Choosing between a master's and a PhD, finding a supervisor, and getting through a doctorate.
6 articles
A Masters takes one to two years and a lot of money. How to compare programmes on goal, curriculum, funding, supervision, outcomes and cost, with a sample comparison grid and a message to send to current students.
For a doctorate, the supervisor, the research group, the project and its funding usually count for more than the university's reputation. What to find out before you accept a place, the questions to ask current students, and the warning signs.
Funded PhDs are advertised and decided differently from taught courses. The two routes to funding, where positions are listed, how to approach a supervisor and what goes in the application.
A Masters and a PhD are very different commitments with different payoffs. A side-by-side comparison, a simple way to work back from your goal, and how to tell which one your plans call for, if either.
For many PhDs the first step is an email to a researcher. What that message should contain, what to attach, a sample to adapt, and what to do if nobody replies.
Finishing a doctorate depends more on steady habits and support than on brilliance. What each stage tends to feel like, how to work with a supervisor, and what helps people through the long middle years to submission.
