How do you find a PhD place?

Following my last blog on why you might do a PhD and with final exams season approaching I thought I'd talk about how you go about finding a PhD place to apply for. Once again, I must say I'm focusing on science PhDs, because yeah...I'm a sciencey person.

What routes can you go through to find a PhD? In my experience there are 4 main ways to go:

1. Apply to a relatively new centre for doctoral training (CDT).
2. Apply for an advertised position.
3. Accept a position offered by a current or past supervisor.
4. Propose a project and find a supervisor willing to take you on.

No matter whichever way you find a PhD through there is one thing you will need to complete your studies, money! Money to live on, money to pay your tuition fees and money to fund your actual research. If you apply for a CDT funding will be guaranteed, so you can apply safe in the knowledge you will be paid and have all your study expenses covered. Similarly, if a position is advertised online or in a university department, it will almost certainly have funding attached to it. Things start to get a little bit more uncertain if a current or past supervisor offers you a position, they may have funding and be offering you first dibs on the place, or they may have a project in mind, but no funding sorted out. Therefore, you may have to wait a while until funding is secured before you can sign on the dotted line. However, if they have a project and want you to do it then it's likely they will do everything they can to secure you funding. The most difficult situation to be in is when you propose your own project. In that situation you will have to secure your own funding by applying to research councils, charities or universities with a detailed project proposal. 

Where do you go to find out about advertised positions and CDTs? My personal favourite website is Find a PhD. Find a PhD lists a huge range of funded and unfunded projects, along with funding opportunities across pretty much any field you care to name. It's basically a one stop shop for PhDs. My advice is to make sure you pay attention to the adverts on the side of the page as well as the search results as that's where I found a link to the PhD I eventually applied for and got. Another way to go is through prospects.ac.uk. They also provide UK wide listings for taught and research positions along side their graduate job listings. The final place to look is on the individual websites of university departments. Look up the webpage for the department you're interested in and check their postgraduate, research and research group pages as all the available PhDs can be spread across these locations. 

Each PhD route has its own advantages and disadvantages and may suit some people better than others. A place in a CDT entails signing up for a 4 year course in a research field. Unlike every other option, in a CDT you don't commit yourself to a project straight away, you spend a year learning and gaining new skills during which you choose a research project. This has the advantage of allowing you to investigate supervisors and projects in detail before you commit to one. Further to this there is lots of wriggle room to propose a project within the CDT's field and, as you already have funding, supervisors are happy to negotiate project modifications (which I did) or complete overhauls. Over 5 years most CDTs ultimately recruit 50 students. Therefore, being part of a CDT means you'll also be part of a community of students all on the same program. The main disadvantage is the vast amount of requirements you have to meet. All PhDs have things you have to do outside your research, but in my experience CDTs have anywhere between 3 and 4 times as many things you're expected to do. This is fine and actually helpful in first year, but once you begin your research it can sometimes be frustrating as you have many other things you would rather and should rather be spending your time on. 

In contrast to a CDT, if you apply for an advertised position you sign up to do a specific project with a specific supervisor for around 3 years straight away. The good thing about it is that you know exactly what you'll be doing from day one allowing you to be very focused. However, you can end up committing to working with someone you've never met before on something you've not studied before. Therefore, if you don't fully understand what you're getting into, there is potential for problems to crop up later down the line

Accepting an offered position from a current or past supervisor can work out really well. You'll be working with someone you know and hopefully will have a good idea if you can get on with them for 3 years. You'll probably also be doing a project that is similar to what you've done before so you'll hopefully be confident that you'll like the work involved in the project. However, going down this route can lead to you missing out on the opportunities that are available elsewhere for something safe.

Finally, if you propose your own project you're fully able to set your own boundaries. So hopefully you will love what you do. However, you have to find a supervisor to work with which might be easier said than done if you don't have funding sorted out. Additionally, as you proposed the project your supervisor might not be fully engaged with it, or fully understand all aspects, which could impact on the quality of the supervision you receive.

Whatever route you choose the most important thing to do is ask questions before you apply. CDTs often have open days you can attend to talk to the head of the program, potential supervisors and students about the work you might be doing. For non-CDTs, speaking to the supervisor about the project they're offering is vital, you'll get useful information that you can use at interview and also might find out key details the advert missed out. In all cases, if possible, talk to current students. Ask them about their experiences with the program, work and supervisor. E-mailing the administration office is the best way to find someone to talk to as the admin staff should be able to point you to someone with roughly the same background in the group you're looking at who'll be happy to chat to you.

Do you have any questions about applying for PhDs? Or, what are your experiences of applying for a PhD and what was the best advice you received? Why not share in the comments below!