Ju, do those charities and trusts have deadlines? If so, you can phone up two weeks after the deadline. If not, no harm in phoning up saying " I don't mean to chase, but could you pls let me know whether my application has been received?"

haha, shani, it is even better than ESRC which can only cover the fee for you. Loss is another kind of gain. congrad!

zidge, sounds rational. So go for it and be yourself. Good luck to you in the MSc which can lead you to where you want.

Aha, so for anthropological topics such as music performance, ritual and death topics have bleak prospects for funding?

This means you've spotted something you and your super didn't spot before, which means you've applied a critical eye to it and improved to a certain level. It's not all that bad though. Perk yourself up.

liver_bird, try the following sites and sign up for newsletters and news alerts. Best of luck

Nature--www.nature.com
New Scientist--www.newscientistjobs.com
Science journal--www.sciencemag.org

which is good for living, ESRC or AHRC? ESRC pays you 14,300 for living expenses per year.

But pea, if you move up the career ladder in academia and progress to professor or reader, the money is not bad compared with industry jobs. Well, but you've to wait and struggle and ensure the huge publication pressure, which is not pragmatic at the moment.

I think the living expenses come to your account monthly, and your fees will be paid upon registration. So until you formally start in Oct, your account will not be credited.

Evaki, I doubt that as well.

Sorry for the obvious omission in the first sentence, should be "how many years "...

How many are you expected to finish for a social science pt phD if that involves fieldwork? Six years minimum? I heard someone finished 4.5 years for a pt PhD without fieldwork.

It has just come to me that if your second yr invovles fieldwork, you just pay a continuation registration fee circa 1,900 quid. It is true with SOAS. Check this out with LSE if it holds as well.

If the MSc is something where your genuine interest lies, then go for it. Be truthful to yourself rather than leaving yourself in a very uncomfortable straitjacket.

Your choice sounds rational,shani.