Applying for science PhDs - advice please

[xrosie]

I just finished my master's and achieved a distinction (MSc) and have a 1st class degree in Biomedical Sciences. I want to apply for PhDs, presumably for September/October 2020 entry although I am taking a "gap year" so able to start whenever.

I was really confident during my master's that once I finished I would dive into PhD applications, but now my master's has finished I have found my confidence has just dropped and I feel overwhelmed and nervous about applying for PhDs, particularly regarding the interview.

I have a few questions I would like to ask:

• I will be asking my master's thesis supervisor and my personal tutor to provide academic references. All PhDs I have looked at request the referee's contact details and they automatically send a request for the reference once the application has been submitted. The field I want to go into (neuroscience) has quite a lot of funded PhDs being advertised and therefore it is likely I will be applying to quite a few PhDs, I am worried that their inbox will be spammed by automated emails asking for references for me. Is this a problem or something that academics expect? Will they have a written reference ready to go and will just simply attach it and send it or do they have to craft a reference to each particular PhD I apply for?

• I am worried about how competitive a candidate I am. I have good academic results and have won a couple of academic awards. However, outside of my degrees I do not have any relevant work experience or lab experience. The lab experience I have had, as part of my master's, I have made the most of and learnt a lot but I am aware that other candidates are likely to have had summer internships and summer research projects that I have not had.

• The projects I am interested in are specifically advertised as such with funding already available. Do I still need to informally email the potential supervisors to introduce myself or can I just submit the application? If I should email them, what kind of thing should I be writing?

Thank you

I think this is a confidence issue, and you should not worry so much! The first thing I would be looking at would be your transcript, so if that is good, that's a great start (Distinction plus First = excellent). Then I would be looking to see whether you were likely to be highly motivated and able to finish in the required time scale- so make the most of your work experience (don't apologise about it, sell yourself!) and any other project/task based work you have done that shows you see things through. Don't just say 'I'm good at team work': show how you get results by mentioning tangible achievements of things your team did better as a result of your intervention (e.g. 'I implemented a new way of recording X which meant we completed the coding twice as fast'. Third- what is driving you? Personally I like keen students who are at least plausibly interested in an academic career, writing papers, conference presentations (again any evidence that you have done reports/similar type work would be great). Good luck.

Thank you, @Nearlyalmost50. I already feel better having read your reply to me.

Sorry for the wall of text below, I didn't realise I had so many questions until I started writing. You are welcome to ignore all of this.

I'm currently writing my academic CV and given that I do not have any relevant work experience outside of my degrees, I am thinking I have to write in more detail about my university experience, is that ok? If so, I'm not sure how to structure it. For example, at the moment I have an 'Education' section with:

Course, University, Grade Achieved, Year
Then a brief list of bullet points e.g. a bullet point about completing my research project and what it was about, a bullet point about the modules I studied, etc.

I am wondering if I should be including individual module grades, for example I studied a module relevant to the area I want to research and achieved a good grade (85%) so I am not sure whether to include that in order to highlight it or just leave it as it will all be on my transcript. I also have achieved a couple of awards for example for getting the highest marks in my first year which I am not sure whether to include. I have also been told informally that I achieved the highest marks on my undergraduate degree but it was not presented as an award so I have no "proof" of it per se, so I am thinking I should not mention that?

I am also wondering whether I should have a section about research experience where I talk in more depth about my master's research project (e.g. techniques used) or whether that should just remain in the education section.

I guess I am struggling because I have three years of undergraduate a year of master's experiences and I am not sure what to include and in how much depth. For example, I have done:

• Various presentations: poster and powerpoint presentations of my research projects to my cohort, presentation to industrial experts, ran a paper discussion to my cohort
• A variety of different lab experience at university: research projects but also lab classes where I used a wide variety of techniques but they were in a lab class setting in pairs/groups rather than in an academic research environments
• A variety of different group work experiences where I acted as the group leader or worked equally with all group members as a team, and multiple (!) experiences where I have had difficulties with group members not doing the work which I have successfully managed.

I would definitely include the high grades and awards as highlights in the application (don't expect them to pick this out of the transcript). Experience, don't put in tonnes, just enough that is relevant, so demonstrates your skills and motivation.

Why are you taking a year out? What are you doing with the year?
You need to address those two points in your application somewhere.

@CuckooCuckooClock I'm not necessarily taking a whole year out, I am open to starting a PhD whenever and I know some PhDs can start at any time, although most do start in September. I plan on getting a job and saving some money this year, but to be honest I feel quite anxious. My master's only finished last month and I am already feeling like a failure. I have had a lot of years of back-to-back education and wanted a gap year to save some money and have some breathing room before starting a PhD as I know it will be academically and emotionally-demanding. However, I don't think writing that will look good so I'm feeling quite stressed about my situation and how to explain it best. I regret not applying last year for a PhD so I could have started it straight after my master's but I had a lot of personal things going on and it just was not on my mind, as bad as that sounds.

I suspect it’s quite normal/common to suffer a drop in confidence immediately after graduating. Perhaps particularly after a Masters, when one might have been existing purely on adrenalin for months. Take away the hormonal stimulant and the result is the same as with chemical stimulants. Plus mental exhaustion.

I completely understand your feeling stressed - but hold your nerve. This feeling will pass.

I wouldn't personally care about a student taking a year out between Masters and PhD, in fact, I think it's quite common. I don't think you need to say much about it, especially if you are using that year to apply for PhDs. Also, by waiting til you have your great result of a Distinction you will be better positioned in the field. Don't lose your nerve, you are already a successful student and there will be a PhD place out there for you as you sound motivated and flexible in your outlook.

@SurpriseSparDay Thank you, that is so reassuring to hear. I really worked hard on my dissertation and after submitted it I have just felt so low. I feel like I got a bit of a boost last week when I found out I got a distinction though so I'm trying to harness that energy and get to work on PhD applications.

@Nearlyalmost50 That is great to hear as I have felt quite insecure about not having anything lined up. Thank you.

i agree that it is very common for students to take a year out between MSc and PhD. In fact, I often recommend that to MSc students.

It sounds like you have a strong CV. do include all the detail that shows off what you can do - presentations to lab groups, leading groups etc. Also include a section on 'skills' where you list all the techniques & programming languages you know.

don't worry about asking your MSc supervisor for lots of references. He/she will have a reference on file, add a sentence to customise it to that application and be able to send it off quickly.

if you want to use your 'gap year' in an academic way, you could see if your MSc project can be written up as a paper or presented at a conference. Or you could do an online computer programming course (e.g. Coursera). Unless you already have v. strong coding skills, improving your coding will always make you a better phd candidate.