So I have returned to Sheffield after
something of an amazing summer (an internship in Belize, followed by a field
course in Malaysian Borneo) for what could be my final year (I have the option
to stay on for a masters after my BSc), and I still don’t have the best idea of
what I want to do once I’ve left uni! If you look far enough back in this blog,
you’ll see that I wanted to go into research, or perhaps teaching, and that is
still my most appealing idea so far. I thought it could be a good idea to look
into getting a PhD and, for a slight change of scenery, I’m looking into doing
these abroad, probably in America.
As I know absolutely nothing about how to go about doing
this, I’ve booked myself a session with a careers adviser. I’m hoping that after
a few meetings I’ll be able to tell firstly, if a PhD is a viable option for
me, and secondly, if I should stay on the masters course I’m on, or start
applying for PhDs now. I also know there are a number of admissions tests that
American colleges require candidates to complete, depending on the courses
they’re applying for, and I could really do with some insight into these as
well.
I have already spent some time looking for PhDs, mostly on
findaphd.com, which lists programmes and research placements from the
UK, and a few from further afield too. This lists PhDs as either funded or
non-funded, which brings me to another small bump in the road; paying for my
PhD. I know the very basics of funding in the UK, but the process in America is
again pretty alien to me. Although I’ve had a look at the Fulbright Commission’s
website (www.fulbright.org.uk) which gives some advice, and also provides
scholarships for students studying in the US from abroad.
I think what I’ve really worked out is that I need to get
far more research done in to how to apply for postgraduate study, either
here or abroad, but I’m hoping my first advice session with the Careers Service will set me on the right track. Hopefully soon I’ll have a far clearer
understanding of what I want to do and how I can go about doing it. Watch this
space…!
Ed (Student Ambassador for the Faculty of Science)
For guidance on finding, applying for and funding postgraduate study, see the Further Study section of our website.
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