Hello. I'm considering the possibility of asking some of my professors at my former faculty if they would like to supervise my PhD thesis. Although there are other universities with related PhD programmes, the PhD programme at my former faculty is the only one I like.

But given my academic background, I wonder if my ambitions are just unrealistic. Somehow I can see only arguments "against" being my supervisor. But I REALLY want to get a PhD in my field.

Is there a chance that they will accept me? If so, how can I increase my chances of being accepted?

My situation is:

I graduated in Science six years ago. My grades were not brilliant but fine. The professors who are candidates to be my supervisors now happen to be those professors I failed with when I was an undergraduate. I had to take the same courses with other professors whose style of teaching I found easier to follow.

My plan is to start the PhD course in the academic year 2011-2012, so it will be 8 years since I graduated. That's a long time without studying. Even if I work hard from now on to review all the stuff I learned as an undergraduate, I'm afraid there won't be enough time.

Since I graduated I've been working non-stop in a big corporation applying some intelligence to the data contained in our databases (somehow related to my university studies, but the relation is not direct).

Also, I've studied a 2-year masters course in a field related to my university studies, where I did a very good job, but unfortunately the grades were limited to PASS/FAIL, so instead of an A, I got only a PASS. So I can't prove that I did brilliantly there (unless I ask for a letter of recommendation to my masters professors).

I plan to continue working full-time while I study my PhD, so I would be a part-time PhD student. That could expand the amount of time I need to complete my thesis.

Although I was not brilliant in my field as an undergraduate, I'm very hard-working and highly motivated. I want to join the research community and contribute to science with my findings.

So, what do you think? Am I PhD-able? If so, how should I approach my ex-professors to increase my chances of getting their approval?

Thank you very much in advance!

44 views and 0 replies? Ouch. Either my post is too long, or people think I'm no PhD material but they don't want to be the ones to disappoint me. Come on, guys. Don't be shy. Express yourselves. :-)

Yes of course you are PHD-able! You have a good masters and relevant work experience (I'm sure in your application you could make it seem even more relvant?).

I imagine that you'll need letters of recommendation from your masters professors, and if these are good, it will enhance your application. I think you should indeed approach them, let them know your plans, and perhaps even ask their opinion about how capable you are? ALso, ask for any advice they are willing to offer.

At the moment you only see arguments 'against' being your supervisor--ie an academic record that isn't shining. Well, think of how to turn that around: show them that there are plenty of reasons FOR supervising you! Approach potential supervisors, show them that you are interested in their field, that you have good ideas, that you are committed, and that you are prepared to work hard. Getting a supervisor onside is crucial to a succesful application (at least it was in my case--my academic record isn't great at all).
Good luck, M,x

Hello Alterego,

OK, I can not say if you are a PhD material or not, only you can decide that.

In my experience PhD does not require a very high intelligence, it needs determination and enthusiasm for the work also a good supervisor.( of course you have to be smart but, you do not need to be a genius).

Some supervisors accept any type of student as long as they are hard working and i think they can decide when they meet you to judge your abilites..etc.
others only accept A grade students, so it depends on the supervisor and the (money, vacant position ...etc)

another question to ask yourself is why you did badly in those previous grades? was it because you were not working and you know you can do much better if you had the chance to work hard?

am sure grades are not a sign of intelligence or abilities but, if you were able to do a master, that means you are good enough, that is what i think at least.

this is my honest views, and I don't know really how you can ask for advice ...etc I don't have much experience my self in these things.

BUT what i think is : if you think you are good deep down, then you do have a chance, but ask the right people, someone who knows you are good.

hope that answers some of your questions.



(tree)

No doubt about it, you are capable of a ph.d.! hard work and motivation is at least 80% of the process. My only concern with your plans are the part time aspect...

What flavour of science are you talking about? I heard many a supervisor say that part time Ph.Ds do not work for biology and chemistry based Ph.D.s

I'm sure there are some people who work full time and do a Ph.D. but how they manage is beyond me!? Academic science in my (very recent) experience is all or nothing i.e. Early mornings, late nights, weekends. Obviously, if you are doing a more "dry" science part time shouldn't be a problem and will actually probably be an advantage.

Good luck with the applications(tree)

yeh, i agree with the ace, if you are doing lab based PhD it is not possible to do it part time, in my experience you need full dedication.
at my University they only agree for part time if you work for the same uni as a technician part time (may be working for your supervisor) other than that they don't allow part time students.

and it does not matter if you left 8 years or not, you will learn something new so it doesn't help that much if you are recently graduated or not.
Good luck

The reason for my failing those subjects at the first try were of two kinds:
- In a couple of them I couldn't follow the explanations of the professor at the speed he was delivering them. Also, he supported his explanations with results taken from other branches of this science that were very difficult to understand. The following year, I took the same courses with a different professor who didn't make use of those external results, and I passed, in one of them I got a B and in the other one I got honours.
- The rest of my fails can be explained by the fact that my schedule was too full. I was taking 5 or 6 courses at the same time, which meant 5-6 hours per day of lectures, plus the time spent at home studying and preparing essays and practices to hand in, plus the commute time. All of this with very full syllabuses for each subject. It is not that I chose this busy schedule because I miscalculated my energies. The school year was designed just like that for all students. I just couldn't take in all the information in such little time, and some subjects suffered as a result. I chose to devote my time to some of the courses only, and failed the others on purpose/out of necessity. It so unfortunate that I chose to fail the subjects taught by the professors that I now admire the most.

The reason why I did well in my masters course is double: first, it was online, therefore although I had to work a lot, I didn't waste any time commuting. And second, the work load was lighter: on average I think I spent 1.5 hours per day working on it, for two years.

So I think I can do good at my studies, provided I'm given enough time. Knowledge settles in my brain slowly. Does this sound too "lazy" for a Ph.D. student?

Thank for your encouragement!

I would say that my field has little lab work, it is mainly theoretical and experiments could be run either in a computer or I could schedule my visits to the lab to concentrate them in periods that suited me. But there would be no organic beings involved in my research that could cause an emergency situation and force me to stay up late.

How could part-time studies possibly be an advantage?

Hi there

I think you need to talk to your uni to find out whether you would get in - some unis/faculties won't accept you if your average grade isn't high, others will. Call someone in admin and ask. If you've got a masters, this will help, and it shows that you can study. I had really bad undergrad grades but had done well in my masters, and in my PhD application I explained that I had matured over the intervening years since I had been an undergrad and had demonstrated commitment etc in my postgrad studies. The uni liked this - it showed that I was self aware, and had potential. Use the 8 year gap to your advantage. Working in industry is also good - shows that you're a bit more experienced than someone who's gone straight thru.

And don't worry about needing time to take things in - you can work at your own pace with a PhD, as long as you manage to keep churning work out. Good luck.