I am 6 months into a full-time PhD in the North of England. The PhD is funded by the EPSRC. What I would like to know is that if I got a job in London, would I be able to continue the PhD part-time and away from the University?

The PhD would technically compliment the job I would be going for, and I do not need to be in the same city to study the PhD. The PhD itself is computational modelling and machine learning.

Has anyone done this before? And what is the protocol for doing so. Is it dependent on my supervisor letting me? Also what would happen to the expected time to complete the PhD?

It is worth noting I understand how big a task a part-time PhD could be, but I honestly think this scenario could work quite well for me.

It's more whether the EPSRC allows it unless you plan to jettison their funding? Can't imagine your supervisor being thrilled though.

As per Bewildered's remarks, you could lose your funding if you go part-time though if the London job is well paid, I gather this will not bother you.

Your supervisor will have probably applied for funding for the project, assuming the project would be finished in the normal three to four years. Going part-tie may strecth this to between six and seven years depending on your University's guidelines (York per chance? - not important, though you are only two hours from London), so he may be quite unhappy. You need to talk to him first though.

You might be in a position where you have to choose between the job and the PhD if your supervisor is not happy about the potential arrangements. That said, if you do pull it off and you are prepared to juggle a part-time PhD alongside a job (and from what I've seen it can be hard) then genuine works experience alongside your PhD will look good on your CV in the future.


Ian