Hi! I have just emailed a tutor at the OU with some PhD ideas - I only emailed her yesterday but keep checking for a response! I am hoping to do a part-time PhD and am eager to start! Will see what she says and maybe try one more uni before making a decision. My PhD would be in English Lit - and I have so many ideas and can't pinpoint one! I just wanted to set up a thread for anyone else who is applying for a 2011 start so we can talk abt our experiences and give each other support and advice. I've already done a big dissertation for my MA but this is something else! I was not aware of the oral examination/defence until a few days ago, so I am sure that I will find a lot more things out along the way!
So please add ur comments - where have u applied? what subject? have u gone straight to ur proposal or bounced ur ideas off a potential supervisor? are u applying to a uni u have studied at before or are u applying somewhere new? Anything and everything!!
Good luck x

Hi Gazebum

Great idea to start a thread for newbie PhDers.

I'm starting a part-time PhD at S'oton in Sept 2011 with the same supervisor that I have for my current MSc dissertation.

When I applied I submitted an overview of my research area and the kind of issues that I want to explore. I'm adding ideas and possible issues to explore as I go along. My topic's in the area of ethics and how these link to other activities.

What area in English Lit are you starting to focus on?

What subject is your degree in??

I did my Masters with the OU and am applying to them first because the tutor I want has published alot in the subject area and the university itself has received alot of funding for its work on British Asian Lit up to 1950 - I want to explore this from a much more contemporary and recent angle. I know that Leeds Uni has tutors in the same field and if I don't get anywhere with the OU I will apply to them.

So I assume from your message that you've submitted your proposal and it's been accepted? Did you have a face-to-face interview too? Are you going to be working full/part-time too? I am able to work from home at the moment so hoping studying at the same time won't be too much. I want to have my proposal written and submitted and accepted soon so I can get prep done before start date (Sept/Oct) find resources etc and get on with it! How many years are you hoping to complete your PhD in?

I'm working full-time.

My first degree was in history & politics and I'm currently doing a MSc in Commercial Management (work-related). And it's given me a base for developing my own research interests through my dissertation.

I'll be working full-time for about half the 7 years I've been given to do the PhD. I plan to move away from full-time work and this will free up more time for the PhD.

I didn't have an interview.

Are you working as well?

I'm applying for the later part of 2011 as well. I completed my Master's thesis three months or so ago and have a few more days to await the final examiner's report from this before I can formalise my applications for a doctorate.

I've submitted an expression of interest to my state university (which has a very good reputation and would have the advantage of supervisors being on hand) and received a very positive response. Expression of interest took a bit of work but is only the beginning. However, I can't apply with the formal application (which takes a bit more work!) until I know through my thesis results that I have received the equivalent of a first or 2.1. This is because I will be applying for a RTS scholarship so that the doctorate is fee-free. (If my results are less than this, I can still apply but will have to completely self-fund). This university is not the one I completed my Master's at, but I want my supervisors within driving distance not flying distance (live in Australia so distance is a big part of life here sometimes-with the states so far apart from each other).

I am studying part-time while working full time as well and my job is one that takes a fair bit of my life but I am strongly inclined to do a professional doctorate rather than a straight Phd, because I can tie in my work with my research rather than having a bit of a split. But to do either with the fee scholarship, in the way I want, means that I have to do well in the thesis, so I'm a bit impatient this Christmas as I think the final report will come early January, now given the holidays. However, I have been told by the university that my topic matter is fine and they have already approached supervisors and have three who would be prepared to be on my team (they have a principal sup but also have a team overall).

My area is education, curriculum and partnerships and my Master's focused on qualitative research only but I envisage a mixed methods for the doctorate and have put this forward in my expression of interest proposal and in the wrap up to my present Masters thesis. I'm keen to begin but also know I need a break after the last stint of study (while doing this thesis) with my life going pear-shaped and a new and very demanding role in my present workplace happening at the same time as the thesis-so I am setting it all in motion but do not expect to formally start until next July-August. In the meantime, I am focusing on sorting out my work life and having a better, work, life, study balance overall.

Thanks for putting up this post, it is really good to see some others also completing or having just completed masters who are beginning the doctoral journey-sorry my reply is so lengthy-just was writing this out in part, because it helps with keeping focus and perspective. I secretly think that all of us who wish to take this sort of research, writing, exploration journey must in part be obsessive thinkers....you know the thoughts go round and round and round like a hamster on a wheel!

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I finished my MSc in September and am now applying for PhD programmes for October 2011 entry. Most of them are funded by the MRC or Wellcome Trust and everyone has to apply well in advance but that's just the way it works. Hearing how competitive they are is scary but *someone* has to get those places, right?

I'm applying for a total of seven programmes and should know if I've got a place on any of them by February. If I don't manage to get a place this way I'll have to start looking at individual projects and contacting supervisors, hopefully it won't come to that as I'm totally clueless about that whole process, just as I was clueless about applying to programmes until a few months ago!

Ideally I'd go back to my MSc lab project supervisor for my PhD as I had a great time working with him and in that particular lab. Even if I got on a good PhD elsewhere I'd still feel a bit gutted about not going back and I'm slightly worried that I won't have a research experience that good again. Hopefully the admissions peeps will realise just how much I want to come back!

Oh most definately!
I finished my first degree in English with a 2:1 in 2001. Then I did my Masters three years p/t, while also doing my PGCE (teaching degree) at the same time full-time! This year I did two Level 3 English courses with the OU and was tempted to do another...and then I thought that instead of dilly-dallying I should do my PhD. I did my PGCE with the hope of teaching/researching at a university, and ended up doing secondary teaching - which just sucked my soul!!

I work for Reuters - and work from home. I have a 2 and a half year old daughter and kinda live between two cities - so I never really know where I am from week to the next! That's why I am doing part-time because I cannot commit to a full-time PhD which requires more face-to-face time with your supervisor. And as the OU has so much experience with distance learning I am confident that it will suit my learning style - which is to be left alone!

Pjlu - don't worry abt the lengthy post, it was what I was hoping for! It can be easy to feel 'isolated' on a PhD without the security of other courses where you can interact with other students. Am hoping that we can all 'support' each other via this thread.

I know I only emailed the tutor yesterday but I wish that she would hurry up and reply - making me paranoid that she doesn't think that my ideas are worth replying to!

Flack - stay positive. You have as much chance as anyone else to get funding so go in there all confident and everything will fall into place! Seven places wow! Are these all advertised studentships?? The problem with doing an English Lit PhD is that I cannot seem to find any :(

Interesting point about PhD types being obsessive thinkers, though for me it's more about being an obsessive learner. For the MSc I was a mature student and one of the main reasons I decided to quit my career and return to science was my need to be constantly learning new things. At work I felt like my brain was starting to atrophy and I kept finding my work less and less fulfilling as it just wasn't stretching me. There was a point where I knew I could go no further, whereas with science that point is unlikely to ever be reached as there is just too much left to discover! On the MSc I discovered that Masters degrees are much more intense than Bachelor degrees but I needed something that intense, a challenge like that was just what I needed and I found the whole thing exhilarating after years of undemanding but unfulfilling work.

Gazbegum- yes, these are all advertised studentships but biomedical research programmes tend to be much more structured and many institutions have an annual intake. Also two of those seven programmes are overseas so opportunities aren't limitless here in the UK. The application process is also very different for biomedical research PhDs and I have no idea how the system works for PhDs in the humanities, but good luck however you're going about it!

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double post, aaarrrrgghh.

Has anyone heard whether the increase in undergrad fees that UK government are introducing will impact on PhD fees? If it does, then it could deter us self-funders?

And it's great to find that those of us doing Masters and want to go on to PhD are not alone. I've sought of got the bug and it gives me a framework / structure in which to explore, develop my ideas and write. How about you?

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I know I only emailed the tutor yesterday but I wish that she would hurry up and reply - making me paranoid that she doesn't think that my ideas are worth replying to! (This bit is a quote but hasn't worked properly in the quote box because I edited it!)

Don't be paranoid...heaps of people don't respond quickly or even regularly to emails. My Masters supervisor often overlooked mine, mainly I think due to the many she received and also because she was really busy always. The process at the universities over here is often really slow. I received some quick responses from the PostGrad admin support person at the uni I am applying to at present-it was still over a few days and that was a really quick response in my experience! I was amazed at the response to be honest. Once the results are officially in, I imagine that my proper application will take several weeks, even if it continues to be a quick process. One person's application pretty much took a year...not sure why but she was pretty annoyed.
Good luck with it all then...I really can't do very much other than wait for my other examiner's report and final result before any more steps are taken.
Once that happens I can approach new supervisors and begin the formal process but I have noted that the UK people often have apps in, etc before their actual results are through...so I know it can be different in the UK.

I have composed my (Arts) proposal for 2011 entry, thankfully I knew my potential sup from undergrad and he was very keen for me to do a phd so we bounced ideas off which took about 2 months and then about 2 weeks to write a proper proposal which he straight off offered to edit(!). I did a human geography degree (2009) but then took a master's in urban planning and at a different university (2010), and now want to move back to my 'home' subject and uni. I was a bit stupid i think last year not applying for a PhD (I was a bit busy with Master's work) which means that I will be spending the next 9 months 'out of learning'. This may be a good thing as taking a year off provides some breathing space although I hope I don't turn 'mad', I really really really want to start my PhD now and as someone said;

quote]. I secretly think that all of us who wish to take this sort of research, writing, exploration journey must in part be obsessive thinkers....you know the thoughts go round and round and round like a hamster on a wheel![/quote