Hello all,

This is my first post here but I am an occasional lurker and I think that the forum is a fantastic resource... I have a question which some ppl will hate me for asking!

I am currently a PhD student at a UK university and have just entered the second year of my funding. I am entertaining the possibility of taking on some light distance learning (a pgcert in philosophy at Birbeck to begin with) but there are a few things to consider.

Firstly, my university has a regulation preventing current research students registering for another qualification without prior approval. What is the likelihood that they would find out and what would likely be the consequences.

Secondly, I realise that many if not most of you here would advise against taking on too much alongside the PhD but I feel very strongly that I should pursue a BA part time to facilitate a sideways move into another discipline post doctorate. What I did my first degree in is anathema to me and dread spending a career lecturing in it (that is if I ever get that far!)...

Am I nuts?

I knew someone who managed to publish work multiple times from the university they were working at under their supervisor's nose without their supervisor/university finding out (they didn't want to include their supervisor lol). So if that's possible, and all those involved keep it quiet - I mean, are you really going to tell people about this pgcert if you already know that your uni's regulations have issues with it? I know I wouldn't - then, I guess there's no reason why you couldn't. Also, because it's a different qualification, surely you could still do it? I always thought that you couldn't apply for the same qualification with the same content at two different institutes?

Your second paragraph sounds like a bloody great idea..wish I'd thought of it, you're thinking ahead. I think it's good. Then again, this is coming from someone who is one of those people that think that you can get through a PhD without driving yourself into the ground (and eventually did it too).

I say go for it! Your money, your life, your rules. Your university isn't doing you a favour by taking you on, you're paying fees for a service they happen to provide.

Haha, you're not nuts, just very ambitious. :D

Why are you doing a PhD if you want to change? Why not ditch and do the BA full time?

I did my PhD while doing a postgraduate certificate via distance learning at the same time. The university and my supervisor were fine with it. Word of advice: it's hard work and it delayed me from submitting my PhD first time round.

I agree with this sentiment. If you have doubts about your subject area, you need to consider whether or not you continue to follow your current path or take this new qualification.

As the PhD progresses and especially approaching the later stages, you will find it becomes all the more time consuming. You most certainly won't have time to pursue a part-time PGCert or BA alongside your PhD as you hit write-up unless you're some sort of genius. You would be endangering the PhD and the quality of the work and thesis. Also, you could endanger your health doing two courses - there's been people on here whose health has suffered due in part or in whole to the PhD on it's own.

I had been doing a part-time German course prior to the PhD (only a couple of hours a week), which I had to drop a year into the PhD as the PhD expanded to fill in my available time.

Ian