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  • 03-10-2008 10:38am
    #1
    clickerfingers
    Closed Accounts Posts: 191 ✭✭


    just wondering if anyone can explain a few things for me

    im in my final year of doin arts , have to do some sort of course after this but tryin to decide what. I went to a talk today as part of careers week and they were talking about doing phd's.

    i thought you had to do masters first, then phd, but now im confused after this talk. can you go ahead and do a phd straight away?

    when ppl talk about post grads, what are they talking about?

    how much and how long are these courses? and do any of them (masters) allow you to be paid etc?
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    #2
    AARRRGH
    Closed Accounts Posts: 12,382 ✭✭✭✭AARRRGH


    clickerfingers wrote: »
    i thought you had to do masters first, then phd, but now im confused after this talk. can you go ahead and do a phd straight away?

    You can jump straight into a Ph.D, at least for science type subjects anyway.

    There may be more rules for Artsy subjects.
    clickerfingers wrote: »
    when ppl talk about post grads, what are they talking about?

    Any course which requires a degree.
    clickerfingers wrote: »
    how much and how long are these courses? and do any of them (masters) allow you to be paid etc?

    You generally won't get paid for a masters. They typically take 12 - 24 months. I did mine part-time in 12 months.

    Ph.D's generally take about 4 years and you DO get paid - *roughly* 20 - 25k.


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    #3
    claire h
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,056 ✭✭✭claire h


    In arts, most places will want you to have a masters degree before starting on a PhD. (I'm in the same position as you, and it's weird, there does seem to be this gap in general advice and then what universities actually say when it comes to whether or not you can go straight into doctoral research...)

    There are some places here and in the UK that offer more structured doctorates whereby you're basically doing the equivalent of a masters the first year and then a three-year research degree, those you can go into from an undergrad degree. (e.g. Trinity have one in Political Science - http://www.tcd.ie/Graduate_Studies/prospectivestudents/courses/taught/listing/atozpg.php?course_id=37)

    Also, ignore that bit about being paid. It is possible to get funding for an arts-related PhD but it's fairly competitive, and rare to get anything on top of a maintenance allowance and your fees etc covered, never mind an actual salary.


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    #4
    CathalMc
    Registered Users Posts: 225 ✭✭CathalMc


    Furthermore, my experience has been that saying your ultimate goal is a PhD tends to maximize funding potential, even if you just want to get a Masters. It depends on the university of course.


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    #5
    COH
    Registered Users Posts: 7,049 ✭✭✭COH


    Postgrad funding in the arts and humanities sector is very limited. At masters level you would most likley not be paid. The majority of students are given the option of supplementing their income through teaching/tutorials which in itself is a great experience for budding academics. While some colleges offer internal financial aid most funding is external and reserved for research students doing degrees of 3-4 years.

    At PhD level funding is limited and very competitive. The IRCHSS, for example, offers external funding (fees + 16,000euro per year) however it is not available to masters students and is highly competitive and involves a lengthly application process! Your college can inform you of the various funding opportunities available in your field of research.

    While going from undergrad to PhD is possible, it is usually the case that you would begin as a masters student and, if your supervisor deems your research project strong enough, you can upgrade. In trinity college masters students (M.Phil) can upgrade to a 60,000word thesis (M.LItt), and they in turn can upgrade to doing a PhD.


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