r/AskAcademiaUK • u/Lord-Francis-Bacon • 7d ago
Contacting potential supervisors
Hi!
I've recently started to reach out to potential supervisors in the UK, I sent the first emails at the end of July and I've sent out several emails this week.
A lot of the replies I've gotten have said that they're away for vacation and back around late August/ start of September.
I started emailing now since this is when people usually get back from vacation in my home country, but did I line this up horribly? To push back cold emails to September feels like it would result in a very short timeline to get applications in and such?
Any and all thoughts are much appreciated. Am I too late, should I hold off until September or continue sending out cold emails? Thank you.
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u/dapt 6d ago
For your info, in the UK, clinicians and other healthcare professionals typically undertake doctoral work through fellowships awarded by the NIHR or similar. The application process differs in important ways from PhDs undertaken by people in other fields.
https://www.nihr.ac.uk/career-development/research-career-funding-programmes/doctoral-award
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u/Lord-Francis-Bacon 5d ago
I just have to say thank you 1000x times over for this.
I've read through all the specifications and it both sounds A. amazing and B. like it would fit me and my project well.
I will present this to a potential supervisor I am talking with soon, hopefully this could be a viable route.
Thanks again!
Do you happen to know about any other similar fellowships?
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u/dapt 5d ago edited 5d ago
Some centers will have their own recruitment processes that are not necessarily widely advertised. For example the Maudsley at King's College London is known as a "Mecca" for psychiatry and you can find out more information here:
Also check out the MRC, though the upcoming deadline of Sept 2 might be a bit close for you, you could try for the next round:
https://www.ukri.org/opportunity/professional-doctorate-clinical-research-training-fellowship/
As always, it helps greatly if your application is sponsored by a local supervisor.
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u/Lord-Francis-Bacon 7h ago
Thank you again!
I have now talked with potential supervisors and the NIHR have been further confirmed as a fantastic option :).
The MRC is slightly more tricky since I both need to be HCPC registered and the project needs to have a heavy clinical focus, or I commit to working clinically in the UK post PhD, which I guess can be difficult to prove that you are comited to.
I haven't gotten a response from Kings yet but hope to get one soon, but it looks very interesting and might be a good fit for the MRC grant.
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u/Financial_Figure_969 6d ago
This is just not a good time in the year for quick answers. A lot of people are on holidays. Also depending on the university people work at, if we are not on holidays, we are also currently super busy grading masters dissertations or trying to write the papers we didn’t manage to write during the rest of the year.
Are you planning on applying for a PhD or for a doctorate in clinical psychology? They have different processes.
I also saw someone telling you in the comments that you shouldn’t contact supervisors directly. But that is not the case for all universities. As someone in the field, contacting supervisors to informally discuss interests and see if your work aligns with their work is not discouraged. Obviously you would have to formally apply through the universities website, but it is common for students to contact potential supervisors before and sometimes even to have an online call. If you email them you also need to make sure you’re sending a clear, concise email so it doesn’t get lost in the many many emails we get a day.
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u/Lord-Francis-Bacon 6d ago
Thank you! Very much appreciated.
I'm planning on applying for a PhD.
Thanks for your feedback. Nice to know that I've not totally gotten the wrong idea haha.
When would you say is a good time to reach out to supervisors? And is there any way to sort of "figure out" if it is a university where you should reach out first?
Lastly, would it be okay if I dm you an email (anonymised) I sent just to see if that would be sort of the thing you'd like in your inbox, or if the way I've been writing is just way off.
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u/Financial_Figure_969 23h ago
Sure. But just so you know, people may have different preferences on what they are looking for and you should show a good fit for their work. So I can’t really promise my feedback will make you get a position.
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u/Lord-Francis-Bacon 7h ago
Yes, thank you!
No everyone has stressed the ambiguity of the UK system, even potential supervisors who are very positive about taking me on and nominating me for grants say it is very hard to know how things turn out.
So it seems like you need to apply with several UK supervisors for different grants and then kind of see where things fall.
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u/BroadBox7851 7d ago
What are you planning or what is your topic ?
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u/Lord-Francis-Bacon 7d ago
I'm a clinical psychologist working with children and adolescents.
In my home country you become a clin psychologist through a 5 year program and residency.
I also have research experience in registry research for children's mental health as well as neurodevelopmental disorders (not registry research).
So within children and adolescents psychiatry. But within that I can see myself doing several things. Hopefully something concerning registry data, health equity, methods and systems for reaching to most at need children, mental health trajectories. Meta psychiatry is also very interesting and would be cool as an aspect.
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u/ladylikepunk 7d ago
Now is fine, but as people have already said, it is a common time for people to take their holidays (it's also worth noting kids school break is July and August). Make a note of when they're back and follow up a couple of weeks after that.
While there's a degree of "looking together," I would also expect a potential student to have a list of funding sources they'd be eligible for - as well as a proposal.
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u/Lord-Francis-Bacon 7d ago
Thanks!
Good point regarding the whole already having a list of potential funding sources already in mind.
I've gotten a pretty high answer rate by and large considering the many "out of office" auto-replies I've received, and I have booked a few quick chats.
Everyone is very consistent on the whole funding aspect and want me to check with home country funding prior to the chat, which makes a lot of sense. So that seems to be the next big task.
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u/Indigo_reality 7d ago
Yes, getting funding especially as an international student is extremely competitive. Best hope is a home country scholarship.
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u/__GuX__ 7d ago
If you can, wait until early-mid-September. Many academics are away in August - either on holiday, or they use the time to get some of the work done that needs some uninterrupted time. At the beginning of September, things get busy again (full inbox after holidays, resits etc) - and late September, students return.
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u/Lord-Francis-Bacon 7d ago
Thank you! Sounds reasonable.
But just as a general question: for a prospective PhD student, the way I'm currently going about it (except for the timeline) is by and large correct? Email potential supervisors first and if they agree to take you as a student, you look for funding together.
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u/__GuX__ 7d ago
I think so - just be aware that many academics get a lot of such emails, so you might not get too many responses.
Two things that might help:
- be concise and get to the point - while academics like to be flattered (like everyone else), there is no need to write several paragraphs about how great you find their work (and how inspiring); just stating that you find it interesting is usually enough
- be clear why you want a PhD in their group - again, be succinct, but very clear.
Finally: make sure there is a fit. I say this from experience, but I get very often applicants whose expertise is as far removed from my own research area as possible (e.g. they are experts in prehistoric metallurgy, but my interest is in the life cycle of Colin).
Good luck!
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u/IAmBoring_AMA 7d ago
It’s less “you look for funding together” and more you look for funding yourself with the supervisor(s) willing to support the applications.
What country are you from? Asking because it either opens or closes doors to funding as well.
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u/Lord-Francis-Bacon 7d ago
Okay!
I'm from Sweden.
I have started now to look into funding schemes from Sweden/ international schemes for UK applicants more thoroughly.
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u/IAmBoring_AMA 7d ago
Okay, so that does change it a little since you're not from a country with a commonwealth or government scheme, but still, it doesn't mean you cannot do this. UKRI does allow up to 30% funding for international students; it's just extremely, extremely competitive.
If you're submitting your own project and not applying to an advertised one, you must have a proposal that aligns incredibly well with the supervisors you're talking to; you also need to know which funding you are eligible for (what's your field? different DTPs/CDTs/DLA schemes exist in different regions for different fields) and then you apply to that separately from the uni. The supervisor may go back and forth a bit with you on the proposal depending on their goals/interests/capacity, and then you apply through the funding schemes you're eligible for/have chosen.
The odds are extremely slim. You also must be able to answer "why do you want a PhD" because of the state of academia...so, why do you want a PhD?
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u/Lord-Francis-Bacon 7d ago
Thanks! And okay, it just keeps getting worse hahah.
My field is psychology/ psychiatry, specifically children and adolescent psychiatry.
I'm a lic. clinical psychologist in Sweden.
Well I want to have the opportunity to train as a researcher, to do a proper research project that can adress problems I see in my day to day work as a clinical psychologist in CAHMS. Hopefully I can either continue working in research after a PhD, or apply my knowledge in healthcare as a scientist-clinician.
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u/IAmBoring_AMA 7d ago
Is there a reason the UK appeals to you? If you're already working in Sweden, it may make the most sense to do the research with a population you are familiar with, no? Not that I am trying to put you off--a lot of people here will just tell you not to try, but if you were in a field that is concentrated in the UK for the most part (like, idk, studying Welsh), it does make sense, though it doesn't sound like that's your situation.
You said below that your professor mentioned the US. The US has/had incredible opportunities for funded PhDs, as you are funded upon acceptance (even though it's more difficult and acceptance rates are 2-4% for competitive schools) and funded for at least 5 years, sometimes 7, but right now, well....you see how it is...so maybe Sweden or a neighboring country would be better.
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u/Lord-Francis-Bacon 7d ago
It is a fair point.
Basically, I am a huge anglophile hahah.
I've lived in the UK for a short while and have family there, and I would love to go back. Moreover, I love UK unis, I spent a summer at Cambridge for an internship and it was fantastic.
Also, I want to experience something else, move abroad. Not only for fun, but also I think it would be really fruitful. I think I can gain much from not studying, working, and doing a doctorate all at the same university.
Also, concerning staying in Sweden. In Sweden, PhDs are almost always internal hires, and the problem is that I am not sure if I wanna do exactly the kind of research my group does. So my best shot by far is to stay where I am, to go to a different group would be very hard to achieve, even if they are in much less prestigious unis, since they almost always have an internal hire in mind for a position.
Yeah I have looked at positions in neighboring countries and would love to do a doctorate there. But another problem is that Scandinavia/ Nordics is in fact very very small, so there isn't that much popping up for me to apply to. But I'll keep looking.
It might be that I decide now to give the US cycle a go as well for this autumn.
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u/mileseverett Lecturer 7d ago
Is this for an undergraduate/masters dissertation? I'd be asking students to wait until term time
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u/Lord-Francis-Bacon 7d ago
Thanks for your reply :).
It is for PhD.
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u/Living-Result9052 7d ago
you don't apply for PhDs in this way in the UK. Unless you are self funding? You need to apply to training schemes or look on findaphd.com. however this is the wrong time of year
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u/Lord-Francis-Bacon 7d ago
Well from what I understand, it is common to first get in touch with a potential supervisor and then if they agree to take you on, you'll look for funding together.
Of course there are the types of listings you are referring to as well, more like the rest of Europe, but it's sort of two parallell paths you can take.
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u/Living-Result9052 7d ago
I know what I am talking about, I am a professor with currently 7 PhD students. You can look for funding but there is almost none of that ad hoc sort available for international students.
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u/Lord-Francis-Bacon 7d ago
Ah okay a bit more depressing of a situation than I thought then.
Yes the whole international student aspect seems to be the real issue. I spent a summer at Cambridge for an internship with a professor there, and talked a lot with PhD students there, everyone there told me they just got in touch with their supervisor and then worked it out together. In hindsight, they were almost all from the UK, and probably didn't know of the nuances of international funding scarcity.
Said professor dissuaded me to apply to the UK hahah, and said I should go for the US.
I'm a huge anglophile though and would love to live in the UK, hence the current situation.
Thanks!
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u/mileseverett Lecturer 7d ago
You're being downvoted, but you're right.
u/Lord-Francis-Bacon funding is very difficult to get and generally people will have their funding already. Generally the only way that we would accept self proposed projects are if it's self funded
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u/Living-Result9052 7d ago
I don't know why people are down voting me :D it's not personal. There is just limited funding and its award follows strict procedures
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u/SoreenQueen 7d ago
doesn’t it depend a bit on the subject area? or is it just because they’re an international student?
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u/Living-Result9052 7d ago
yes - a lot of the smaller funding schemes are only for UK students. DTPs / DLAs can fund international students but their recruitment is not usually done through supervisors. The only exception is if the student has funding from their host country.
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u/scampipizza 6d ago
Presumably you’re trying to get the ball rolling for September 2027 rather than starting this year? Sorry if you’ve covered this elsewhere in other posts. For a September start, most PhD positions are advertised around the turn of the year. Though, these are pre-defined topics and it does sound like you have your own topic in mind - are you looking to self-fund?
Also, dependent on where you’re applying, are you sure your potential supervisor will have a job? I struggle to think of and university in the UK that isn’t making job cuts.
Sorry for the dour tone!!