I have a First in History (1998... long time ago, I know...). Now interested in PhD in History/Social Sciences/Psychology. From other messages, looks like it might be tough without Masters, is it worth even trying?

I have a feeling these two are hard to fund.

All help and ideas welcome. Klebb

Are you in the UK? If so, yes, in the history field it is normal to do a Masters first before a PhD, and most universities expect that. To be honest you may also need to do this anyway, partly because of tha mount of time since your first degree, partly to teach you essential research skills.

Masters degrees in humanities have traditionally been self-funded, but some universities are now offering 1+3 funded options, where a Masters + 3-year PhD are both funded. So do look out there.

I self-funded my own part-time history Masters and won funding from AHRC for my part-time PhD. If applying for funding you will find it is very competitive in humanities. Not so sure about social sciences. But in humanities in my PhD year only 1 in 5 of AHRC applicants was successful.

Hi Klebb! I'm doing a PhD in psychology (of the clinical variety!) and everyone in our department is required to complete an MSc first, unless they have a substantial amount of research experience in the field, and even then you would be expected to sit the MSc taught modules in the first year of your PhD. There's only one person I know in the department who has managed to get on to a funded PhD without an MSc, and she has had an awful lot of relevant experience, so basically, you will need an MSc! You also need to make sure it has a substantial research component (as opposed to just taught modules) or else it won't be accredited by the ESRC or whoever accredits research degrees these days! Funding is very tough for psych, so do your best ot get a merit or distinction as well! Good luck! KB