The content of British Doctors is high and can even represent the elite. Nonetheless, the difficulty of application is also quite evident. What are the constraints of applying for a Doctoral degree in the United Kingdom?
I. Basic requirements for doctoral applications in the United Kingdom
- Bachelor degree or above in UK or IELTS above 6.5;
- A degree of 2.1 or above in the UK or a GPA of at least 3.0
- In line with the research direction of the supervisor, high-level research experience, experimental project experience or relevant published papers
The minimum degree requirement for PhD applicants in the UK is a bachelor’s degree. Therefore, both undergraduate or Master’s degree graduates can apply. However, relatively speaking, the success rate of Master’s degree is higher. That is because British doctoral programmes attach great importance to applicants’ academic experience and experimental experience, and Master’s degree graduates have the advantage in these two aspects.
II. Choosing Universities of PhD applications in the UK
When choosing a school, we should combine our own situation and take majors into consideration with emphasis. As doctoral students mainly conduct in-depth research in their professional fields, the overall ranking is not the first place for them. It is the major ranking that is more important. A school with a high major ranking can provide students with advanced equipment, cutting-edge doctoral guidance and plenty of scientific research exchange opportunities, which is more beneficial to students’ future research and paper publication, and this is unmatched by other schools.
III. Choosing Supervisors of PhD applications in the UK
This can be said to be the most critical factor for the success of the application. First of all, you have to make sure that the field you’re studying match with the professors at the school you choose. Secondly, the supervisor’s background should be viewed. If you choose a Chinese supervisor, then you are probably closer to success. But Chinese supervisors’ value more about personal performance. Chinese professors like to recruit mainland students who speak Chinese, because they have the same culture, background and so on. In the past, they all started from being Chinese overseas students, and they know the excellent tradition of Chinese people who can bear hardships and stand hard work. But there is a deep-rooted concept in Chinese people and that is the so-called “good students”, for whom what matters most is grades. That is to say, when Chinese professors look for doctoral students, they start with their academic records. This might be one-sided, but it is confirmed that there are many Chinese professors who would like to look at the academic records as their first reference.
IV. Getting Familiar with each other of PhD applications in the UK
The key to getting familiar with each other is to read more professors’ literature and write in-depth thoughts, letting the professors understand your research purpose. Getting familiar with each other have two stages: the former one and the later one. The former is suitable for the submission of initial application materials, and its function is to determine whether one’s research direction matches the professor’s current project, and to know about the professor’s enrollment situation. The latter refers to the need to continuously communicate with professors after the submission of complete application materials (such as research plans) to increase their acceptance rate. Here is a tip, if the reply from professor is quite optimistic, you can not treat it lightly. For first of all, a professor can’t guarantee that you can get the full prize for 100%, and secondly, if the professor has only one number, he or she will reply in this way to three to four applicants. So, you have to be prepared and can not have merely one choice.
When the scholarship competitive is becoming increasingly fierce, it is better to start getting familiar 6 months before the formal application (that is the next semester of the Master study), which shall enable you to have a basic understanding of the research direction of your favored supervisor but also shall make you ahead of plenty of applicants.
V. Scholarship Conditions of PhD applications in the UK
It is a common sense that it is easier to obtain scholarship when applying for PhD than applying for Master. However, the PhD scholarship is closely related to the policy of each school and the project fund of your tutor (commonly known as boss). UK PhD scholarships are more science related and many applicants can get a scholarship, but not a full scholarship, and a full scholarship means free tuition and living allowance.
- Seeing from the current information and background, it is possible to apply for the full award, but the detailed positioning and evaluation depend on more information about your professional background before one can make a judgment.
- Application for scholarship is related to both hardware background (undergraduate school, GPA) and software background (professional background/project research experience). It is not a simple matter to see the chance to apply for the scholarship from the number of points.
British Doctoral doctor normally needs 3-4 years or so. If it is at one’s own expense, whether the family has enough economic ability will be the most critical element. If there is not enough supporting financial resources, it is impossible to finish doctor’s course in the UK where the British doctor shall cost a financial resource of at least 800 thousand to 1 million yuan. The editor of O4U PhD project team suggests that if there is no scholarship, the students’ self-paying pressure will be quite big. Your PhD will be both busy and awkward, which will have a big impact on graduation. Therefore, you’d better apply for a scholarship before you go.
VI. Application Process of PhD applications in the UK
- Choosing University: to choose a university in the UK with a doctor’s degree.
- Choosing Supervisor: to choose a tutor who is same or similar to your major and take the initiative to contact him for online application or mailing relevant materials
- To download and fill in the application form, apply online or mail to the school
- To find the referrer and complete the recommendation letter.
- To complete the Research Proposal. To get a few research directions from the supervisor and read extensively in these directions to find out your own interest.
- To collect and bind all kinds of certificates required by the school and submit them to the school by mail or online application.
- To prepare for the interview and receive the offer.
- To apply for scholarship
- To apply for the visa and enter the school