======= Date Modified 16 Jun 2011 13:24:29 =======

Hey everyone,

I would like to go back to Europe for my PhD (in the life sciences) to be closer to home and was thinking about doing it in the UK. I am not really familiar with the application process in the UK so I have a couple of questions:
1. How far in advance should I start looking for studentships? Here in the US you pretty much have to apply in December or January if you want to start in the fall. In Germany, the other country I am a bit familiar with, PhD projects are offered throughout the year and you just look for openings a couple of months before you want to start. I will graduate in May and would like to start as soon thereafter as possible, if that is of importance.
2. Is there a better website than findaphd.com to find studentships?
3. What exactly do they usually need from me? A CV, a cover letter outlining my qualifications and what interests me about the particular project, university certificates. Anything else?

I hope I put this in the right forum.. I am new here so it is still somewhat confusing. Mostly, I am hoping to get an answer to question 1. ;-)

Thanks!
Robbi

Hi Robbi,

The world of PhD applications in the UK was alien to me too and I'm from the UK! There are no hard and fast rules!

1) Some projects are advertised and filled within a few months and others (like mine) are advertised almost a year before the project starts, it depends on lots of things. Most projects start in September/October but you can find some that are available to start at other times.

2)Findaphd.com is the best website that I know of, but there are other ways to get a PhD here, for example contacting individual supervisors directly with your ideas and then submitting a proposal for a project. It does depend however on how you are funding the project? If you want a funded project it is more difficult to find and they are generally less flexible with start dates etc.


3) For your final question it again depends on the project, most will say what they require, but yes I would include a CV (tailored towards the project) and cover letter, University Certificates are generally not needed until you are accepted as a student unless they ask for one up front.

Hope this is some help!

Caro

======= Date Modified 17 Jun 2011 00:32:26 =======
Thanks Caro. Good to know that I am not the only one who is confused about this at times. ;-)

I will graduate next year in May. So would you say it is a reasonable strategy to start looking for projects on findaphd sometime this fall and apply once something sparks my interest?

If I understand you correctly, I should do a cover letter and a CV which includes all relevant pieces of information (work experience and skills in the respective field etc). Anything else only if asked for. Should I include my GPA somewhere? In the US I wouldn't unless it is specifically mentioned or asked for, but different countries, different standards...

Hi Robbi,

You might want to think about who your academic referees would be and approach them in readiness for applications. In the universities (in Aust) that I have checked out or applied for, formal applications require referees who usually have to write a report of some kind about your ability to complete. I'm not sure at what stage you might be asked to supply these but having or knowing who you will ask, and also knowing that they will respond promptly and submit a report (or whatever paperwork-online submission the university requires) can help speed things along once you've started applying. Good luck

======= Date Modified 18 Jun 2011 20:22:33 =======
Thanks, that is good to know that I will need referees. How many are they usually looking for? I know two professors who would give me excellent references. Might have to think harder to find a third one...

Hi Robbi, Ive looked seriously at three universities in three different states in Australia regarding PhD applications or EdD. In all cases the university wanted two different referees. In all cases, one referee was allowed to be a professional but one had to be an academic reference. In these applications, the referees had to submit reports or complete an online or written form that commented on your potential and 'capabilities' with regard to undertaking independent research. So if you have done honours-your dissertation supervisor or honours advisor would be ideal. If you were doing this after completing a masters, then someone who had been involved with you (again a supervisor is ideal-but it doesn't have to be your supervisor-it could be someone else who knows you and your work).

In my case, I used my thesis supervisor and an colleague (who is my line manager) from my workplace. The colleague had recently completed a professional doctorate and was a senior exec in my school. Good luck Robbi.

Hi again Robbie,

I'm not entirely sure how GPA translates into British universities grades, but as most Universities ask for at least a 2:1 here you would need whatever the equivalent to that is and you would have to state that on your CV. 

I would start looking at the projects available as soon as you can, as you never know when the perfect project may come along! The PhD I got was advertised in October 2010, I applied in December the closing date for applications was February, I was interviewed in March but it doesn't start until October 2011!

I've heard of others being asked to start straight away, but again this is dependent on funding, if you are self-funding you could probably have a lot more freedom in starting times!

Thanks everyone for the responses.
Do the referees usually have to write a letter about me? Or do potential supervisors call them to chat about me? Just so I know and can warn my professors what to expect... ;-)

It's usually in the written format by letter or e-mail so you just need to ask your referees to look out for them.

Good luck (up)

Yeah it's usually written, sometimes in physical form i.e. a papter form but usually it's an email form nowadays. I'm sure your professors would have a good idea what to expect anyway!

Good luck!

Nice. So they can hopefully prepare somewhat of a default letter that they only need to adapt slightly and copy&paste it. Thanks everyone! Hopefully I will stand a chance and find a funded project.

======= Date Modified 03 Jul 2011 13:57:01 =======
Hi Robbi, the three universities I looked at (properly looked at because I was tossing up whether to lodge an application with all), had a specific online form that the referees had to fill out and submit. With regard to the university that I eventually applied through, I had to email the online form to the referees along with supplying the email address and contact details of the uni higher degree research coordinator and academic in charge of research for the faculty.

The referees then completed the form independently and emailed this to the contact addresses I supplied. The form was quite specific and I did not get to see what they said (though would have loved to). Questions asked were things like
given a particular category-did they think that my current research strengths were
a going towards international level,
b tending towards national level,
c sound and with some support very thorough, or
d would need lots of support to complete.

They had other sorts of questions like this as well.

I did not get to see the reports but have just received my letter of offer only two to three days ago and have to go in to enrol before the end of this week or the offer lapses. (Not much time there).

On the other hand, I didn't have to go through extensive interviews so I'm guessing that the referee reports were solid (seriously do not think they would have suggested I was working towards international level or anything) and all of my other qualifications were at the level required-so perhaps they did not see the need to interview. Initially they told me I would be grilled by a very scary professor (their words). I did have two interviews though-one with the research coordinator and one with one of my designated supervisors (I have two).

Anyway, I am off on a tangent (about myself here:$). To finish, all three universities I had earmarked for potential applications had a similar referee process with the online form and independent submission. However, this is in Australia-it might be a little different. The university I am doing the doctorate through though claims it bases its research processes on British Universities though. It tends to be a bit traditional.

Good luck with it all(up) Robbi-best of luck. It is a bit nervewracking all up but it is also a pretty happy moment when you get your letter of offer.