How likely is it to get fully funded with a first in a different subject and a merit in masters? My undergrad is business/finance-related and then the PhD lies in sociology, although I have a transferring master's in social science with a decent merit. I am too obsessed with this coz I know other applicants have 2:1s and even firsts in a social science subject. Business/Finance is best described as vocation-oriented rather than academic-oriented. Sigh...... Any inputs?

Hello- I knew of someone who has a undergraduate degree in music, a masters in something like English literature and is doing a politics PhD, which is funded. I think sometimes departments do like students to have a more 'inter-disciplinary' background, which sounds like what you have. I think its probably hard to say though how likely/unlikely it is that you'll get funding because of this- do you think you'd write a proposal that combined elements of what you have done in the past with sociology etc., or would it be purely sociological? Good luck!

hi,
i am in sociology and in my department there are actually only few people who have a solid, "pure" sociological background. many have degrees/masters from related disciplines like social policy, gender studies, political sciences, media & culture, etc. i am also in a research centre within the sociology department, and here nearly nobody is a "real" sociologist, but we are all getting sociology PhDs. some have backgrounds in medicine, biology, agricultural engineering, arts, journalism, you name it... there is another research centre within the sociology department, where most PhD students have backgrounds in architechture.
so what i am saying - i wouldn't worry about having the wrong background for a sociology PhD

Shani, where are you doing your PhD?

Thank you both, Vince and shani. I feel a lot better now. I'll keep my fingers crossed......

Yep, same question, shani. In my department, everybody seems to have an undergrad in anthropology, sociology, economics, international relations, etc. Mine is business/finance which is a shame to mention to others coz I feel I am like a dwarf, seems everybody can do business without a degree, so.....

I wouldn't worry about it either - my undergrad degree was in languages, my masters was in gender studies and my PhD is in sociology - and this route doesn't seem that uncommon in my department.

umm... after i said all that it's probably easy to track me down anyway... so i'll just forget about internet anonymity for now. it's LSE.

LSE...That's why you've struggled for funding.Few PhD students are fully funded by the school itself. LSE only wants to take in money, it rarely gives out money to its students generously.

i know sourapple, i found out the hard way

i wish i'd known this forum before i started, i would have made a much better informed decision.

i had thought i had at least an inkling of what it means to do a PhD, my partner being a PhD student, and myself being for 3 years executive secretary of the local PhD students association. i of course assumed there would be differences between countries and universities etc. but never did i imagine the differences would be so huge!

Yep, i know some extremely bright PhD students from LSE who have to fully fund their studies, well at least for the first year. Some get a fee waiver but again that's very very competitive. By contrast, Middlesex Uni has some fully-funded studentships paying 1000 pounds per month plus tuition paid, maybe there is jsut a trade-off between money and university's fame.

oh, sourapple, you say you feel you can't mention your business degree to people cause everyone seems able to do business without a degree... well perhaps it helps to know that the same, perhaps even worse, can be said about a sociology degree. everyone (thinks so, at least) can say stuff about society and it is so hard to make people understand what it is you do as a sociologist that is different than "common sense".

i think it will only ever be the people who have a similar background to your own who can really appreciate the value of it.

perhaps you would say, but it is different for stuff like medicine and genetics and rocket science. well, i've not done any of that, but i have played competitive chess and i think it might be similar: when you mention it, everyone goes "ooh" and is very impressed. you yourself however, you know that you would get this same reaction, no matter if you were a brilliant geneticist or just a bloody beginner, because most people (except other geneticists) couldn't judge the difference. so - you do get appreciation, but it only rarely feels real. because it is the appreciation of those who understand what you are doing that matters, and they are few, no matter if you are in business, sociology, genetics or chess.

so, hang on to the thought that people who evidently understand what you are doing have offered you the place - so you can't be too bad!

Ta.....