======= Date Modified 02 02 2010 12:02:13 =======
A PhD from a 2nd rate institution, but still a collaborative funded award in conjunction with a world-class partner?

Or a PhD from a world-class institution, but unfunded?

Depends if you have the cash to self-fund. I would personally always choose a funded PhD, but I'm pretty poor and would never have been able to cope self-funded. I also think that any university will take on a self-funded PhD, but if you get a funded one it means they actually value you and think you can do the PhD. I've seen many self-funded students go by the wayside because the supervisors couldn't care less.

Whilst I can afford to self-fund, ideally, I would've met the funding deadlines, for a 2010 start. This didn't happen, owing to an injury, and I'm reluctant to delay for a further year.

So what I'm trying to evaluate isn't the risk of self-funding vs funded, but rather the intrinsic value of the completed PhD, according to the two options outlined in the original post.

Initially, I assumed the world-class institution/unfunded route was better. However, I've recently begun to wonder if the world-class collaborative partner for the funded, 2nd-rate institution, would provide sufficient status to compensate for its academic shortcomings.

Any thoughts?

Personally I think funding counts for an awful lot. It shows that you competed in a competitive market, and were chosen (in my field only 1 in 5 applicants wins funding!). And to stress the point I've recently been updating my CV, and made sure that I noted that I had been funded by a research council for my PhD.

Would waiting another year really be so awful? It could certainly save you an awful lot of money.

You'd be doing the PhD and the work, not the institution. Whilst it might be nice to have a big name as the place you studied it's not that important. Much more important is the work you do, the papers you produce and your supervisors. Supervisor rep is more important than uni rep I feel.

As funding is quite competative then it's another feather in your cap but a fairly small and inconsequential one. Fundings mainly nice because you a) don't spend as much time tyring to balance PhD work and earning, and b) as Sneaks says often more value is placed on getting a funded student passed.

Hmmm.... depends what you mean by second rate institution - how second rate? From what I understand PhD places at most unis if self-funding are pretty easy to come by - they like fees.... ;-)

If you've got the chance of a funded PhD then as has been said it means that you've come out top in an extremely competitive field, that means something further down the line and if you look back through questions similar to yours you'll find we always say at PhD its not so much your institution, but your supervisor that counts. Another year really isn't that big a deal - are you prepared to pay out thousands and thousands to maybe finish a few months earlier? You could use the time to get your lit review etc ready so that you hit the ground running if you delay and take the funded option - although we all understand how frustrating the waiting would be. Depending on the supervisor of the funded position and quite how low ranking the uni is then you'd arguably do far better waiting :-)

Should have really added this earlier....if you do get funded then usually it becomes easier to get funding from that body again after the PhD. You already have a record with them and have completed a body of work etc.

Funded is always better than unfunded. Unless you are independently wealthy then go funded. It is tough enough getting a PhD - it is even tougher to fund yourself through one!

Hi Youngsta, I'm self-funded, and it is hard, but if you are confident you can do this comfortably, then you'll be in a completely different position to me.

IMO, it depends on what you will gain from the world-class intitution, ie what your supervisor is like, and what kind of reputation they have - can they, and will they, open doors for you, and are they commited to their students? You could check their record for that, or seek out what their past students are doing now. Mine has an excellent record for this and publicises their successes on his website alongside his own publications.


If not, or if the funded place can do the same for you, then I'd go funded - no point turning away brass.

Thanks for your replies. I'm a mature student, with 3 children under 12, btw, and I feel I need to get started as I've deferred my professional development for years.

Ok you have children. Do you need to take on the additional debt of self-funding? I'd be very concerned about doing this in your position.

Hmmmmm - we're in the same boat - I had 3 under 15 when I started the PhD and I'd say even more, just cos I'm in the boat and it rocks like hell, unless you can COMFORTABLY afford to self-fund don't go there! Its a nightmare, it really is - the further they get into secondary school the more expensive they become to keep/clothe/feed/school expense etc and the stress of financial pressures on top of the stress of a Phd is enough to drive you crazy and it affects your work. I don't have full funding - I have my fees paid and a scholarship (university) that is roughly half a research scholarship (mine is around £6 in total maintainance allowance) - I also work pt in the dept which gets me close to a full scholarship and its still really tough. Obviously we don't know your personal financial situation, but make sure that your family income is enough to comfortably absorb the fees, the cost of living, the cost of travelling for research etc etc. I don't mean to sound negative or patronising in any way but being there stuck at the coal face its so hard with older kids....

Hmmm, I think for a PhD you need to think more about your supervisors etc than the institution itself. Whilst it's arguably more important to get your undergrad or masters from a university with a good reputation, when it gets to PhD level you are more likely to be judged on who you worked with, the publications you have produced, and any conference presentations you have made- of course it looks good to have gone to a good university as well, but this is really second to the other achievements at PhD level. So I would be worrying less about the institution (unless the 'second rate' institution is really undesirable for any particular reason) and more about the people you will be working with and the support you will get. Best, KB

it does depend on your subject. My university's pretty poor, but for my subject its in the top 2 in the country. Even my department is pretty poor - but its the specialism that counts.