Hi everyone,

After a lot of soul-searching and option weighing I have decided it is best for me to quit my PhD. There are a number of reasons, but mainly it is not quite what I expected it to be and I do not think I am cut out for the lifestyle of a PhD student, the solitary work, the lack of direction etc. One of the factors in my decision was believing that it is unfair for me to keep taking funding that could actually be going to someone who would make a lot more of it than I am and will in the future.

I have a question about funding though. I am on a fully funded studentship and I was wondering if I would be expected to pay back any of the funding I have already received. I truly wish I didn't have to factor finances into such a decision but I am by no means a rich person after having had to fund my undergraduate course.
Further to this I have signed no form of contract or declaration regarding finances, the funding just goes into my account quarterly.

I would appreciate any advice regarding this, particularly from anyone who has been in the same situation.

Who is funding you? Is it a research council or what? Normally if it is this situation would be spelled out in the information available to students, for example online.

I left an EPSRC funded PhD 13 years ago. I didn't have to pay anything back, but the funding finished the day I left.

Good luck.

My money comes directly from my University, but the project I am on is funded by a large grant from a Research Council. I have looked online both on the university pages and the research council and cannot seem to find anything there.

Hi,
I don't think you have to pay any of it back. I've known people to have quit and they've never had to pay it back. I would check with your research office though.

I'm pretty sure you don't need to pay it back, from asking a few people at my uni. Might be different in yours though. Noticed your thread was in Jan - did you quit? How did it go?

Usually (and feel free to correct me if I'm wrong anybody) you don't have to pay anything back from the funding but if you get paid every quarter then you'll have to hand back whatever you didn't use during that quarter (i.e. if you got paid for three months, then left a month into that quarter, you'd pay back the other two months worth) so effectively you don't have to pay back what you got for the duration of your studies.

Hi, Thanks for everyones responses. I did quit in February and wasn't required to pay anything back. I am a lot happier now and have some job interviews coming up. I felt quite guilty about the money for a while but I came to realise that funding bodies factor in that there is a certain drop-out rate, its part of the process. I think I had realised quite early on that I wasn't cut out for doing a PhD, not on an academic level, but an emotional one. I carried on through fear of letting people down who had vouched for me family, supervisors etc. To anyone reading this who is thinking about quitting my advice would be that you have to try and cut out those natural feelings and think about No.1. Especially with Supervisors, they will be dissapointed for a day or two and then they'll move on to finding someone else, like they have done hundreds of times before. Also though, don't quit without asking for a break from studies which your university will almost certainly give you. Mine gave me time to clarify my thoughts and make sure they were as objective as possible.

hi atleestaxi
thanks for posting and letting us know how you are doing

love satchi