Thanks for your reply. You've asked some good questions. I'm not scared of the amount of work, particularly if I'm interested in the research question and figuring something out. The workload isn't scaring me, I just don't really care about the project right now, which frightens me more! And I'm not afraid of failure - I know that I can do it, I'm just worried that I'll be making myself unhappy if I commit to this for 3-4 years instead of exploring other options. I'm really interested in science communication and I think that doing a postgrad certificate or masters in Sci Comm would be a better option for me right now. I can always decide to do a PhD later on down the road, right?

I am about to start a PhD at the same place I did my undergrad, with the same supervisor. I graduated a year ago and have been working as a Research Assistant for a year, and I had previously been trying to get a PhD at the University of Cambridge. I was accepted to Cam but couldn't get funding. I spent almost a year trying to get that PhD place so I was pretty cast down when I couldn't go.

Soon after I found out that Cam was a no-go, my undergrad supervisor (who had been pressuring me to do a PhD with her since I graduated) offered to let me start my own project with her. This appealed to me because I thought I could choose something similar to what I had wanted to study at Cam. I was also exhausted from trying so hard to get a funded PhD and this was just handed to me on a platter. I spoke to a few people about it, and organised a co-supervisor and advisory committee. I was awarded a scholarship soon after, and planned to start in March.

I still have not officially started my PhD, and my application to be enrolled hasn't been lodged with the University. My problem now is that as March has gotten closer and closer, I've started to seriously backpedal about doing this PhD. I still haven't figured out my topic, and to be honest, my motivation to do so is non-existent.

For months I've been suppressing apprehension about this because it honestly is a good opportunity. Who else gets total freedom on their PhD project? I like my supervisor, I like the University, and I'm comfortable here.

But every time I try to sit down and actually try to plan, I freak out and get anxious because I think the truth is that I don't want to do this. I think I like the idea of it more than I like actually doing it.

The one major thing that has stopped me from acknowledging my feelings for so long is that i HATE to let down my supervisors. My primary supervisor has wanted me here for so long, and she'll be upset that I've said yes and then said no. My secondary supervisor has a history of not reacting well when students have changed their minds about studying with him. And I really don't want to be seen as unreliable.

Phew. Any thoughts?

Hi there,

I haven't heard anything yet. When I received my offer from the BGS, my scholarships section on CamSIS changed to "application forms sent", so I assume my application was forwarded to the Trusts. I'm not wildly hopeful for an award though. Trying for awards in my home country, although time is running out!

Hi.

I too am from New Zealand, and I have been applying for a PhD in the UK. I'm sorry to say that it's unlikely that you could get in for the 2009-10 year - although it may depend on the University. I started the process in August of last year, and I'm still not confirmed for my October start!

Basically I emailed a couple of potential supervisors in my field of interest way back in November, and one of them conducted interviews in January. I was offered a place at the university in April. I've been applying for scholarships (both here and in the UK) since August 08, and I still haven't had any luck.

Admittedly this may be an extreme example because it's a huge university, but I would be surprised if you could get a project, supervisor, funding and a visa sorted before October!

You should definitely check it out anyway, but if I were you I would be looking for 2010-11 entry. That gives you the ideal amount of time to find a supervisor and funding and stuff. An extra year seems like a long time to wait but I can assure you it flies by!!

There are scholarships in NZ for study in the UK, check out the NZVCC for more details. For lots of them you need to apply over a year in advance. Also the NZ TEC Bright Future TAD scholarship is tenable overseas if you can show that it will benefit NZ.

And you shouldn't worry about applying even though you haven't received your final grades. I think most people start applying before they get their final grades anyway.

I'm in a similar situation. Basically I just wrote the project proposal in my own words. I would avoid repeating the info you've been given word-for-word, as this might be construed as lazy. And if you put the effort into writing your own research proposal you will have a more thorough knowledge of the field anyway! You might even come up with some different ideas/approaches. It's a bit time consuming but it'll be worth it later on, especially if you end up having to submit research proposals for other studentships.

I'm a New Zealander currently applying for a PhD in Genetics at Cambridge. I chose to wait until I had found a supervisor's support before I applied to the BGS, and in January I had an interview with a potential supervisor, who agreed to take me on. Only then did I apply to the BGS.

Therefore I missed the funding deadline for funding from the Cambridge trusts (15 Dec 08). However, when I was filling out my application, I wasn't sure if I should still do the 'funding' part of the application since I had missed the deadline. So I phoned the BGS and they told me that I should still complete that part of the application as the funding deadline is 'flexible'. I submitted my online application in February, and my supplementary material was processed about a week ago (according to CamSIS).

So my question is: Does anyone know how likely I am to be considered for funding from the Cambridge Trusts? I have missed the deadline by quite a long time, but I was told by the BGS that the deadline is not absolute. Does anyone have any experience with this?

I think your best course of action is to search the Aus/NZ Universities for potential supervisors and then pop them an email! I'm a New Zealander and I have spent time at Otago University in Dunedin, NZ, and Australian National University in Canberra, Aus. I really don't know any specifics about your field of research (I study Developmental Genetics) but both of these Uni's are pretty strong in Biology at least.

If you're looking for funded PhD's I'm not actually sure where you could start with that. If you contact potential supervisors to register your interest they can probably tell you about relevant scholarships/PhD opportunities. Plenty of universities also have centralised PhD scholarships available (for any field) and these are often open to international students.

I guess I can also answer questions about NZ/Aus in general as well!