======= Date Modified 16 07 2009 17:07:04 =======
Hi guys,

First post, but I've enjoyed looking around this site over the past few months.

I've been meaning to get around to enrolling in a PhD for a few months now. Interestingly, I know suprisingly little about how this all works. I'm sure these are basic questions but :

1) Do you enrol as a PhD student in the Uni and then find a supervisor, or vice versa? The online university information wasn't very revealing in this regard. Can I just sign up and then find a supervisor sometime soon after that?

2) Does it matter if my supervisor doesn't know a great deal/anything about my topic? I want to do a PhD in medical education, focusing on simulation based training. I talked to one professor, but he doesn't have a PhD himself and although he'd be sort of willing to supervise, was not super-keen. This topic would be something he's not really into, but there doesn't seem to be anyone else around the university who really knows this area either. I know something about my topic, or at least will in three years time or so. We also talked about co-supervisors, one of whom might be in another state.

3) Is it normal to just phone around a few people and say 'will you be my supervisor?', particularly if they don't know much about your topic of interest. I know one professor who's pretty good at the research side of stuff (study design etc, which I don't have any experience in) that I was thinking of asking. Do people normally want to supervise PhD students?

Thanks for any input you can give me.

Cheers,

Whitey - super-keen prospective PhD student, kind of, I think.

Hi Whitey

1) You could but you should probably do a bit of research first. Does the university have suitably qualified people in your field? Who are they? What kind of work are they doing? Can you find any research papers they have written. Usually, you would submit a proposal outlining your particular interests, at the very least - to enable the university to match you up with a suitable supervisor.

2) Yes, it matters. Not surprised the Professor wasn't super-keen. You need a supervisor who thinks your ideas for your PhD are interesting, something they would be 'in to', that they could help with and learn from. Supervision is, in many ways, a two-way street. As for supervisors in another state - would you really want to have your key expert working with you at a distance?

3) No and I doubt you'd get very far this way. Knowledge of research methods is good (and something any good supervisor should be able to help you with) but knowledge of your research area is more important. And, yes, there are quite a few people around who do want to supervise PhD students... (from a share and learn point of view).

Some suggestions:

1) Use Google scholar to find some research papers in your field (you could use keywords like: medical+education+simulation+training+australia)
2) Read a good book on 'How to get a PhD' or 'The PhD process' (see, for example: "The Posgraduate Research Handbook" by Gina Wisker or "Your PhD Companion" by Stephen Marshall & Nick Green, or "The Unwritten Rules of PhD Research" by Gordon Rugg and Marian Petre.

Best of luck.

Thanks Bakuvia for your answer.

The PhD books sound great - I'll definitely try and track them down.

My problem is that on initial enquiries it sounds like the university probably doesn't have any suitably qualified people in my specific area of interest. I've thought about this PhD thing for a bit now and I think I'm at the point of action. I've done a little research on the subject area in terms of what's published (via Pubmed) - but I think I'm ready to get into the lit review side of things big time. I think I'd do this more effectively if I was actually enrolled in a PhD rather than just thinking about it - hence the idea of just signing up now and finding a supervisor later.

I stayed up until 2am reading this site last night - I think that makes me overkeen on the whole PhD thing, but possibly it's a good prognostic sign!

My situation is a bit different from most of the people that I've read about on this board. I'm planning on doing the PhD part time whilst working. I'll be based a fair way away from the home university. And because I'm studying part time and working I don't need to apply for funding (I think, I don't know how much tuition fees are) so I plan on having full freedom to choose my PhD topic.

I am going to stick to the university in question - for logistical reasons. So it then really comes down to what you need in a supervisor. If you're reasonably self motivated and willing to learn everything there is to know about the subject area then what are you actually seeking in a supervisor? I was thinking of someone who understands how universities work and is easy to get along with. That's potential supervisor number 1 that I mentioned. Sure, he thinks my area of interest is pointless, but I think I could convince him otherwise given a bit of time!

Potential supervisor number two seemed a little bit interested when he was teaching a research unit I did last year and we talked about my area of interest. I don't think he has any expertise in the field, but I think he would be great at thinking clearly through problems, study design etc.

As for second supervisor at a distance - I guess it's not ideal, but if it gives me someone with specific expertise, it might be worthwhile.

At the moment I'm tending towards going with a supervisor who doesn't know my area (a negative) but who is not personality disordered like most of the supervisors I read about on this board (a positive). That just means I have to drive this project myself, which is cool with me. Of course, I've never done this PhD thing before so that may be a really, really bad idea - in which case please tell me now!

So I guess the question is : why does your supervisor need to be an expert in your area of reasearch? In a niche area, won't you become more knowledgable than anyone in the faculty after six months or so of thinking and reading?

Cheers,

Whitey

Hi Whitey

I don't think you're necessarily all that different from a lot of users on here... for sure, many are full-time and funded but just as many are part-time and unfunded (like myself).

Okay, let's see... supervisor - do they need to be an expert... no, not necessarily (although it helps). What they do need to be, however, is interested. A supervisor isn't just someone who helps you understand what the university side of a PhD is (although that's an important element). A supervisor (if they are a good one) is an ally, a supporter, a protagonist, a mentor. A good supervisor needs to be interested in your work (why else would they care?). What do these things matter? Well, some way down the line, when you're wondering what a PhD is for... what it's all about... it's a good supervisor that will keep you going, discuss your ideas, check the paths your treading and so on. Why might an expert be a good idea? Well, because, if they are already recognised in the field, then they know the field and can help you move on in your work after the PhD. Of course, if you just want a PhD and are not worried about what comes after, then that's not so big a deal, I guess.

I realise that Australia's a bigger land mass than the UK and so it probably makes sense to apply to a university that's geographically close to you... if you haven't already, why don't you plan a visit to the doctoral school at that university and discuss things with the postgraduate tutor there, and see if you can get some answers that are more applicable to you in your local situation. That might help.

Wow...151 days since my last post and I still haven't started the PhD!

Got as far as organising a couple of supervisors shortly after I posted, who said yes - but the main guy kind of said that I needed to go away and actually think up a real proposal rather than just 'this is the vibe I'm going for in my PhD' :)

Went on holidays, my daughter got sick and after a month or two in hospital the PhD did sort of get put on hold. I've been back at work for a couple of months and doing some of the background preparation for teaching resources that I would actually be studying as part of the PhD.

Well...it's probably time to stop procrastinating again - 151 days and all has re-motivated me! - I'm still super-keen but I guess the PhD won't happen on its own!

Other option was to do a masters degree by correspondence (University of Dundee)...and then maybe go and do a PhD afterwards...decisions decisions....