Are you considering applying for a PhD and wondering when should you apply? I’m here to help you! In this post we’ll cover everything around when you should apply for a PhD. This includes the annual applications cycle of when PhD applications open and close, my own PhD application timeline and the bigger scale question of when it may be right for you in your life.
I’ve written many other posts covering all aspects of applying for a PhD including:
You are viewing: When Are Phds Due
- Complete beginner’s PhD guide & FAQs
- How to apply for a PhD
- How to choose a PhD project
You can browse all posts about PhD applications here. If there are other topics you’d like to see covered please let me know!
When are PhD Applications Due? The Annual PhD Applications Cycle
The applications cycle for undergraduate (and Master’s) courses are typically very structured: all applicants submit their application by a certain time of year, you’ll all have interviews around the same date then everyone enrols together.
Generally the PhD applications cycle is a little less structured than undergrad, though it does vary depending upon:
- What type of project you’re applying for: whether it be a specific individual PhD project or a structured course (CDTs)
- Funding sources
Let’s cover each of these in turn.
Individual PhD Projects with Funding Secured
When you’re searching for PhDs you may find specific PhD projects advertised that have funding already attached. It’ll say so clearly in the PhD advert if this is the case. If you’re applying for one of these specific projects there may be application deadlines but these are set up by the individual supervisor. Funding in this scenario will often come from a research council, charity or industry partner. Details for different funding routes can be found here.
When are PhD applications due for individual projects with funding?
There is usually no specific time of year that applications open or close for individual PhD projects. This means that different projects will have application deadlines spread throughout the year so in this scenario you don’t need to worry too much about missing out and having to wait until the following year to apply.
When can you start the PhD?
You can also usually start these projects at any time of the year. The start of the first semester (September/October) and second semester (January) are the most common but I’ve known people to enrol and start a PhD throughout the year.
This means that there isn’t necessarily a set time to apply for these projects, it just comes down to the deadlines for the exact funding you’re applying for.
Individual PhD Projects – Requiring Funding
If you’ve seen a project advertised without funding and you want to get paid during your PhD (which I suggest you do!) then you’ll have to work with the supervisor to secure funding.
Usually this means applying for bursaries and scholarships from the university or specific department. This is the route I went down. I spoke to some potential supervisors for projects which didn’t have funding, but they helped me to put together an application for a university scholarship.
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When are PhD applications due for individual projects requiring funding?
When you’re applying for funding, you do have to be very aware of application deadlines because if you miss the cut off date then you’ll have missed out for that whole academic year. My advice: it is never too soon to start looking at projects and reaching out to potential supervisors.
- For more details on how much PhD students earn see my post here.
- Details for different funding routes can be found here.
When can you start the PhD?
Once you’ve secured funding, when you can start the PhD simply depends on when the money gets released. For bursaries and scholarships from within the university often the expectation would be for you to start in the autumn intake: September/October.
If the money is coming from elsewhere, such as a grant application or industry partner, then it will depend upon the timelines set out in the application. Speak to the supervisor for more details.
Cohort PhD Courses (CDTs/DTCs)
Centres for Doctoral Training (sometimes known as Doctoral Training Centres) are different because they’re more like a structured course. They’re more similar to undergraduate courses, where you enrol as part of a cohort of students and go through actual lectures and lab rotations.
I personally like the idea of CDTs and think more people should consider them: you get brought up to speed on a research theme, can try out different labs and projects and also often get a research master’s (MRes) as well as a PhD: all while getting paid!
When are PhD applications due for CDTs?
CDTs are the most structured of all types of PhD and have hard application deadlines to enable a whole cohort of applications to be considered at once. When are the deadlines? It varies. I applied to two CDTs and you can read on for exact details of when I applied.
My advice: Start looking early and check the website for deadlines.
When can you start the PhD?
Almost always you’ll be required to start in the autumn term: September/October, so that the course organisers can ensure everyone can attend the lectures and stay synchronised with progress.
When Are You Ready To Apply For a PhD?
Maybe you’re currently considering applying for a PhD but are unsure as to whether it’s the right path for you at the moment? I’ve been there!
I’m not going to try and convince you to do a PhD because it’s a very personal choice. What I will say though is that if you are at all tempted by a PhD, I think you should look at some projects/courses and consider applying and see how it goes.
If you’re put off by the idea of delaying starting a job and being stuck on a low PhD stipend for a while (it’s not so bad), it’s worth considering putting in perspective how short a PhD is compared to your whole life:
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Also, remember that you don’t need to dive straight into a PhD after finishing your degree. You are certainly able to go off and work in industry for a bit then come back for a PhD. I’ve worked with several people who’ve done that and if anything it is a positive to have extra experience under your belt.
As you’ll read in a moment, I ended up working in jobs for over three years before starting my PhD and actually think it made me a better PhD student. So don’t think that once you’ve left university the door to doing a PhD is closed, this isn’t at all the case!
PhD Applications Timeline: My Own Experiences
Well for starters, I applied over several years because although I initially was offered a PhD position it came with no funding:
For more details about my experiences with PhD interviews you can see my post here.
What you probably want to know though is timelines throughout the academic year, so here are details for each of the 2016 PhD applications I submitted:
CDT PhD in Tissue Engineering & Regenerative Medicine, University of Leeds:
Application sent: 15th February 2016Applications closed: 21st February 2016 and required references to be received in advanceInterview date: 18th March 2016Offer received: 23rd March 2016 (Offered place + funding)
Time from application deadline to final outcome: 31 days
CDT PhD in Synthetic Biology, University of Oxford:
Application sent: 20th November 2015Applications closed: 20th November 2015 and didn’t require references in advanceInterview date: 11th December 2015Outcome received: 15th December 2015 (Rejected)
Time from application deadline to final outcome: 25 days
Individual PhD Project, Imperial College London:
There was no specific deadline for the project aspect of my application, but there was a deadline for some funding which my would-be supervisor suggested we apply for:
Application sent: 27th January 2016Applications closed: Not applicable for this project but there were two scholarships we applied for*Scholarship 1 deadline: 29th January 2016Scholarship 2 deadline: 12th February 2016Interview date: Not applicable, there was no interview. Funding was decided just off the written application.Outcome received: March 11th 2016 (offered place and scholarship 2 funding)
Time from application deadline to final outcome: 42 and and 28 days respectively
*The funding applications weren’t directly linked to my application via the university’s online system. Basically under certain circumstances you can be asked to be considered for funding once you’ve submitted the application. That’s what happened for me.
My Advice For When To Apply For A PhD
- You can never start looking too early. Browse some projects on FindAPhD.com, go on some department pages or look up individual supervisors. Even if you don’t act on it immediately, knowing what projects are available and when deadlines are is very useful.
- Get in contact with potential supervisors early. Whether or not you’re applying for a project with funding already secured, the earlier you build a relationship with potential PhD supervisors the better. The supervisors are experts for applications deadlines, project availability, applications cycles and other funding routes so get talking to them so you can work together to secure a PhD project.
- Allow time for references. If there is a deadline listed for applications, check whether or not they need to have received references ahead of the deadline. If so, please give yourself plenty of time to get this sorted. There would be nothing worse than spending all of the time to put together an application but have it rejected because one of your referees missed the deadline. My suggestion is to give yourself about a week, minimum, to get this done.
- Don’t get disheartened if you don’t get accepted. This one is more of a general applications tips. I applied for a PhD over the course of three different years. If you don’t get a PhD offer the first year, consider using the time to gain more experience: such as taking a job as a research assistant or picking up extra skills with online courses. If you want a PhD, don’t give up!
If you’d like personalised help with your PhD application I am now starting to offer a small number of one-to-one sessions. Please contact me to find out more or click here to book a call.
I hope this post was useful. Deciding when you should apply for a PhD is a key part of the whole process. If you have other questions around PhD applications you can browse all the content I’ve written about the topic here, or let me know if anything still isn’t clear and I’ll do my best to help!
Source: https://t-tees.com
Category: WHEN
