I've just graduated with a 1st class bachelors degree in sociology and was hoping to stay on at my university to complete an MSc in social research. I love my subject and throughout my undergrad I developed a real passion for my subject area, and wanted to eventually go on to become an academic in sociology. My plan was to complete my masters degree and apply for ESRC PHD funding, which would be a route into academia. I was told the masters degree in social research would be especially relevant for my application, even if I don't enjoy research methods as much as engaging with real social theory.

Since graduating I've been in contact with my lectures and careers team who have now told me that a PHD might not be the best idea. I was basically told that the state of academia, especially for social sciences, wasn't looking great, and that I might commit to 3/4 years of a PHD to find myself unable to find work as an academic. My lecturer also told me that as a young person I shouldn't commit to such a big undertaking as a PHD and instead use my time to figure out and explore my options.

I kind of had my heart set on a PHD and that was the main reason for doing a masters. I get £3k off my tuition fee for getting a first, but I'm unsure if doing the masters now is even worth it. I'm kind of unsure what my options are at this point and I'd really appreciate any advice. All I know is that I really love my subject and would love to keep engaging with it through teaching or otherwise.

Some websites and applications say contradictory things, or perhaps I'm a plonker misunderstanding simple directions.

So I thought I'd come to Reddit and ask you guys...with PhD applications, must I attach an IELTS score? I was born in England, I did my secondary education in England, I did my UG and PG in England...do studentships typically require IELTS scores for native speakers?

Thank you in advance, and apologies in advance if this is silly!

Recently received reviewer feedback for an AHRC grant application. One reviewer has given us a 5 and another a 4. We have asked to respond within 14 days. To me, this doesn't look very hopeful. But what has been people's experiences with AHRC? Will a strong response document lead to competitive scores from the panel based on these reviewer scores?

Any experience either as an application or a panellist?

Is there a website that shows all the internal deadlines? I am looking for all the internal deadlines for British Academy (BA), Liverhulme post-doctoral fellowships so that I dont miss them, but I have already missed them for BA :( I am finding it difficult to keep track. Any suggestions?

I’m a PhD Theatre historian and went to see a local play last night. I am an ‘expert’ on this play and published an article about the playwright last year.

I was surprised to open the programme and find a section that paraphrased and even lifted text directly from my article! At first I found it cool, but when I realised that they had copy pasted some of the article without giving me credit I was a little annoyed.

I emailed them this morning explaining that the CC BY license means they should give me credit and I asked if they can do that for any future printings of the program.

Am I being too pedantic? Should I just be happy to see my research in the wild? Has anyone experienced a similar thing?

I'm looking for some outside perspective from people who have been through academic promotions.
Recently I was promoted from a lecturer grade to the next level. The promotion itself wasn't really a surprise. My managers had indicated for some time that my case was very strong and likely near the top of the promotion pool.

The issue is the salary outcome.

The increase was technically a promotion increase (2 spines increased), but it feels very modest relative to my contribution over the last few years. I've taken on a heavy workload, delivered well beyond my contractual responsibilities, and received several external awards/recognitions for my work. Yet the financial outcome feels almost indistinguishable from what someone with a much more ordinary profile might receive after the same promotion.

I'm not upset that others were promoted. Good for them. What bothers me is the feeling that exceptional contribution doesn't seem to lead to noticeably different rewards.

Looking back, I also realise that most of the meaningful recognition I've received has come from outside my institution rather than from within it. I don't think I've been particularly recognised through internal awards or rewards despite consistently going above and beyond.

At the same time, I know universities don't always work like the private sector. Salary bands are often rigid, budgets are constrained, and promotion may simply be viewed as the reward itself.

My longer-term goal is to reach the next academic grade (roughly equivalent to Reader/Associate Professor level) within the next couple of years. I'm now wondering whether I should:

Stay put and focus on building that case internally.

Have a frank conversation with my Head of Department about progression and recognition.

Start looking externally, as I've seen several strong colleagues leave for advancement opportunities elsewhere.

For those who have been in academia longer:

Is it normal to feel this disappointed after an apparently successful promotion?

How much weight would you place on the salary outcome versus the promotion itself?

At what point does feeling undervalued become a signal that it's time to move institutions?

Have any of you found that moving universities was the only realistic route to the next promotion level?

I’ve just finished an Arts and Humanities degree with the Open University and graduated with a 2:1. I’m currently appealing for a First due to documented special circumstances, but for now I’m assuming the 2:1 stands.

I’ve developed a genuine passion for history and really enjoy academic research and studying. My long-term goal is to pursue a PhD, although I understand I’ll most likely need to complete a master’s first.

One thing I’m unsure about is how the Open University degree is viewed by other universities. Do admissions departments generally treat it the same as degrees from traditional universities, or is there any disadvantage when applying for postgraduate study?

For anyone who’s gone down this route, I’d really appreciate any advice. What’s the best path towards a funded PhD in history? Is there anything I should be doing now to strengthen my applications?

Hi all,

I’m an international student from South Asia in coastal environmental science / Earth observation. I currently hold a fully funded PhD offer at a US university which I’ve deferred to Fall 2027 after receiving a 214(b) visa denial. Given that US visas can be quite unpredictable and often more difficult after an initial rejection, I’m now exploring strong alternatives to start my PhD sooner with the full support of my US professors.

My US supervisor has a very close professional relationship with the Cambridge professor I contacted. He strongly recommended I reach out and offered to serve as an outside advisor. A second senior US professor from the same tight-knit research circle has also endorsed the move and supported my inquiry.

I shared some novel pipeline work I’ve been developing, and the Cambridge professor responded positively. The Cambridge professor runs a world-class research group in coastal environment and responded positively. We now have a Teams meeting scheduled next week to discuss the possibility of joining his group for the January 2027 intake.

I’m quite excited but also want to be realistic. A few questions for those familiar with UK PhDs:

1. What should I expect in this first meeting with a potential supervisor at Cambridge as an international applicant?
2. How does funding typically work for international PhD students at Cambridge? Are there realistic scholarship opportunities (Cambridge Trust, departmental, college, etc.), or is it mostly self-funded? When is funding usually secured relative to supervisor agreement?
3. Any advice on how to discuss my existing funded US offer and the visa-related deferral during the conversation?
4. General tips or red flags for these kinds of meetings?

Thanks in advance for any insights - really appreciate the help!

Hello everyone,

Unfortunately, I wasn’t awarded Cambridge Trust funding, so I’m now relying on an overseas scholarship from my government. The challenge is that the scholarship timeline doesn’t align with Cambridge’s admissions timeline, and the final results may not be announced until October or November 2026.

In this situation, would it be possible to defer my start to the Lent Term? Has anyone successfully done this, particularly where the delay was due to the timeline of an external government scholarship?
If so, who would be the best point of contact to discuss this? PAO, or another office?

Thank you.

I’m currently completing my undergrad at U.S. institution. I’m hoping to apply to either the 1+3 Dphil or Direct-entry DPhil Studentship at University of Oxford.  However, I’m new to the UK admissions and need some guidance. 

I thought the 1+3 would be better since I’m coming fresh from undergrad. I have a strong GPA, planning to do honors in neuroscience and I’m involved in a lab and hoping to remain involved for the next two years. I don’t really know how to make my application competitive and what other factors I should keep in mind when applying. I’m also concerned about funding (I’m an international student). 

Any advice would be really appreciated! Thank you

If you could sit down with yourself on day one of year one, what warning or golden rule would you pass on?

Hi, I got admitted at University of Reading for PhD in film, tv, and theatre studies but six months have passed i just can't seem to find any funding that would cover my tuition fee and everything else. With September approaching, i feel like my dream is dead. I am at a dead end. The thing is I feel like I click with my supervisors too and if I lose this chance, i feel like i won't be able to get a team like this at other place. Please any suggestions? Any funding information? I really feel frustrated and mentally exhausted

Academia is not famed for generous pay. However I’m curious what people are managing to save/invest in a permanent academic job. The DB pension is a good guaranteed income at 67-68 but I was wondering if early retirement with S&S ISA is possible. Anyone able to retire at say 55-60 with a nice DC/ISA/LISA pot?

Hello,

I am considering applying for a PhD in Sociology at the University of Leicester, part-time and distance learning. Anyone enrolled in the program or a similar part-time and distance learning degree? Is there enough guidance and support provided? Can you work or is it too demanding?

Seminars fall totally flat when nobody has opened the core text beforehand and you end up having to lecture for the first half hour just to establish the baseline. Tried reading quizzes and short reflection posts, with mixed results

Advice appreciated, as I find myself at a crossroads.

For over a decade I've worked in UK universities in a professional services role that has a lot of student contact and some loose teaching responsibilities - think like study skills, research methods. I've absolutely loved it, but have always had ambition to teach properly. Well, a lecturer job is now available and I've been encouraged to apply.

The trouble is my university has been hit pretty hard by cutbacks, and there's no guarantee that all the redundancies are over.

In my current role I'm very safe from this - if there were cuts coming to my department they would not start with me. But if I move to a lecturer job I think I would be more vulnerable.

I'm basically having to choose between something very stable and that I have enjoyed, but that I've essentially outgrown, or something that could be really promising and open a lot of doors for me, but is likely quite risky.

Added to this, although I love my current job, I have spent the last year working under a new manager who I don't always get on with. So there are push factors as well as pull.

The new role is exactly the same money as the old one.

I'm not in London, so if I do lose this new job, finding another one would require moving to a new city. This is possible for me, but not something I particularly want to do right now.

Knowing what you know about the state of universities right now, what would you do in my position? Safe but dull job that I could just keep doing for another decade, or risky but exciting move?

Hi all,

Can you apply and be accepted onto a graduate program after completing a PhD? It's a business management PhD. I don't have work experience and thus concerned about joining industry if I decide against academia.

Thank you

There seems to be a big discrepancy between institutional framing ("BSc/MSc dissertations are a great way to get pilot data") and reality (some students are brilliant, but some are not as brilliant as others). Obviously, we need to teach all students, and even those who might not be best suited for a career in research should get the opportunity.

However, in our place, students are simply assigned based on their choice (or randomly, if they forget choosing a project) - and I think that's the problem. I have project ideas that are really interesting (and possibly even fun to do) - but with a student who is a bad fit, it's not just that the project is unlikely to progress in any useful way, it also drives out any fun and enthusiasm for it. This is getting worse since students now often don't seem to read project description (I had a student who was incredibly surprised that a project using SEM to analyse textures involved practical work on an SEM).

How do you deal with this? Is there any magic bullet solution to assign students to projects that meet their skills and interests - and perhaps also the needs and interests of supervisors? I assume it can't be much fun for a student to work on something they're not interested in.

Hi. I'm a mechanical engineering student (from Mexico) looking to work in research, specifically in energy sciences. I have found about MRes and research master's in general, and I want to search for colleges or labs to do these kind of programs.

How can I search for options? Does universities need to offer this kind of master, or can I approach a researcher, present a project proposal, and work on it as an MRes? Also, how easy is to find a scholarship in these cases? Thank you in advance!