Until last week I was planning to start my PhD in October at University X but last week I was offered another PhD position at University Y and I would really much rather go there.
Has anyone got experience with turning down funding pretty much last minute?
I did not apply for the second position (it was offered to me by a former supervisor who did not have PhD funding before). Both X and Y are really good opportunities and I don't want the people at X to believe that I am ungrateful for the offer they made me. Also, the supervisor I will be turning down is somebody I am very likely to meet at conferences etc.
Any comments would be very helpful.

i wish i had your problems

Hi Sylvia,

When were you due to start the PhD at the uni you are turning down? If it's next week, then I can understand why you feel anxious about this situation. However, I'm assuming it won't be until September which should leave them ample time to find someone else to fill the PhD vacancy (there are lots of people out there seeking bursaries).

At the end of the day, go to the Uni which you think you would be happiest at (and working with a supervisor who you like, trust and feel you can work with/establish a good relationship with).

As for turning down a place, just be very polite about it. Try to have a face-to-face meeting to discuss why you are going, or if this isn't possible call them. After speaking to them, I would also send an email thanking them for the opportunity and wishing them all the best (... it's always good to part on good terms, as in academia, your paths will cross again!).

Thanks for the advice. As much as I realise that I am in a very privileged position, this is still an uncomfortable situation and I want to handle it in the best way I possibly can. I think following up that inevitable phone call with an e-mail is a good idea.
Goods, it's right I'm not starting until October, so I am sure they will be able to redistribute the funding. I have however been signed up for this studentship since February and because of certain issues I will not go into further, I have been frequently in touch with the people at X to sort out things, and they have been so extremely helpful that I now feel very bad about letting them down.

Hi Sylvia

Better to let them down gently now than to go, feel miserable, and leave later, I think. As Goods says, they'll have time to find someone else. Also, these things inevitably happen and its best just to be honest about the situation, even though it's bound to be uncomfortable for you.

I wish I had your problem. I am actually at an institution, doing a short project as part of my masters course and it was planned that I would then start my PhD in late september/early october once this project is finished. However aftyer actually going to the institution and experiencing working in the lab and evaluating a lot of other things I have decided that this is not the right place for me and now wish to go to another institution in october which I have an offer for. Any ideas on how I should break it to them would be much appreciated.

I was in a similar position when I first applied for studentships. My advice is also to be as honest and polite as you can when refusing the studentship. But be ready for a childish and aggressive reply. The reply I got from the supervisor that I turned down the studenthsip with was quite harsh and unprofessional. He accused me with being selfish and wasting his time in gathering funding for my research.

I feel like I was pressurized into accepting the studentship, they gave me a very short time to decide and were telling me about all the other applicants being ready to start straight away, but since I have not finished my masters I was not ready to start. Then they suggested to me that I do my masters project in their lab and in the end I agreed. However now that I actually got there, I don’t like the work ethic and the lab is not research focused and there is no structure to the lab, however they implied that there was at the interview. There are only a few PhD students, no lab technician and only one postdoc who was supposed to be supervising me but will be leaving for a year when I start my PhD so I'll get no lab support. But I wasn’t told this until I started my masters project. They changed my masters project when I got there to something totally different to what was agreed, which is something I have no interest in.

The place that I am at is not an academic institute, not even a research institute (not keen on this after thinking it through) and so I have to register with a university. Before I started there I was told that I could choose the institution I registered with but now they are saying I must register with a correspondence university which does not have a good reputation in the field I will be studying for my PhD or any field for that matter. Also lab space and is scarce and the facilities are limited and rather out dated. At my interview I did ask to see the labs but there apparently wasn't anybody available to show me around. These are just a few of the reasons why I don’t want to do the PhD there, there are others such as lack of collaborations with either industry or academia, and those that exist are with universities which do not have a good reputation.

It's not even a case of just getting a better offer, I think I have really valid reasons for not wanting to do this PhD, but I cant help think that my supervisors at this place will see it like that. I am sure they will say that I've wasted there time.
Luckily the other PhD I want to do is not in a similar field and so it's very unlikely that I will meet any of the people from this lab at conferences in future.
Am not sure what to do since it's not as simple as saying no since my masters project is tied into this and I don’t want it to affect it.
There is a member of staff at my current university (masters) who is involved with my masters placement (placement organizer) who I could ask for advice in solving this issue. But am unsure if I should involve them or if is something which I need to sort out myself.
Any advice would be really appreciated

Hi I'd just talk to them. I was in a very similar position and just talked to my current masters supervisor and told her I'd been offer a phd project at another (better) uni that was much more what I want. She was a bit disappointed, but understood. I think just talk to them, the sooner you do it the more time they have to find someone else. As another lecturer told told me before i told my supervisor, they should understand and want the best for you, if not your definately doing the right thing by leaving.

sylvia -
don't be pressurized into a 2nd best solution. this is a long term decision that will affect you and your future more than it will affect anything else. so put yourself first.
after that, it would be nice to decide quickly, to keep negative side-effects low. i am thinking more of other hopeful candidates for the position than of the department. they will find someone else for sure, and although they might be annoyed, the costs to them are minimal compared to the costs to yourself if you stay just to keep them happy.

shanghaichica -
if they didn't inform you correctly, it is them waisting your time, not you their's! don't let them make you feel guilty for that!

Thanks to everyone. I feel a lot better about this after reading your comments. I decided to give myself until next Monday to think things through one last time and then I'm going to be brave and call them up.

shanghaichica - I hope everything works out for you

Well first off, be honest, you are letting them down, and as you say, these people have been very supportive. That said, it's more important that in the end you are in the right program for YOU. I would suggest falling on the sword as humbly as possible. Something like "Dr. X, I'd like to talk to you about the studentship I accepted there at X. I have quite unexpectedly received an offer from another university that I feel I just can't pass up. I feel terrible letting you down at this late date, especially after you have been so helpful and supportive to me, but I feel it's important for me to take an opportunity that better fits my career goals. I want you to know that I appreciate the support you've given me, and I am sorry that this choice, while it may be the best for me, means letting you down." Brace yourself for verbal onslaught and take it gracefully, because it is warranted. Then, CELEBRATE... you're going somewhere that is a better choice for you. Good luck.