Hi,

I'm new and this question may have been asked previously but...

My final grades for my Bachelor's degree was a 2:2, primarily due to very poor exam results ): I am enrolled to a master degree with an unconditional offer and would like to be considered for a PhD the following year.

The criteria set by the Universities for the phd are to have a minimum of a Bachelor's degree of 2:1, will my Bachelor's hinder my application, will the masters improve my chances? Or should I just give up my ambition to complete a phd?

Any advice will be appreciated.

Thanks!

Frankly, I suspect it's not going to be easy to get a PhD place with a 2:2 bachelors straight away. And I'd say that if you are looking for funding then that would be almost impossible straight away. But, it's not all doom and gloom. Your Masters is the opportunity to prove yourself. I would think your best plan might be to plan to take a year out between the Masters and PhD, perhaps getting a job that is related to the field if you can - if you do that it will mean you are applying for PhD places when you've already been awarded your Masters. If you can get distinction level marks in the Masters, then you can demonstrate that the low Bachelor's isn't a true reflection of your ability. But, if you're applying without the Masters completed (especially the final project/dissertation) then I think you'll struggle. You might be offered a place, but suspect that any option of funding would be almost impossible.

I reckon you'll be fine to get on to a PhD once you have a MSc, or even before you get your MSc grade, particular if this is in science. Even better if you apply for a MSc at your MSc uni.

If your Master degree is solely or mostly by research (say the thesis weight is 2/3rds or higher) there might be a chance that you can transition into the PhD mid way into your Masters research based on achieving very good progress with your master degree research thesis. This is not uncommon with those doing a 'pure' MPhil degree. I agree with TreeofLife. If you have a good Master degree, this is a good platform to use to apply to do your PhD. I sure did get in this way. Be sure to do as well as you can, especially with the research methods subjects and especially the dissertation component. I am reluctant to draw on an isolated experience as an anecdotal story, but here goes. I am aware of an honours student who got a 2:2 (it was in 2004) and was allowed to to enter the PhD at a good university. I know no more than that (she is now an associate Professor). Perhaps she had good publications already or something. The general rule is that if you have a 2:1 (2A) then it is much more difficult to get into a PhD and it is almost impossibly to get a scholarship based just on holding the 2/1. Never give up on the PhD. There are alternate routes, that might take you one a side-step journey. I definitely know a tenured academic who got a Bachelor 2/2, used that to enter and earn a Master Honours dissertation degree and then used the Masters Honours to get into her PhD and passed. Work very hard in your Masters. Jay

I agree with Spiral, doing the Masters is your opportunity to prove yourself. I don't even have an honours degree (its just an ordinary degree) yet got a distinction on my masters and this trumped my undergrad when it came to applying for PhDs.