Hi,

I'd really like to study a PhD in the UK (full time) but my main concern is how do people afford to live while doing so (plus tuition fees). E.g. Rent, bills etc etc.

Here in Australia they offer APA scholarships to study as an Australian resident which is $25,392 AUD = 14,283.56 GBP for living costs (not incl. tuition fees).

So I'm trying to find something equivelent that will allow me to study abroad in the UK and was wondering if anyone has any experience with this?

I have a first class honours degree in Science which makes us eligible to study a PhD here. But I have not done a masters so not sure if this matters or not for entry into PhD programs in the UK?

As a bit of background: I'm 35, my fields of interest are ecology, zoology, genetics. I have 7 years experience working in industry also as a medical scientist all in genetics based work and a ton of field research experience working on marine mammals (sea lions) and sea birds. My primary interests are wildlife forensics/conservation/ecology but overall I love a variety of zoological based fields. So looking for a PhD in these areas.

I'm just not sure how to be able to support myself doing a PhD in the UK but would really like to for the opportunity and experience.

Thanks for your help!

Can anyone give sn0wleopard any advice?

You could look at funded PhDs, some scholarships are open to worldwide applications. This would provide a stipend and tuition fee waver. Regarding qualifications, a masters may be considered important mainly because of the research experience it provides, if you have this experience from another source (such as industry) then you may not need masters but it is always good to talk to the institution if you are unsure.

In the UK, many PhDs are funded by our research councils. Question 7 of the "So what is a PhD?" part of my blog covers this.
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I'm not sure how funding might apply to non-EU citizens, so this is something you'll have to investigate further.

If the scholarship comes from elsewhere, then EU citizenship may not be an issue. You may also look to see if Austrailian funding can be used for study abroad.

Ian