Firstly a point to note is that the route people take to get a PhD can vary dramatically and the requirements for undertaking a PhD are not set in stone (but generally you need a first degree and then a masters degree). PhDs are awarded differently depending on the country you study in. In the UK full time PhDs take 3-4 years (you can do part time PhDs and they can take 5 years +) and involve the student writing a thesis then being examined on the thesis in a ‘viva’ exam (which is an oral exam). The examiners are usually specialists in the area of the PhD, there is usually one internal examiner (from the institution of study) and one external examiner (from another institution).

The support you get as a PhD student will vary depending on your PhD, the institution you are studying at and the funding body for your PhD. Most institutions offer courses that are free for PhD students to improve writing, presentation and teaching skills. Funding bodies can offer further support in the form of courses or networking opportunities. Do not underestimate the importance of these transferable skills, they will be important to you throughout your PhD and after completion of your PhD.  Make sure you check  out what is available before you commit to one institution or funding body.

There are number of routes to finding a PhD but here are a few tips that might help you out. Jobs.ac.uk advertises PhD studentships, as does http://www.findaphd.com/ . Individual institution websites also advertise studentships and awards available. If you have an idea to propose for a PhD there are several ways you could go about it. You could approach a Professor/Dr you already know that might know some sources of funding for your topic. Universities often advertise sources of funds that are available on their websites. The most important thing to do is to contact the person that will be your supervisor if that is possible, do this offline (most people’s contact details are available via university websites).  Say you are interested in the PhD, ask for any papers they would recommend for reading (make an effort to have already done some background reading) and perhaps ask them a question about the subject/PhD/research. You could also ask to come and visit them and see where you would be studying (if the PhD is lab based, it would be advantageous to meet the people you will be working with for the next few years, see my post on Starting Out!)

I will share my story; I picked my institution due to the location. I applied for a PhD that was advertised on the university website; I went for an interview and met the supervisors. One of the supervisors then offered me a PhD, I came to visit the lab, the supervisor and the PhD sponsors. I knew that I would be happy here and jumped at the chance! The PhD I originally applied to was awarded to a student that had emailed the supervisor previously and been up to visit – it’s all about making personal connections.

Please share any stories/tips you have for people who may be searching for a PhD in the comments section, I know peoples experiences vary.

The short answer is that graphs can be used to reason symbolically about any kind of pairwise relationship between any kind of entity, and that we like to think about pairwise relationships because unary relationships aren’t powerful enough and k-way relationships for k>2 add extra complication without adding any real power.

We have graphs representing people and social networks connecting them (online friendships, sexual contacts, parenthood, coauthorship, etc). We have graphs representing subroutines in a computer program and caller-callee relations between them. We have graphs representing web pages and html links between them. We have graphs representing proteins in your body and the chemical interactions they participate in. Etc etc.

OxDE also gives a nice explanation of why abstracting problems is useful in mathematics and computer science:

Graphs are powerful because the same kinds of problems and algorithms turn out to be important in many of these different applications. So by taking away the application-specific features of all of those different problems and turning them into something as abstract as a graph, we only have to solve these problems once instead of repeatedly solving the same problems in different disguises.

RAE is taken very seriously by British academics because unlike the ranking system, government funding for research groups and departments depends on the RAE ratings. The possible ratings of a department are the following:

• 4*: world-leading
• 3*:  internationally excellent
• 2*: recognized internationally
• 1*: recognized nationally
• Unclassified: Quality that falls below the standard of nationally recognized work. Or work which does not meet the published definition of research for the purposes of this assessment.

The RAE2008 outcome has been treated as good news for UK. Professor David Eastwood, Chief Executive of HEFCE, said:

“This represents an outstanding achievement, confirming that the UK is among the top rank of research powers in the world. The outcome shows more clearly than ever that there is excellent research to be found across the higher education sector. A total of 150 of the 159 institutions have some work of world-leading quality, while 49 have research of the highest quality in all of their submissions”

You can check your favourite institution’s results here. The last RAE was conducted in 2001. The next evaluation is expected to be not earlier than 2013.

You can also read Dr Catherine Armstrong’s article: RAE: The Results on the Career Development.

• Common sources of funding are research councils (AHRC, BBSRC, EPSRC, MRC, NERC, STFC), charities (Leverhulme, CRUK, BHF), EU FP7 and industry
• Each council has its own grant procedure. It is essential to understand the procedure inside out.
• Universities have research support contacts. Get in touch with them as early as possible.
• Get feedback from colleagues and peers on proposal drafts
• Standard research proposals consist of

1. Form
2. Track record/CV
3. Research environment
4. Aims and objectives
5. Programme and methodology
6. Dissemination and exploitation
7. Relevance to beneficiaries

• It is effective to start the proposal with a concise summary of the background, aims and impact of the project.
• Full economic costing is essential. Get professional advice on this.
• There may be a requirement to get internal permission before submitting proposal bids.
• Projects can include responsive mode research grants, fellowships, travel support, networking support, workshop grants or some other major project.
• It is important not to be emotional when responding to proposal reviews.
• For the proposal, never use a font below the minimum specified.
• A risk analysis and risk management outline is recommended.
• In multi-participant proposals, management of collaboration must be outlined. This includes allowing funds for travel expenses and meetings.

Inter-disciplinary proposals are well received. There are even cross council mechanisms for such proposals.

Well firstly, funding concerns should not be a deterrent for students to attend conferences and workshops. First year students are especially hesitant to travel because they hardly have material to present. However, the first year is the best time to sample different events, get exposure to new ideas, meet potential collaborators and broaden the knowledge-base.

Moreover, there are many avenues for funding than one should be aware of. The following are some things to keep in mind:

1. Scholarships: many PhD scholarships include a travel allowance.
2. Many events have special funds for young researchers so if you inform the event organizer that your trip is dependent on financial support, you might not have to pay the full amount.
3. Certain events sponsored by the same organization as the student’s sponsor will let the student in on discounted rates.
4. Most departments have a travel allowance for the whole year or the whole PhD.
5. There might be funds specific to your research group which may be used for certain conferences.
6. If the department funds don’t work out, it is worth checking the faculty funds.
7. The university may have some specific funds for country specific travel schemes. There is no harm in asking the graduate office.
8. Ask your supervisor. There is a reason that your supervisor with his years of experience is your supervisor! He may direct you to a channel which you did not think of. He might have money from his own research project. In any case, it is good to keep him or her in the loop for any future plans.
9. Publish or present! The best justification to get travel funds is to publish or present in a good conference. That is extra motivation for your work! Traveling is easier to justify if one is presenting rather than just attending.

Remain informed and keep your receipts. Just like any financial office, the university may ask you to fill up various forms and attach receipts. Therefore it is useful to know the process.

Press release:

Launch of Vitae

Vitae, a new initiative to champion the professional and career development of researchers, was launched on 25 June by Ian Pearson MP alongside the new Concordat to support the career development of researchers.

Funded by Research Councils UK (RCUK) and managed by CRAC: The Career Development Organisation, Vitae builds on previous work by the UK GRAD Programme and UKHERD to build capacity in the HE sector to support researchers. Delivered in partnership with our regional Hub host universities, Vitae will work with higher education institutions, researchers and employers to make real and positive change.

I remember that UK Grad used to organize certain meetings in which EPSRC funded students did not need to pay, whereas non-EPSRC funded student were asked to pay a substantial amount. Another suggestion could be for Vitae to have more subject specific ventures that may attract more students. Any program which intends to provide support to graduate students and researchers should be applauded.

I’ll keep a lookout for further interesting developments at Vitae.

The EPSRC representative was explaining to veteran academics and budding researchers the dos and don’ts of applying for funding to the EPSRC. He stressed a careful reading of the guidance notes before starting the application. Although it seems like common sense, it is well known how many applications are unsuccessful because instructions had not been followed. I thought it would be useful to mention some of the points that were stressed.

Firstly, researchers who require expensive equipment and resources need not be hesitant about their chances for funding. From what I gathered, the money required is not the main criteria but the quality, novelty and potential of the proposal. As long as the money required is justified, that is fine.

Secondly, the EPSRC rep kept repeating that although the proposal will be reviewed by peers from the relevant research area, the proposal should not assume too much prior knowledge and show the motivation of the project to as wide an audience as possible. In a nutshell, SELL! It was pointed out that key publications in the research area must be referred to.

Apart from selling the idea, self-marketing seemed to be a requirement too. Basically, what the rep was getting at was that the ability to undertake the project must be demonstrated which means that the profile of the researcher, host institutions and collaborators must be suitable.

The way the EPSRC peer evaluation works is that one recieves feedback on the research proposal from the experts and is also given an opportunity to reply back to comments briefly. The audience was urged to write concise and balanced replies with out getting emotional about any criticism.

Another striking thing he mentioned was that at least one week before the deadline should be treated as the real deadline as it takes time for the researcher’s own university to process the application before it reaches the EPSRC evaluation process. The rep concluded by saying that it is always useful to look at a successful candidate’s application.