Hi,
I am just finishing a 1-year Masters course, and this has gone well. However for a number of reasons I did not decide to apply for a PhD until around April/May, which I now definitely want to do. Now it seems unlilkely I will get accepted for a PHD this year. So it looks like I have to find work this year and wait till next year to apply, which I'm not too happy about.

So my question is, could / should I apply for a PhD for starting Feb / Mar 2010? I know this varies a lot, but some general advice would be appreciated.

Hi, you have answered you own question! If you want a PhD (which is out of the question I think for a Sept 2009 start) then you will apply for it!

Different schools have different entry times. Often some places which have mandatory coursework which begins in October with the rest of the school wil only take Sept/Oct entries, others may differ. Funding, you do not say what your situation is, but there are roughly two kinds of funding: research councils which are open to EU/UK, and overseas scholarships fro intl studetns both share Feb/March deadlines and are announced around this time or a little earlier. The second is departmental funding in the form of studentships which may have a slightly later summer deadline but is announced around now as well.

If it is funded out of a research team's grant or is part of a larger project then deadlines may be more relaxed and you may have other things to consider.

The key thing is to start early and know what your funding source will be/who you would like to be supervised by. Establshing contact, preparing a proposal, applying in time for money to come to you, I would suggest at least one year of pre planning. So if you are looking at an Oct 2010 start, now is the best time to get things going, for funding deadlines are around 5-7 months away.

I took a year out between finishing my MA and starting a PhD, and I'm glad I did. Three reasons:

1.) It meant I could focus on getting the best possible mark for my MA rather than spending half my time worrying about PhD applications.

2.) It meant I had an actual Distinction, rather than a predicted Distinction, when I did come to apply for PhDs. I only got a 2.i undergraduate degree, and I'm certain I wouldn't now be about to start a funded PhD if I hadn't been able to send my complete MA transcript along with my application.

3.) It meant I had plenty of time to prepare and polish my PhD application materials. I had a lot of hoops to jump through as I was applying for several different sources of funding as well as a PhD place, and each of them required something different (a research proposal here, a case for support there, a CV, a personal statement...)

So there is a definite bright side here! Treat this as an opportunity to give yourself the very best chance of getting a funded place starting next October.

Agree with Magictime... although (very very thankful about this) I had not been able to take a year out, and managed the stuff Magictime mentions, but at the cost of near loss of sanity. I did get the distinction, did do good applications (to 7 places) and things worked out well but I realise at the end of my first yr that I am perfect on the timing end with no gap year anywhere but *completely* drained out otherwise.

So, if you can (CAN is the keyword) go ahead... I couldnt...