Hello,

Hope everyone has enjoyed the holiday season and not worked too hard. I really want to gain a fully funded PhD in Social Policy or a related area. I am currently studying an MA in Social Policy part-time and after a year I'm averaging a distinction. Fingers crossed I can maintain that average. However, at undergrad I got a high 2.2 in Economics. My degree in Economics has proved extremely useful in my master's however and I have used economic theory in most of my essays.

My original plan was to compete for 1+3 ESRC studentship this year. I originally had an idea and emailed a few professors, who appeared interested and didn't seem to care about my 2.2 in light of master's marks. However, as the time is approaching to bid for funding I have changed my mind on the topic and lost confidence in my chances of securing funding. I am now planning on saving up to do the MA in Social Research Methods. My thinking is that it will give me that extra edge when competing for funds. Universities appear to not discriminate between offering +3 and 1+3 studentships but surely everywhere would prefer to only have to fund 3 years instead of 4?

What I am wondering is: is it worth investing in the MA in Research Methods? Will it give me that extra something to compete for a studentship? I have some minor research experience already co-authoring a report with a professor over the summer. I would hope to gain more next year when I did  the MA in research methods next year.

Any other advice on obtaining a fully funded PhD would be greatly appreciated. Sorry if I have rambled on and thanks for reading :)

Hi

I can understand your dilemma. Cos my background is in Public Health and I have a very good masters and was a scholarship holder by the European Commission. Now I am applying for PhD's in Public Health related areas and the dilemma is that although the Masters taught me various things reasearch methods was just a minor part of the training. So, at first I thought that I should do another 1 year Masters in social research methods before I actually apply for a PhD (especially with full funding).

However, I have made a decision to directly apply for PhD's and not do another Masters. This is because, I think most PhD students at the beginning will undergo some sort of reserach methods training whether its a special course at the university where you do your PhD or at another institute associated with the Uni or be trained under the supervisor's guidance and you can also read a lot of research methods books to update yourself. So, essentially no PhD student who has just finished a Masters will be expected to have excellent background in research methods unless you did a Research Masters or your Bachelors/Masters has been in Social Sciences.

In a PhD you also know by the project description that what research methods you would use. For example it could be ethnography or an action research or FGD's. So, you can take specific training for that particular research method. I assume that you don't have to know in-depth knowledge of other methods but of course its advantageous to know as many as you can.

I have done basics of SPSS so if i get into a PhD I would certainly do an advanced SPSS course to improve my knowledge in Stats.

So, there are plenty of options and there is no reason why you can't apply for a PhD if you already have a Masters.

That said, you have mentioned that your Bachelors grades aren't so good. I think that when it comes to PhD selection the selectors are more bothered with your Masters than your Bacehlors. The question is if you show motivation and relevance to that PhD. So, if you have done additional internships or have 1 or 2 publications then it helps a lot.

hope this helps!

Good luck!

AJ

Is your current MA recognised by the ESRC as providing sufficient research methods training? If so, you don't need to do a special research methods course. If not, then if you want ESRC funding then you have to do one but I'd definitely suggest having a go for 1 + 3 funding this year. Reasons 1) if you don't get it then at least you are no worse off and could still self-fund the second MA - it just adds another option and 2) the experience of putting the application together is invaluable and would give you a head start if you had to reapply for +3 the year after. The universities don't care if it's 1+3 or +3 as they're not funding it, the ESRC is, so I think you are wrong to worry about that being a factor.
Your 2:2 is never going to help matters and won't go away however many masters you do. The ESRC is very keen on quantitative studies though, so if that's what you're thinking of, you could flag up the quants in your u/g degree in the application and highlight any relevant stronger marks - that might help. It's more likely to be a reason for rejection if you have to go through the open competition rather than getting a quota award, so I'd target universities with quota awards (i.e. the funded places where the university not the ESRC picks who gets it). That said, as you may have been told, the whole funding system is changing this year to a system of doctoral training centres, and the ESRC haven't announced the results yet, so universities won't know yet what they do or don't have to offer, so if you get evasive replies, it's probably because they don't know rather than your application.

I think that although it's true your 2:2 will always be there, the more qualifications you acquire the more it can fade into the background. An MA in social research methods sounds good but how long will it take you?

Many universities (all in the case of my uni) have graduate education modules and there is usually research methods courses as part of these. There are also winter and summer schools on research methods which could be worth exploring. Usually residential for a week or so and the associated assignment but it would be done and dusted in a week and whatever length of time the assignment would take. I think many professors still struggle with the direction graduate education is taking in Europe and many traditionalists think that first hand, on the ground experience, is better than any qualification. I would see somebody with an Masters in reserach methods as being a method specialist which is not necessarily a requirement of a PhD. If you already have some level of research experience under belt, might that not be enough?

Sorry to be a bit rambling but these are my random thoughts.

I wouldn't do it: I'd rather spend the time reading around my topic, developing a decent proposal, backed up with extensive methodology reading, with the following for starters:

Bryman (2008) Social Research Methods
De Vaus (2001) Research Design in Social Research
Denscombe (1998) The Good Research Guide for Small-Scale Social Research ProjectsI

I landed a fully funded PhD, with a humanities MA, and limited research skills, and have completed one module of an MSc Social Research Methods as a compulsory part of the initial year of my PhD. The content of the entire MSc Social Research would've been interesting, but not sufficiently focussed on my own proposed research methodology, and therefore an ineffective use of time.

Thanks for the replies guys. My master's is not ESRC recognised and you're right I would need to do the master's anyway. It would be easier if I did it as part of the 1+3 and hence it was completely funded with a stipend. I think the advice to apply for funding straight away is sensible and I will do it and save for the master's as a backup. The experience of constructing a proposal will be invaluable.

As I understand it, the proposal is the most important factor in determining a candidate's suitability. Secondly, a candidate's ability to research and finally academic background. I could be wrong on this but if I'm correct I think doing the MA in research methods is a way forward in a few respects. It would help me to write a good proposal with sound methods. It wouldn't be a side step as I would need to do it anyway and whilst you're right that the 2.2 isn't disappearing I would hopefully have two excellent master's grades to demonstrate academic ability. Furthermore, whilst the ESRC is the main funder in my field it is not the only one. Many universities offer studentships that I could compete for. I think I posted this but had already made my mind up, I will apply for 1+3 but wont be disheartened if I don't get it, as I will pursue a the MA in Research Methods.

Artista you replied at the same time as me!! I will consider your advice. Thank you.