Was informed that funding for my final year of the PhD is gone. I had it for the last 3 years and without notice I was informed recently it wouldnt be there next year. I cannot afford the 6k or so registration, never mind living expenses.. Should I stay and put myself into 20K of debt to complete it or take a masters and forget about it! Advise is really needed as I need to register for the final year come sept

thanks

Ouch... not a good situation to be in :-(
After 3 years it seems a real shame to leave it, how much have you got left to do? Could you get a full time job and attempt to get it finished in your spare time?
Any other possible funding opportunities?

Thanks for your reply. i looked for external funding but was unsuccessful with my application. I would be 3/4 of the way there. data will be collected and analysed by jan the latest (that was the aim!!). contacts have already bn arranged! had until sept 2012 then to complete the thesis and go through drafts before final submission and then the viva. I am a hard worker and know I would get it done but not sure what I should do now.

I am so sorry to read that, I didn't know that could happen. I can't offer any advice as, to me, a PhD's worth can only be assessed by the individual completing it.

However, that's a horrible position you've been put in.

I hope you reach the best decision for you.

Hi Bannierocks, after 3 years you usually register for writing up only which - at my uni at least - means a flat fee of £ 100 only. A big difference from the usual full fees. Can you check with your PGs finance department?

My PhD is a taught programme so its a four year full time programme and unfortunately the registration fee is large. Tough situation to be in.. I have a few weeks to consider what I am going to do. Suppose the best thing to do is to put the head down and get as much done until this year is up! after that who knows................

I think that it would be a real pity to leave at this late stage, but I understand your position. It is a very difficult choice. For personal experience I can tell you that there are only a few lucky people out there who can afford to complete their PhDs without financial struggle. Like you I was funded for 3 years, but I had to travel extensively for research purposes, and I could only afford to eat at lunchtime during my research trips!

If you have courses to attend probably you will not be in the position to look for jobs, but even a few hours a week could perhaps be of help. Is there anyone in your department you can speak to about doing some teaching?

I was teaching for the last three years and thats where the funding came from.. but for some reason this does not seem to be the case this year! :(

Could you 'officially' go part time (reducing the registration costs) but work on your project 'unofficially' full-time?

from the uni's point of view, they've put resources and time into you so far, so its better for them that you finish. In that sense I'd say its worth going to them and asking for a payment plan you can manage or some teaching work.

Alternatively, you could take out a loan like a career development loan, which are meant to cover course fees.

Bannierocks-that's a pretty awful situation to have happened. Can you go part-time and look for work-thereby receiving a benefit until you find work and meantime work on the Phd that way.

Plenty of people work full time and complete doctorates part-time and who knows, if you received a benefit while you are looking for work, then you could get as much done as possible until you actually get some employment.

The university have put you in a really difficult position-surely they could help out with a student loan to cover the part-time registration fees (presumably 3000 for two years rather than the 6000 for one). Hope it all works out...

Whilst raising £20000 is a very big ask there are sources of smaller grants that can build up to make a substantial contribution to your funds.  See our article on funding PhD study without a scholarship on FindAPhD. There are numerous charities and trusts that have funds available for education.  The fact that you are nearing the end of your PhD will make you more attractive to many of these bodies as they will be able to see that their £500 or £1000 award can make a real difference to your chances of completing your studies.

Good luck with finishing your PhD.

It is not in the interests of universities to let a capable and willing student drop out at this late stage. I heard somewhere that completion within a certain timeframe was a metric unis were now being assessed on, so I would have thought that avoiding you having to quit would be something that they would take an interest in.

Talk to someone in your department admin/student union to see what the options are. They may well be able to sort something out as an exceptional case. If the only way forward is to self fund you could maybe ask for an interruption of studies so you can raise some cash/apply for grants, or go part time as others have suggested. There are some small charitable trusts that do do grants for short periods or students who are in difficulties.

If self funding through employment isn't possible, and loans are the only way, then do think carefully and honestly about the likely job prospects in your discipline or in related non-academic fields. To have to leave the PhD without finishing would be unfortunate, but so would racking up a massive amount of debt and then finding that not only does the PhD not help you find a job, it is actually a hindrance with the job market as it is.

I hope things work out for you.

Hazyjane is right.  Universities are assessed on PhD completion rates and yours will not want you to drop out now.  Of course if you submit for a masters instead they'll probably be able to hide you in the figures somewhere as you completed a degree, even if it wasn't a PhD. Completion rates are the reason behind the MPhil/PhD system.  If someone isn't upgraded to a PhD and has to submit for an MPhil they haven't failed or dropped out of the PhD, instead they have completed the MPhil they registered for in the first place.

Thanks everyone for all your suggestions.. if needs be I will consider taking a year off to work my ass of to pay my way in the final year! Fingers crossed that this situation will be resolved soon :P