Anyone doing a PHD part-time?

[cheapandcheerful]

My dc aren't yet at school but I am starting to think ahead a bit. I really want to be there for my children before/after school and to obviously avoid childcare costs if I'm forking out for university fees.

Would there be any scope to study during school hours? I have no idea how flexible these arrangements can be.

I wasn't part time, but I finished mine recently and I know the first thing is - it'll depend on the subject. What were you planning on doing?

A PhD can be done part-time, but you still need to be utterly determined, stubborn, driven, patient, and very very clever.

It's not "study" in the way that a Bachelor or a Masters degree is.

Like Jeanne the first question is - what field?

In the humanities, broadly, you need to be very independent. Prepared to become the world expert in your little bit of your field. You need to be really excited by ideas, and ready to be adventurous and experiment a little. You need to be able to cope with research being well, very difficult. And be prepared to be completely out of your comfort zone, uncertain, and panicked.

I'm doing my PhD full time and manage to drop kids at school every day and do pick up 3 days a week, so it's pretty flexible. Really depends on your supervisors, school and university requirements. I have a friend who is part-time and it's really hard going. Sustaining interest for 6 years is really hard going.

Ah thanks! Some interesting things to ponder.

My undergrad degree was in Psychology and I have an MA in Education. I have been teaching in Primary schools for the past 8 years but still have a strong passion for psychology and my PhD would therefore probably be in the area of Educational Psychology.

upthechimney that's quite a scary set of criteria! I think that I could be all of those things but have obviously been out of academia for a significant period.

I have no stats on this, but anecdotally, people who've had at least a bit of time out seem to cope better.

I'm an academic and I would discourage you from doing a PhD part-time for the same reasons stated above, but also because it is so hard to sustain the freshness of a subject (think how much a subject will have advanced from start to finish). It's also harder to get funding (assuming that's an option for you).

n.b. you might want to have a look at this thread: www.mumsnet.com/Talk/_chat/2338947-University-researchers-teachers-and-academics-in-training-chat-here

Thanks toothless - that thread provides an interesting insight.

It's good of you to thank me when I should apologise for the negative slant to my response. With regard to flexibility of hours, unless you're in a lab with experiments, it can be eminently flexible to do it full time, though bear in mind you may have to attend courses in your first year and there'll be seminars and conferences you'll want to (should) attend along the way, that will require some flexing on the home front. My best advice is to make sure you can get along with your supervisor. It's a long and intense relationship.

Have you seen the OU 'how to get a PhD'? Very useful.

Haha! I now don't know if I'm just completely deluding myself that it's even potentially possible!

Luckily I'm only just entering the first stages of contemplating it as an option. It's not like I've invested any time, tears or money in the idea yet!

I'll look at the OU website - thanks.

I don't think anyone is saying that - if anything, I think people are saying you might do fine on full time?

The things that make a PhD hard don't get easier for doing it part time. In a way, part time is harder, because your research has to be up to the minute, and of course the longer you take, the harder it is to ensure that.

Why do you want to do a PhD? What do you think it will lead to?

No need to answer those questions here, but do have a long, hard think about your answers.

Hi again- just to add that the OU recommendation is a book: www.amazon.co.uk/How-get-PhD-handbook-supervisors/dp/0335242022.

Though there is a useful website, especially for studentships: www.findaphd.com.