Quote From BilboBaggins:
I got funding twice too. The first time, for 2 years, I was a full-time EPSRC-funded science student. I had to leave that after developing a severely disabling progressive neurological disease. I'm probably who HazyJane is referring to :)

I retrained, mainly to take my mind off horrific chemo treatment, part-time as a history student, picking up first an OU BA(Hons), then a Masters. Then, bravely, I thought I'd try for a PhD again, this time part-time. I self-funded my first year. In that first year I applied for AHRC funding. The application form asked me about prior research council (any research council) funding I had received, and warned that any funding I might receive now could be reduced accordingly. I declared my past EPSRC history, and why I had to leave it. And I was delighted to win funding from AHRC, in a competition where only 1 applicant in 5 won anything (humanities funding is very scarce, much more so than in sciences). And AHRC didn't reduce my amount at all in the end.

But I think every case is different. And I think it probably really helped that (1) I was looking at a totally different subject area the second time, and a totally different research council; and (2) the reasons why I had to leave my first PhD (medical, clearly no fault of my own).

Quote From bewildered:
Hi,

You might want to check the rules of the relevant Research Council to see if they say anything on this. For example, the ESRC seems to suggest here on p.14 of their guidance, that you would not be eligible for funding from them: http://www.esrc.ac.uk/_images/ESRC-Postgraduate-Funding-Guide-DTCs%20-%20August%202013_tcm8-28124.pdf
so different it seems from the EPSRC. I'd imagine university funding though is at the discretion of that university.

Quote From Mackem_Beefy:
I haven't looked on other funding body websites, however, I've not found anything on the EPSRC website to bar people making a second attempt at a PhD from funding. It therefore may well be down to the University or Institute, and thus the interviewing members of staff whether or not a previous attempt needs to be considered on assessing an applicant's suitability.

The fact you failed may count against you. The fact you saw it through may either count in your favour or against you (either determined to succeed or you persisted in flogging a dead horse). The fact you've been through the process and thus know what to expect may count in your favour.

It may all come down to how well you sell yourself with regard to the three above points and what you would do differently this time to ensure no failure or reduce the chances of a failure second time around (planning, experimental design, time management, etc.).

Also, were there health reasons first time that affected you? The other forum member HazyJane refers to had health issues and despite these, managed on the second attempt to earn a PhD. However, I'll leave it to that member should they post to tell you what they did differently. I will say that their story is an inspirational one.

The "no-references" situation I can relate to after my mess of a second post-doc. You have mentioned your Masters reference and this plus other good references could be used to outweigh any absence of a reference from your first PhD attempt, showing your failure to be a one-off rather being characteristic of you as a person. Do NOT slag off your previous supervisor.

Finally, I can only reiterate HazyJane is saying ensure you have fully recovered from your first attempt physically, mentally and emotionally before making a second attempt. Bear in mind you'll be putting yourself through a second round of up to four years of a high stress situation.

Best of luck,

Ian (Mackem_Beefy)

Quote From HazyJane:
Ok, so if you're clear in your head what went wrong previously, and how it was that you ran out of time, you can think of ways to mitigate the risk of that happening again so as to communicate that to potential new supervisors for their reassurance.

Some other things to consider:
1. What were your original motivations for doing a PhD in the first place? Do they still apply?
2. Is it worth putting yourself through the process again? Will it help you get a job at the end of it?
3. Would it be worth you doing something else for a little while before trying again? Partly to recover from this experience (if need be), partly to get a new reference, partly to get some detachment from the situation.

One more thing to add - in my case PhD #2 was actually in another field (hence the masters in between). There is another forum member who had two goes at a PhD for a very different reason, but again, in different fields. If you're trying to stay in the same field, just a different topic, you may have to make a stronger case.

Hope this helps.

Quote From HazyJane:


Yes. To all three parts!

In my case, both PhDs were pre-funded projects that were advertised (i.e.I wasn't making my own proposal/funding application). I don't know if there are any policies that would deter PIs from accepting candidates in this position, but I suspect my case was helped by (i) a very supportive referee/mentor, (ii) having done a (funded) masters and worked as an RA in between PhD attempts and (iii) a sympathetic prospective supervisor who was more interested in what I could offer than what had gone before.

I guess all I can advise is be prepared that it *may* come up, at least in interview. Whatever the issues were, try to be informative but brief, and not defensive. I would imagine that the main thing they would be concerned about in such cases is whether the same problems would arise again, so if you can assure them that they wouldn't, that should go some way in your favour.