Hi everyone, I have a PhD studentship application pending and it looks like it's going to fall through because I'm a reference short. The person I asked to provide it keeps fobbing me off saying they haven't got time to do it and now I can't even get hold of them and thanks to my MA being years ago, nobody else in the department knows me and there's literally no-one else to ask! The University have been really good waiting for me but they're not going to wait forever. Would it be considered weird to approach someone at the University where I did my degree even though it was 8 years ago? Has anyone else been stuck in a similar position? Help!!

Gosh, how unhelpful of your ex-tutor :-s

I am not an expert but i would say it would be fine to contact the uni that you did your degree at. Especially if there is still a tutor there who taught you, perhaps there was a module or specific piece of work you did particularly well in? I know that one of my degree tutors provided a ref for my MA application, even though it was 3 years since I had studied for my degree - she was my dissertation supervisor so i had had a lot of contact with her at the time. You can ask eh? they can either say yes or no... especially if your other option isn't getting you any where
;-)

other people may have more helpful suggestions, like I said.. I'm no expert!

Good luck - it seems such a shame to let the application slip just because you can't get a ref

I started my PhD last year and the references I provided were both from my undergraduate lectures (I graduated in 2000, so it's 9 years ago), because my tutor from my second master was awful and we had really bad relationships (because I wasn't British, so, as he insisted, I shouldn't have been doing an MBA and because I shouldn't have been allowed to study in UK!!!!!!) and my tutors from my first master had left uni and I couldn't find them....
I didn't have any problems, so I guess that you won't either!
Good luck!!!

When I was offered my PhD I asked my undergrad dissertation supervisor for a reference. She was busy and couldn't give one so an old lecturer who barely knew me did one. I just gave details about the PhD and I suppose he just wrote a standard reference, but it worked. I don't see the problem with approaching an old lecturer or staff member.

Good luck

I agree! They're used to people asking who they hardly even remember. Go for it! And damn the 'busy' academics. How busy can they be? I'm working 20 hours a week, renovating my flat, doing a phd, and STILL spending hours on end on the internet and in front of the tv. How busy can they possibly be?? xx

Thanks everyone, have just done some emailing around, hopefully someone will be able to do it!