It has been almost 20 years since I passed my MSc. Since then I have married, worked in public services, brought up a family etc.

Laterly I have been seriously thinking about taking up studying again - part time. My ambition would be a PhD.

Clearly I could not just turn up at a University and say 'Gizza a PhD'. But what would be the best way to approach this? Would I have to do another Masters, to get 'up to speed'. My work is unrelated to the area I would like to study. My Masters would be quite relevant, but it's virtually historic now.

Does anyone know of other PhD students returning to study after such a long gap?

Any advice welcome.

Angelette

:-)

Yeah it can be done as I have a friend who did it. You need to a have chat with potential supervisors and see what they say. Have you any firm ideas or are you quite happy to incorporate some of their ideas? You could have a rough outline of the area/type of project you want to do and see if anyone is interested and they may even help with funding. As you already have a Masters this would help and show you are capable of research.

Good luck

Hi Doodles

Thanks for your reply.  If I went ahead it would be purely for my own interest, and unrelated to employment. I know many PhD students may complete their studies with the idea of creating more job opportunities for themselves.  As a mature student, I would not have that pressure, so that is one positive thing.

I will need to be self financing, as in open competition with so many others right now, my chances of getting any funding would be extremely slim. But again, self financing could be done.

My old MSc was in Urban Science, which covered a number of subjects, social studies, programming, bit of operations research, bit of economics etc.  I would be considering something in the Social Sciences again, as I find it interesting, and straightforward to understand. High level chemistry would not be my thing!

I have read on the forums that it could be a good idea for anyone interested in doing a PhD, to do an introductory/refresher course in research methods first.

Do you reckon that could be a good idea?

Angelette

I'm butting in a bit here...

A reserach methods course probably would be good but I wouldn't sign up for one 'til you have spoken to a potential university or supervisor. There are shorter courses you can do as part of some graduate education programmes and there are also summer and winter schools in various places which cover research methods. Also whatever PhD you eventually sign up for might require methods which may/may not be covered by a reserch masters. A long-winded way of saying contact a potential uni first in my opinion!

Good luck if you go ahead with it - I did the whole thing as a mature - BA to Masters to PhD, all done with four children, a dog and a husband! Tough but ultimately worth it. Having said that, I am looking forward to getting back to work, hopefully this autumn/winter.

Thanks to both for your helpful ideas. I'm going to see how far I can get with this idea, and it is probably a good idea to check with a potential university first.

Regards

Angelette ;-)

That sounds like a good plan. You never know as Ady said the course maybe included as part of your research training so that would be even better. Good luck with it all.

I started a fully funded PhD more than 15 years after finishing my masters (in a totally unrelated area). I had worked in a related area though and taken some relevant OU courses. I came across the advert for the PhD studentship by accident and applied, even though I thought I didn't stand a chance. I think it all depends on your experience, what you have to offer and what potential supervisors are looking for. Have a look around at what's available and maybe a chat with potential supervisors. A course in research methods might be useful, or other relevant courses. Good luck! :)