Hello,

I recently finished my MA with distinction (though not official yet) and am applying for a PhD with funding, which is quite competitive as I'm an overseas student. I've got good credentials and a project that I have full faith in - my MA dissertation will be published in an online academic journal and I'll be giving a paper in an academic conference - so everything's fine. Yet, there's this thing that I had completely forgotten - my undergraduate GPA (which is not in a directly related subject than my PhD and my MA) is not glowing, in fact, it is 2.57/4.00 which equals a lower second in the UK, I guess. Do you think it is significant enough while being considered for a studentship? Would it ruin all my efforts to gain a place with funding?

Thanks a lot and good luck to all,

leaf.

Hello, sounds like you have done brilliantly in your MA so you stand a very good chance, especially since your diss is being published. Of course, whether or not you secure funding also depends on your topic, discipline and university. Funding in my field (literature) is very scarce, and extremely competitive. I do not know of any one (at my uni) who got funding for the first year of their PhD without a first in their undergraduate. However, I do know a couple of people with modest undergraduate results who secured full funding in the second and third years of their PhD due to excellent MA result, and good progress in the PhD. This isn't the case for every subject though, so you might be absolutely fine. Just make sure you explore every possible source of funding. Best of luck M,x

If you're applying in the UK, do they even use the GPA? :s Just wondering - because as you have a Masters, surely that will count MORE towards your application than the GPA?

Go for it!! I just secured a fully funded and competitive phd studentship; I had a not too impressive result in my BSc in a foreign university, however I had a distinction here in UK, I think that was what matters as well as I was fully prepared doing the interview process.