Im current a masters student at Hull Uni, and this is were i also did my Ba degree, I've also had the same supervisor for both dissertations.

My supervisor has always known that I'd like to do a PhD, and seemed rather happy to have me back to supervise my masters dissertation. Anyway, leading on to what i want to say, she forwarded a copy of an email regarding scholarships for PhD's offered by the uni, and saying that she would be more than happy to supervise any of us (there are three of us working on similar subjects under her supervision). I know that she is a great supervisor and we get on really well, she knows my weaknesses and faults and has always been supportive. Her speciality is basically along the lines of what i want to base my PhD on too, i am also perfectly happy at Hull, the history department is great and friendly, and I am really happy there, and i realise i may be answering my own question here.

Has anyone else done their Ba, Ma and PhD all at the same uni? and potentially the same supervisor throughout? and if so have you found it to be detrimental to any future prospects?
Thanks!

Hi

I haven't personally done all my degrees at the same uni, but the last place I was at, there were several people in my lab who had carried on their PhD after doing their undergrad projects in that lab and went on to get good postdoc jobs other places when they finished. Similar there was a girl in the neighbouring lab who did undergrad, PhD and postdoc in the same lab, and now has a good job in industry. Maybe it is different for history, but I certainly haven't seen any disadvantage for the people I know in science who have done this.

I think if you are happy there, like the work and get on with your supervisor then that is most important!

Hey! I've done my BSc, MSc, and have almost finished my PhD at the same university. I have had the same supervisor for my MSc and PhD, which is pretty common in our department. I certainly don't regret it- at the end of the day you should be somewhere you are happy, where you know you will have good supervision (with supervisors who are reknowned for their work), and preferably in a reputable department that will support you and offer you opportunities to develop as a researcher. I did of course ask the question of whether it would look better to move, but I could only possibly move to a place where I wouldn't have all of those things to the extent that I do here, i.e. I am in the best place and working with the best people to do my research. If that applies to you then I think you would be silly to move! I did actually ask a few members of the department (staff) whether it would affect their decisions regarding who to employ as a post-doc, and all of them said it wouldn't remotely bother them if a person had remained at the same uni if it was a good one, and a few actually said that it looks really good, because your sup obviously knows you and has worked hard to find the funding to keep you on, meaning that you must be worth hanging on to! I am also even looking at doing a post-doc here- again simply because it is the best place in the UK to do it- you will build up your reputation by your academic record (in my subject- publications, conference presentations, who your supervisors are, how good the department are rated on research output etc etc - might be different priorities for history though, I'm not sure!) so wherever supports those activities best is the right place to be! Good luck with it all, KB

Hi Betty, I'm four months into my PhD at the same university where I did my BA and MSc. I have three PhD supervisors who have all taught me previously; one supervised my undergrad dissertation and my lead supervisor supervised my MSc dissertation, so they all know me and how I work really well. I would say that although it is early days, I am really happy with my situation at the moment and glad I've stayed where I am.

I didn't really have a lot of choice over where I did my PhD as I am in psychosocial studies, which is an emerging discipline that is only covered in a handful of UK universities, and they all seem to be in competition with each other at the moment; they all have different approaches to the discipline so your choice of university really affects what you are able to research. Therefore I was most confident with how my department approached the discipline and I knew my research would be supported.

It is a good idea to consider the department and how well you get on there. It sounds like you have a really good working relationship with your potential supervisor at the moment so I think it would be a good idea to carry on with that, especially since you want to research one of her specialist areas. I was thinking of doing my MSc at a different university because I thought it would look better on my CV if I moved but that didn't work out, I was upset at the time but I think I got the better deal from staying where I am in the long run; I had quite a tough year during my MSc due to personal problems and my department were so supportive, I really don't think I would have got that at the other university.

I am still a bit concerned about my future prospects but I have been told that as long as I make an effort to network, go to conferences and publish, staying at the same place shouldn't be a problem at all - I don't think there is any point in moving unless you really need to.