A few questions regarding PhDs

ancapailldorcha

Dear all,
I was wondering if I could get a bit of advice. I just finished by undergrad degree in Trinity (Microbiology) and am now moving on to do an MSc in Biomedical Science. I am aiming to do a PhD after the MSc and was wondering if anyone had any advice/tips on searching and applying for PhDs. A friend also suggested trying the US or Canada and I was wondering if anyone had any experience on that subject..

2Scoops

Identify the supervisor and school you wish to go to first, then go from there.

ancapailldorcha

I have found a researcher whose work I am very interested in. I was just wondering if it would be wise to contact them now or wait until they have a PhD opening and if anyone had any advice on how to phrase an email to a PI.

CathalMc

Ask about his research interests, say you're very interested in doing a PhD <whenever>, you enjoyed the type of work he did in <publication x>...

These guys are pretty passionate about their research, so are usually fairly open to talking about it and meeting new PhD students, so don't be shy. You could ask to meet him to talk as well.

In a year or two when you are applying, reply to your own email exchange with him, starting something like "Dr Y, you might remember we had a lengthy discussion about some exciting research opportunities that might await me if I decided to pursue a PhD with you. Well..."

ancapailldorcha

Well, I've just found a few labs I'd be very interested in working in. Thing is, they're in England. Does anyone know if it's hard to get funding for a UK PhD? I was looking at a really interesting one but it's fees only, no stripend. Sorry to keep asking questions...

Sparks

If it's at all possible, have as informal a chat as is possible with past students of your prospective supervisor. Current students might not feel comfortable mentioning any problem issues with the supervisory style, the supervisor him/herself certainly won't mention them (it's not a bug, it's a feature!), but past students generally feel more free to talk.

You'll be working under this person for a few years, take a week to do some research on them first. Believe me, you do not want to start working with them only to find that they're impossible or overly difficult to work with, or worse, incompetent (and their publication record might show that very clearly), or worse yet, both at once. And don't think it doesn't happen.

Find out as well how many current students they have - too many and you don't get enough supervision. If there are none, that can be a warning sign as well. You probably don't want to be the first student someone supervises, any more than you want to be the first person a student dentist ever works on...

If the worst comes to the worst, remember that you can change supervisors - but that while in some places it's treated properly and professionally, in some departments it's not and those places tend to regard it as being more serious than a divorce and to treat it as a black mark against the student's record instead of the supervisor's.

hardtrainer

While I wouldn't rule out looking at listings of PhD positions that are available, you're really better off directly contacting a PI that you would like to work with. However, remember that top PIs get a lot of emails from prospective students so it is really important to make sure that your email really appeals to them and shows that you have put some thought and consideration into it. Simply tailoring a general template by mentioning a recent publication will not go down well. Ideally your email will convey your enthusiasm and general interest in the kinds of questions that a PIs research is focused on. This kind of connection on an intellectual level will really make your letter stand out among the many received by a good PI.

If you can identify funding sources that will be well received too and shows initiative and that you're serious about doing a PhD. But often a PI could have already applied for or obtained funding and simply hasn't advertised a position. In my experience the best PIs are generally the ones that don't have to advertise positions as they normally have a list of prospective candidates before any funding is even in place. Don't let that idea put you off though. For a PI, as much as for a prospective student, the key to a successful PhD position is a good fit between the interests and style (in terms of mentoring etc) of the PI and candidate.

Good luck with your search and in your studies.

ancapailldorcha

Thanks a million lads!! Saw a really deadly looking PhD on AIDS vaccines in Oxford recently that I might apply for. Probably will not get it but it's worth a shot!! Ta again!!

djpbarry

Sparks wrote: »

You probably don't want to be the first student someone supervises, any more than you want to be the first person a student dentist ever works on...

A brief comment on this....

I wouldn’t rule somebody out just because they’ve never supervised a PhD student before. Apart from anything else, if everybody adopted this sort of thinking, we’d run out of experienced supervisors! If your supervisor is a newbie, it is very likely that an ‘advisory’ supervisor, who has experience of PhD supervision, will be appointed at some point during the project to ensure that everything is up to scratch. If you discover a potential supervisor whose work your interested in and who you think you could get on reasonably well with (as mentioned above, don’t underestimate how difficult it can be to work with a supervisor you dislike on a personal level), I certainly would not rule them out just because they have yet to supervise a PhD student.

ulysses32

djpbarry wrote: »

A brief comment on this....

I certainly would not rule them out just because they have yet to supervise a PhD student.

I absolutely agree here. Currently working with a novice supervisor who has just completed doctorate. The person is acting in a joint capacity with a more experienced person. This is ideal for me as I get the wisdom of experience and the freshness of "the PhD experience" with the novice. A person who has lived and breathed the process you are living in the recent past can provide great technical and moral support.

Sin1981

HI,
I did a PhD in the UK.

Firstly, from what I found, Irish labs are terrible for advertising PhD studentships, and jobs. You are much better contacting them if you're interested in working with them

I would steer clear of a supervisor who hasn't had a PhD student before. They could well be excellent, but it's a gamble. They won't have any experience of putting a student through the phd, proof reading the thesis etc.

Believe me, the important thing is getting a GOOD supervisor. Obviously you will alsoo want to be studying something you find interesting, but if you're doing something really interesting but have a crap supervisor then things won't go as well as they should to put it mildly. If you can find a reasonably interesting topic and a good supervisor then that's your best bet.

Good luck:)

ancapailldorcha

Thanks for replying lads/ladies! The advice has been really helpful. Has anyone tried doing one in the US. I've heard they're not as good and have more of an emphasis on teaching but I'm not sure myself.

CathalMc

The top graduate school programmes in a large fraction of research fields are in US universities. In my own field they're vastly, vastly superior across the board: the quality of research, faculty, facilities and prestige. But investigate your own field, and consider your own priorities and career goals.

The process to getting into a good school in the US is more complicated than the UK though, and of course the distance means that face-to-face contact (which is valuable) with prospective supervisors/students and to see the department/neighbourhood is going to be expensive! There have been some good threads on US applications, the GRE exam etc in this and/or the post-grad forum, so do a search if you're interested.

And I have TA'ed (teaching) for 3 months of the last 3 years of PhD in the states, and even that was a small time commitment each week.

ancapailldorcha

Sorry to keep at this but I'm composing a personal statement for a UK University at the moment. Would anyone have any adivse on composing one? A mate of mine reckons that they are really important in the UK compared to here.