I was wondering how people set about choosing the subject of their PhD. I understand that for some, this will be an extension of undergrad/Master's work or simply just an interest.

However for those who were not completely set on a topic from the start, how did you decide? Psychology is my interest, but there are many different areas which particularly catch my eye. Did you find a researcher whose work sounds interesting or maybe you looked for projects/advertised posts generally?

Any relevant information appreciated.

Hi Ishi! I am in my 2nd year of a PhD in Clinical Psychology, doing research with people with Alzheimer's disease. Where are you up at the moment- are you doing your undergrad or MSc? For me, I got interested in dementia through a final year module for my BSc. I then decided to stay on at the same uni so that I could do my MSc research project in dementia, and very early on in my MSc I approached my supervisor and told her that I wanted to do a PhD in something dementia-related, but that I wasn't sure exactly what. I was lucky in that my sup already had a few ideas about new research that needed to be done which would be suitable for a PhD project, so we talked about various ideas and then I was able to select more specifically what it was I wanted to research, and we designed the project together from there and applied for funding. It is hard- I can think of loads of things in Psychology that I would love to do, and it's such a broad subject. I guess it is important to think first about which field you want to be in- clinical, developmental, cognitive, neuroscience etc, and also think about what you want to spend your time doing. Do you want to work with patients? If you do, then what kind of patients? Do you want to do quantitative or qualitative work? What sort of methodology interests you- do you want to be doing interviews, using neuropsychological tests, using fMRI? There are lots of things to think about but go for something that really fascinates you- for me, that is the most powerful motivator! Then when you have narrowed it down to a specific field or population, have a look at what is being done at the moment, and whether there are any researchers whose work really catches your eye and interests you. There will of course be advertised PhDs, so if you can find one that you fancy then that makes life a bit easier, and might well save you having to apply for funding because many of these are already funded. But if you have your own idea, or want more freedom and flexibility with which way to take your research then it might be worth looking for a supervisor first and then applying for funding. Sometimes with advertised and already funded PhDs you will have to stick exactly to what has been specified in the proposal so won't be able to use your own ideas or thinking to develop the research that you're doing. Good luck with it! KB

Thanks KB, that's really useful.

I've only just completed my BSc. and had intended to go on to a MSc. occupational psych course. this would then allow me to begin working towards chartership.

I've started to lean toward research as a possible career move. I'm split between my interest in work/occ.psych and social psych. (my favourite module at undergrad). So I guess the ideal thing would be something like workplace identities. I'm thinking along the lines of diversity (race, religion, sex.orientation, gender whatever...) in the workplace. I also have an interest in specific learning difficulties, so perhaps i could link this in to diversity too.

I guess on reflection my main obstacle is to understand which Master's (occ. or social) I should look at, and then work in my ideas from there.

You've given me plenty to think about!

Hi Ishi,

at the risk of completely revealing my identity, I am an occ psych PhD student. What I would say is that you need an MSc Occ Psych to understand the topics behind a PhD, I don't think many supervisors would take you on without an MSc in occ psych, as you need that to not only have a base knowledge but also to become chartered, which is essential, even as an academic because to teach the occ psych course, they need 1 chartered member of staff per 10 students, so if you want to become a lecturer in the future you will need it. PM me if you like!