dear all. ever since finishing Hindi literature in 2004, i have been vascillating between wanting to and deciding not to do a PhD.

Between now and a year i will have finished a second MA, research master literary studies.

i am now certain that i DO want to continue with a PhD, but would like to take a year to write an amazing proposal (and read up, because of my interdisciplinary background).

My question to anyone concerns age. I am now 28. Do you think this will prove problematic? I read another thread one this topic, but even though that person was older, i will probably be looking for a uni somewhere in europe, where age would be more of an issue. or not?

appreciate any possible feedback.

ps. parenthetically, as a dutchman, i am not used to applying for grants. is it very difficult to obtain one? what are my chances of getting a (subsidized) position in the states?

all best

jeroen nieuwland

hi jeroen,
i started my PhD at age 30. i believe age won't be a problem for you in the UK, but might in some other european countries. in Germany for example the cut-off age for much funding is, i think, at 28. on the other hand, in many countries PhDs aren't organized in the British way of most PhD students finding their own funding (or not), but rather often you are employed to do a PhD, so you receive a wage. then age shouldn't matter.
being swiss myself i was/am in a similar situation concerning being used to funding applications. in my experience the situation is quite problematic.

in the UK a large part of international students is funded by their home countries - there is very little funding provided by within the UK for international students. in my home country, however, there is no funding available for PhDs since normally they are employed and get a wage. having EU or even British citizenship does not help, as funding eligibility in the UK is usually tied to 3 years residency in the UK. thus, perhaps mine is a sad story - but after a year or hard work and 10 funding/PhD-employment applications (all of them involved a lot of work to put together), all I've got to show is a small teaching job (and one small application still open).

i don't mean to put you off. just bear in mind that taking a year off to write a proposal might perhaps turn out to be a fruitless investment. it is a risk you have to take and i believe it is worth seriously thinking about it before you rush headlong into it. you should think about how much compromise you are prepared to make: will you do a different project if it means you get funding or do you stick to your project? will you put more weight on the ideal supervisor/institutional setting or on the availability of funding? are you prepared to do a part-time PhD and self-fund if everything else is perfect? can you afford risks - like not knowing where and when the next income will come from? are you prepared to take out loans if necessary? how long will you try to get funding before you give up?

I can't see why age would be an issue anywhere. Alot of supervisors prefer older students (I'm 33 BTW) because they have a bit of life experience and maturity, and often bring skills learnt in the workplace to their research. Go for it - if you don't ask you don't get.

awesome, imppressed that dutchman studied Hindi literature. I can speak hindi as well, but very limited..

Go for it, don't let age put you off. I'm 28 and about to start a part time PhD - should put me at about 33/34 when I finish.

thank you foryour replies!

guess that does not alleviated all my concerns, as i had hoped would happen.

i find it strange that in many countries, so much time goes into finding funds. obviously the money has to come from somewhere, but yeah, in the netherlands a phd position entails a paid contract

also find the idea odd of working on an already existing project. i know this is normal with the sciences. it's just that working on something so intensely for four years seems like it would be completely different if you're doing exactly your own project.

but again, thanx for your replies. i think i'll write a proposal anyway and like the giraffe in the pop-up to the left of this box; stick my neck out

jeroen

hello. I am confronted to the problem of age for a pHD because of my age(28). i am a frensh student and i'd like to know if somebody could tell me if she or he knows laboratories of biology' I could be accepted despite my age.
i give you my mail adress: [email protected]
Thanks