Part or full time PhD

[Egwene]

I have been considering starting a PhD when my son starts school, working on the assumption that I will have 9.30 to 3 ish available during term time.

Does this fall into part or full time hours? I assumed it was part time but having chatted to someone with a PhD he thought it sounded more like full time, as many students work as well.

The fees for full time are too expensive so part time is the only affordable option. I wasnt going to apply for funding as I didnt want to have a pre-determined deadline.

Hi Egwene, I finished my PhD degree before my son was born but having been through it I would say it depends on your field, what is expected of you to get the degree, etc.

Is it a degree granted for writing a long thesis? Or is there coursework, labwork, etc. -- if so full time would be difficult on your schedule. It would be difficult anyway, if it were 'only' the long dissertation, but possible if you included weekends/evenings/etc. to work as well.

Of course if you can't afford full time then you don't really have a problem

Its arts rather than science and just a thesis and viva.

Full time is presumably 35 hours a week. Do people really do those hours?

it is probably worth it to register part-time and get on with doing it as quickly as you can - especially if you're not applying for funding. Part-time registration should mean that completion period is longer which gives more flexibility as well as lower annual fees. However it will mean that you are may not be eligible for any funding help such as with fieldwork etc and there will probably be a longer minimum period for which fees must be paid to ensure that the uni gets the equivalent of a full time student.

35 hours a week - do people really do those hours? dp certainly did when he did his PhD.... F-T usually 3 years and P-T usually min five, max 7/8 dependant on institution. And when I did mine despite the longer registration I paid no where near what an F-T in the same institution would have paid.

i'm on a full time psychology Phd which is a minimum of 35 hours a week... I've just gone back after 6 months maternity leave and not quite doing those hours but generally yes you do those hours but not necessarily mon-fri, 9-5... Part time is a minimum of 15 hours a week.

They say fulltime you should finish within 4 years, part time is 5-6 years...

The thing to remember is its not just your study but you need to do around 70 hours a year training in 'transferable' skills too which breaks it up and I enjoy that aspect too!

I'm about half way through and love it but I know the last year will be hell, 100k word thesis and a viva to survive!

My main problem at the moment is persuading dh we need childcare and reminding him that dsd (15) cannot have my study as soon as she moves in next year but has to wait until I finish which won't affect her as she'll have dd's(6 months) room and dd will be in with us!
i'm considering switching to part time to give me more breathing space but I get a bursary so would lose half my income....

Go for it and good luck!