I am in full time (scientific) employment and have an MSc. If I can find a research subject relevant (ish) to my employer. My employer allows me the time to do it (part time) but doesn't offer funding/sponsorship. Would it still be possible to obtain funding from e.g. a research council for the fees? What sort of timescales would be set to complete it. Would any funding be available to compensate my employer (bit cheeky perhaps)?

It might be possible to get research council funding, but you cannot apply to the directly yourself. You would need to find an academic supervisor who would apply to the research councils for funding for such a project. If your employer wishes to have benefit from or even have access to the intellectual property generated through your PhD research (ie your results) then they would also need to be involved and would be expected to commit financially.

Avoid part-time Phd study if you can! - I dont want to be negative but it is a huge sacrifice of the rest of your life and a lot to ask of loved ones and some work just isnt possible to do in part time blocks - restricting your potential research. At my uni the limit for handing in theses part-time has just been reduced from 8-6 years - dont know if this is universal though.

Dear anon and FindAPhd Team Thanks very much for your replies.