Hello

I have been accepted to do a PhD (I am a UK resident). My bank has said I do not have the status to ask for a loan. The PhD is full-time so I cannot work during the day and where the university is located there are simply no jobs anyway.

What is my best source of funding, please, or who should I ask next?

Thanks!

Hi,

Firstly congratulations on securing your PhD!! Now the tricky bit:

Ask about demonstrating. It basically involves helping undergraduates out in practical sessions. I did a science based PhD and did loads of (maybe even too much) demonstrating. It pays really well but the sessions run in the day which may clash with your PhD commitments.

If you are a humanities / history / social science-based research student then you might still be able to help in tutorials? Computer scientists sometimes aid in the running of the computer labs (maybe someone else on the forum who has done any of these can help here).

Either way these teaching / demonstrating slots are normally highly competitive so the sooner you ask the better. I was also a resident tutor (it's like a halls warden) which gave me free accommodation in my final year (although I know some who had it in every year). Maybe your institution offers a similar scheme?

Hope this helps,
Thanks,
Matt.

Have you lookd at the UK Gov professional career development loan? Google it :-)

Congratulations on your offer. Is it definite that the PhD must be full time? Doing an unfunded full time PhD is quite an undertaking. It may be better to start off part time so that you can work somehow, and then switch to full time status once you have secured some funding.

I would be very reluctant to fund an entire PhD from loans, particularly given that a PhD is not necessarily career enhancing. What are your career plans post-PhD? If you let us know broadly what kind of field you are in, people might be able to point you in the direction of relevant funding streams.

Okay, so you have been accepted onto a non-funded PhD.

I don't mean to be rude, but in the current job market, is that really a good idea? Especially if you have to find new accommodations in a new city, where local jobs are limited.

One option if its a large office orintated city, there is often work as cleaners which will end before 9am and pay enough for rent and still give you a full day at Uni (several undergrad student friends have done this). If you don't mind early starts its worth looking into.

Have you spoken to the University and explained you would require financial help? The deparment the post is for may have funding for a year or so while you apply for external funding grants.

Good luck!

Having been through the system and supervised other PhD students when I was in academia I would strongly suggest you think twice before accepting a non-funded PhD (especially in the field of science, but with the arts and humanities being what they are, it probably applies there too).

Being funded has several advantages, including not having to sacrifice precious writing up time in other employment, having greater prestige when it comes to launching your postdoc career and not being seen as a cash cow/ second class citizen. I have heard others say that being accepted onto a self funded PhD is almost like having a polite rejection, but only now fully understand what they were talking about after seeing the effect on others.

Let's assume every year an university accepts 50 PhD students... If this university creates 5 academic jobs or less every year, what will happen if these students cannot find any decent job later? It is fine if the main intention is the love of wisdom. Actually, some PhDs become technicians or technical operators... Hopefully, all can find fulfillment in their jobs...

Hey Bluenose,

First of all. Congratulations!

For those who are not fully funded, we offer a general Fudning guide on our FindAPhD.com site here - http://www.findaphd.com/student/funding/funding-1.asp. You might find this a good starting point. More specifically, we are also offering our own scholarships so you might want to take a look here - http://www.findaphd.com/student/funding/postgraduate-phd-scholarships.aspx