no, but an odd flatmate or two. does that count?

the colour guys name (the letters in the name) gives you a clue as to which colours to use.

indeed i haven't heard of it. the links you give suggest it might be some kind of latin thing. perhaps mostly the countries with latin languages are involved? which would explain why it is not so known among the english-speakers.

hi tom,
i don't know about engineering, but the ESRC wrote in this years guidelines to PhD funding applications, that they are at the moment in the process of reconsidering their policy of paying P/T students merely "fees only" stipends. They approve of P/T studying and are thinking of funding P/T students fully in the future, perhaps already starting this autumn. perhaps something similar is going on in the other research councils. it would be worth contacting them directly to find out.

hey chris, congrats to the publication!

why don't you check out the "about the authors" section of an edited book or journal special issue for inspiration?

it feels good to be winning while working on my first year report

i got well past 28 (now why do i know that? *g*) but don't know exactly how far, as i didn't check the question numbers... did you encounter any of the bombs that are mentioned in the instructions? i didn't.
to be honest i do not understand some of the answers

in england on the other hand, a PhD alone, i agree, is not so good. but if you get a FUNDED PhD then you will get about 13000£/year, tax free. i think that is more than 900€/month minus taxes. and further, you well get this money not for doing any kind of 'work' for others, but exclusively for doing your own project, which means it is very possible to be finished in 3-4 years. there is of course also a disadvantage in that you don't get involved with many other projects and will thus acquire a more narrow expertise.
so the systems are different, and both have their advantages and disadvantages.

hey biomaverick,
i'm not so certain to it being better in Germany. the point is, in Germany you are paid, but you are also required to 'work' for your professor, often on things not so related to your own project. this often makes the whole process take much longer than the original 3 years, often around 6 or more years (i'm speaking from the experience of Switzerland which is very similar to Germany in such things). there are also advantages to this 'work' but it doesn't come without costs.

yair, i suppose it depends on the approach you are taking.
you say you will be studying 'communities' and you say you will be using texts (bible, etc.) this is a bit confusing to me, as how should you study present day communities by using ancient texts?
i assume you mean you will be studying the communities and putting what you find in RELATION to the texts. if that is the case, i would say any of the social studies would do. if you put your focus on the texts, and study them in terms of 'literature', but in relation to the communities, then i'd go for cultural studies. if your focus is really on the texts and you are concerned with philosophical questions, and the present day communities are just an aside, then i'd go for philosophy or perhaps religion studies. the latter, i believe the approaches are very different from department to department; in some relious studies it is more philosophical-theological, in others more social science.

yihaa...an hour later and i'm still winning!

404, you must mean "take a break from procrastinating on PGF"...

i guess you have the following options:
- defer for a year. start applying for funding about a year before your course is due to begin.
- decline the offer. i wouldn't do that - why should you? you can always decline if you can't find funding next year.
- keep trying to find funding for this year. you might turn lucky! not all deadlines are past. check out your "home" country for funding opportunities.
- did you consider starting as a part-time student? you would pay half the fees and you could work to earn enough to get by, while at the same time not foregoing your PhD. and you might find funding later and could finish as full time student.
- how about taking out a loan? i would hate doing that but if you really want that PhD it would be an option.

jo3an, i know, it seems so unfair. you have to see it like this: getting the place as PhD student is really only the first, probably the easiest step. getting funding for it is like getting a job. it is competitive, there are strict application deadlines, and as when applying for jobs, you have to expect a lot of negative replies before you turn lucky. i have a friend at my uni who wrote more than 20 funding applications before she got something. myself, as i said, i started unfunded and am now still in the process of applying for funding for my second year (i live in hope).