Dos on need a distinction to get a PhD place in the Russell Group?

Nope, I'm doing a PhD at one of the Russell group unis and I don't have a distinction.

So am I and I don't have a masters, never mind a distinction! I do have a first for my BSc though.

I'm distinctly average. No first, no distinction. Also at a Russell group.

No, I'm also at a Russell Group and have no distinction, I know planty of others who are also distinction free

I only have a 2.2 for my first degree as well, from another Russell group uni.

How much relevance is placed on going to a Russell Group University? Do people think it has a significant outcome in terms of career prospects?

University of Birmingham
University of Bristol; University of Cambridge; Cardiff University ;University of Edinburgh ;University of Glasgow ;Imperial College London ;King's College London
University of Leeds ;University of Liverpool ;London School of Economics & Political Science ;University of Manchester ;Newcastle University ;University of Nottingham ;Queen's University Belfast ;University of Oxford ;University of Sheffield ;University of Southampton ;University College London ;University of Warwick


20 Universities - but all they can do is award a PhD degree as hundreds of other universities in the UK. It doesn't matter where the PhD is from. Publications matter.

I think it does matter in terms of working for Russell group unis yourself in the future, they like to see it on your CV. But it's only a factor. I'd say the standing of your supervisor in the field you want to enter is just as important. And of course the quality of your publications even more so.

If your PhD is mediocre with no publications then it may well help if it's from a top ranking institution. But if you have a good PhD with good publications then the world's your oyster wherever you got it

I would say it doesn't matter for career prospects in this environment. What will be important AFTER the PhD is publications and the postdoc location and supervisor, and the university where s.o. works as a lecturer.

it is not advisable to complete a PhD in a new university and then to stay there forever. But it is easy to complete a PhD in a new university and then move to a more prestigious place.

I find the expression "mediocre" PhD very problematic.

A PhD is a PhD, at least in the UK. They are all examined according to high standards. Always involving an external examiner from a different university. Often, PhDs in Russel Group are examined by new university scholars and vice versa. If someone gets a PhD, a certain standard should be there.

Surely, the ability to transform a PhD into SUBSEQUENT publications is down to the individual student and has no impact on the standard of the PhD itself. Therefore, mediocrity is a very weird expression in this context.

I'm not sure what to use instead because the fact is all PhDs are not equal.

I disagree. In terms of value as the highest academic degree and examination standards, all PhD in the UK ARE equal. If you declare the opposite, you question the entire degree purpose.

Content is a different matter, of course. So is an individual's ability to subsequently market it in terms of job prospects.