Hi,

Does anybody know how flexible supervisors are on PhD start dates? I've just finished a masters and am looking for a PhD to start in January of this coming year but the majority seem to be advertised for starting next October. Do university's have to adhere to that start date specifically because of when funding is released or is this just convenient for undergrads going into a PhD? Are they able to bump start dates earlier into the year if youve already got your degree and are available to start anytime? Any help would be appreciated!

Thanks

Generally if the PhD is funded they will want you to start in October (mainly for the convenience) however there will be exceptions to this that will depend on the university and the supervisors. Many international students start throughout the year so there is some flexibility. There will also be other funded positions that crop up from throughout the year that may have start dates other than October.

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There's no one fixed rule - as you note, there are funding cycles that come into play, and different unis have different policies. Mine seems happy to let people start at the beginning of each term - when I was offered my PhD I was given two options of start dates and chose the latter as the former would have been a bit of a rush to move, but the latter was the latest it could be due to the stipulations of the funding. I suggest if you see projects you're particularly interested in then just contact the supervisors and see what the situation is. Even if they're tied to October, it might be good to make contact with groups you might like to work in.