.

Has anyone read her new book saving fish from drowning yet?

Am always on the lookout for a new oriental book as there are so few around. Does anyone know of any good ones hopefully that I havent already read yet? in the vein of Amy tan or lisa see or even Jung Chang

Well as i've not had any relevant work experience and I never did an industrial year, this may explain why I have yet to get an interview at Roslin or maybe it could simply be that I'm not good enough. I've had 8 PhD interviews, although I didnt go to all of them since I had offers from other places but I've applied to Roslin 3 times, and have never got an interview. Am now really curious as to what it would take for me to get one, but I don't think I'll apply again as i'm no longer interesred in doing a PhD there.