Well, I thought I was pretty clued up on the whole process but now it has come to the time when I need to start planning for next year to meet my aspiration to undertake a PhD I have realised I am actually clueless and would appreciate some help with the whole process. Here's some questions I'm curious about:

1) Do you identify a supervisor before you apply to an institution?

2) Can you apply to several institutions?

3) Can you begin a PhD while you wait for your master's result?

4) The one I am most curious about ..... Does anybody know anything about the amount of people that apply for each quota nomination. It will obviously differ between each subject area but any information anyone has on the number of people they were up against would be greatly appreciated.

Hi there M, i know i cant answer your questions really but maybe some buddying up?!!

Im looking myself for a masters and phd programme combinded. Im reading everything i can. From what i can discover from so far, as i emailed surrey uni department for social science....they said that vacancies get advertised and you apply when they come out in the new year. Others contacts have suggested think about your topic, search through uni's staff profiles looking for potential supervisors, email them. 1. if you like them apply to that uni and hopefully get funding from the open programme or when they and if they offer a studentship there. 2. you apply to that one and pay yourself.

What subject are you looking at? Im looking into a criminology/sociology area one.


Tallie

1) Yes. If you don't find out whether there is something able to supervise your project then you will probably be rejected.
2) Yes. But you can only accept one quota place or one slot in the open competition.
3) Yes.
4) I think it varies a lot between subjects. Mine, Politics, is stupidly competitive especially at the popular institutions. But I think the ESRC has designated some subjects as being priorityfor postdoc fellowships because they have capacity-building problems so I would assume they are less competitive. These are Economics, Education, Management and Business Studies, Social Work, and Socio-Legal Studies.

All of this may change a lot. The ESRC was due to announce a whole new system based about doctoral training centres - mostly consortia of universities bid together for one - and no-one knows who got what or where will have quota yet. But the announcement has been delayed & I have a nasty feeling that the funding cuts might be about to make it even harder to get a funded place.