Hi all,

Just thought i'd post a question to hear what some people think of DTC's

Now this may be only applicable to my area (Sciences) but what do people think about the, i'am guessing relatively new approach of doctoral trainging centres, compared with the normal 3 year named PhD or Research propoasal approach.

After going to an open day for one based on the life sciences i can certainly see the benefit they can bring. Generally they are a 4 year course split with 1 year MSc and 3 year PhD, with a high focus on developing skills needed for the PhD. Not to mention you also have the chance to bring work from your MSc and follow it on towards the PhD.

I'am sorry if it is a vague question but i wonder what people think is the best if any approach to doing a PhD :)

Regards Mike F

I can see a lot of PhDs going toward the DTC year model over the next few years.

I can see a lot of benefits of doing a PhD this way. You take courses relevant to your proposed study area and you get to do projects in a few different areas and scope different supervisors, so when you finally come around to doing your PhD its not just a case of being thrown completely in the deep end and you have a better chance of finding a good supervisor.

If you find after your first year that a PhD isnt for you at least you graduate with an Msc and no harm done.

all in all sounds to me ike a great idiea

It is the way forward really.

Definitley the way forward - kind of like the US system.

Also i suppose there is the benefit it brings from a university point of view in that your student is vetted by the masters before they begin there PhD.

I certainly believe that a student who has done a masters will be more prepared for the level of work and the step up it takes to do a PhD then perhaps a recent undergraduate.

though this is only my personal opinion and a great student is a great student what ever level they start at.

Regards Wolfe

I don't know anything about the format of these DTCs but is it the case that the 4 years are compulsory, even if you already possess a masters? If that's true then I think that it's a bad idea - I think that 4 years of undergrad (e.g. MPhys/MChem/MBio/MEng), plus 3 years for the PhD is sufficient. Obviously, an additional 6 months extra for writing up should also be available, if necessary.