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Hi Triedgold, Congrats on your M.Phil offer from Cambridge! And good luck with your two following interviews at USC and UC Berkeley. i was wondering if you're aware that it's common practice for all PhD candidates in the UK to start on an M.Phil before the progression to a formal PhD route? In other words, the M.Phil is treated like a preparation year where you really secure your area of research interest on a deep level. Then you apply for the PhD program again, on campus this time, and if you keep good work and relations with your supervisor, it shouldn't be a problem passing this 'probationary' year. Bear in mind also that PhDs in the UK take much less time than the US (4 years maximum in general, including the MPhil). Counting that you'll be on track with coursework, you would be obtaining your terminal degree several years earlier than you would be in the USA. I'm aware that you'd would like to be enrolled at a part-time Ed.D. program, but if you're considering the MPhil abroad, you'd have to be away from your current job + family anyway, so I thought I'd let you know this PhD option too in case you haven't heard and turn it down too soon. The PhD would also enable you to do the deep level of research you want, versus the Ed.D, which, as others have previously mentioned, is geared more practical training in Educational Administration instead of purely theoretical research (which isn't bad too, considering the salary). And if the supervisor is somebody renowned in your field, he may help launch you towards your desired research/practioner career (more likely than the other two options). If you have more queries regarding the M.Phil program, you should perhaps visit TSR (The Student Room) -- it's a UK-based version of gradcafe, letting applicants/current students to share their perspectives on their respective departments with each other. There's a HUGE Univ. of Cambridge sticky on there, and a couple of M.Phil fellows in the Education department. Here's the link to this year's Cambridge graduate application thread: http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=1391338 Good luck! I know it's a very difficult decision to make. Sorry for the rambling, and let me know what you think of all this.

Thanks for the advice, your point about the tuition + stipend is good to keep in mind...

@Teacher' -- thanks a lot for your input. Really appreciate it! The reason why I'm attending the UK institution is because the supervisor I'm working with specializes in the topic I'm researching in... as far as I know he is about the only one (out of two) who's published a number of books on the subject and is currently teaching in a school (the other just retired last year, also from the UK). Based upon your experience and advice, I think I'll try to haggle for more monetary coverage in terms of international expenses from the school through extra T.A. jobs, if that is possible. It's worth a try, especially in light of the large tuition difference between the locals (who pay 4800 pounds) as opposed to the intl' students (10000 pounds). In any case, many thanks again.

Greetings, I am delighted to come across this thread, and congratulations to all the musicians/composers/musicologists with their respective school offers! I myself am thinking about pursing a PhD in a musicology programme in the UK, and am seeking advice which revolve mainly around monetary issues. I would like to ask for feedback from both current and previous PhD candidates in the music field for their experiences. I hope that I am not too late in posting a query for some answers this late in the summer... My questions are as such: Are/Were you required to pay for tuition when you did your PhD program(s)? My programme is associated with musicology, but I currently have a few friends who are doing post-graduate work in various fields (statistics, psychology, neuroscience, etc.). While they understood that it was competitive to earn a phd studentship (ie scholarship) in the UK, they were nevertheless concerned that I even had to pay for tuition at all. In fact, they stated that as a phd candidate, I should at least be paid extra (living expenses covered) to attend or be enrolled with an accompanying teaching job. Was that the case for most of you? Were you completely covered by the school while you did your PhD? In my case at the moment, it sounds like that a little over half of the tuition is covered for three years conditional upon a few T.A. jobs, but I also need to support a couple of grand on my own per year, including living expenses (I do not have the formal details as I am still waiting for the formal documents to arrive in the mail). In theory, I am fully funded if I am a "local student" in the UK, but as I am not, I need to pay an "international fee", of which the tuition is twice as much as that of a local student. Does it sound wrong to you to pay for a PhD programme at all, and would you recommend me not pursuing it if I had to, and rather, wait for a programme that offered a full-ride, which is what is usually supposed to be? My impression was that in Music it is different, as there is less funding for this field, but I could be wrong. Thanks a lot in advance for your help and I appreciate the feedback... please let me know what you think. Cheers!

Greetings, everyone... A thought suddenly occurred to me just now, as I was contemplating about the my options of attending further school and studies. My queries revolve around monetary issues. I would like to ask for feedback from both current and previous PhD candidates in various fields (just to compare). Are/Were you required to pay for tuition when you did your PhD program(s)? My programme is associated with musicology, but I currently have a few friends who are doing post-graduate work in various fields (statistics, psychology, neuroscience, etc.). While they understood that it was competitive to earn a phd studentship (ie scholarship) in the UK, they were nevertheless concerned that I even had to pay for tuition at all. In fact, they stated that as a phd candidate, I should at least be paid extra (living expenses covered) to attend or be enrolled with an accompanying teaching job. Was that the case for most of you? Were you completely covered by the school while you did your PhD? In my case at the moment, it sounds like that a little over half of the tuition is covered for three years conditional upon a few T.A. jobs, but I also need to support a couple of grand on my own per year, including living expenses (I do not have the formal details as I am still waiting for the formal documents to arrive in the mail). In theory, I am fully funded if I am a "local student" in the UK, but as I am not, I need to pay an "international fee", of which the tuition is twice as much as that of a local student. Does it sound wrong to you to pay for a PhD programme at all, and would you recommend me not pursuing it if I had to, and rather, wait for a programme that offered a full-ride, which is what is usually supposed to be? My impression was that in Music it is different, as there is less funding for this field, but I could be wrong. I am also asking DMA Music students for their opinions, but I thought your input could be helpful, even from a different fields' viewpoint. Thanks a lot in advance for your help and I appreciate the feedback... please let me know what you think. Cheers!

Hey, Thanks a lot for your help and replies. I really appreciate it. I have been looking up the tuition there, and it looks like the local UK students pay between 4200-6300 EU for postgraduate studies, while international students must pay up to 10,500-12,700 EU! If that is indeed the case where the studentship money only supports the local amount, then there is still quite a difference to make up! Of course, I'm still waiting for the official documents to arrive so I can compare the details, but for now, the financial situation is looking grim... ... thanks a lot for your help again though~

Hey everyone, I was wondering if I may ask for your help? I recently received an email from my future supervisor informing me that they will offer me the PhD studentship, which "is the equivalent of EU/UK home full-time fees". I was wondering if this means that it's full tuition + a stipend of some sort, or does it mean it only provides tuition ? I will email him too to ask for more details, but meanwhile, I don't want to sound ungrateful for the offer. This is for a phd program in the UK. Thanks so much for your help!

Dear Suspechosa, I am sorry to hear about your partner's situation. I understand how hard it would be to not be around your partner and the parents while they go through this difficult process. I admire your willingness to stick with them, it really shows your true character when those closest to you are in need. But I think once in a while, it's important to think for yourself too... Is this school far from where your partner and partner's parent live? Because if it is not, you can use breaks to visit, and that is a lot more than most people can ask for. You may not want to give up your life and career completely for this, because they may feel uneasy knowing you deferred this opportunity too. In other words, it is not a loss on both sides if you do choose to attend in the end. In fact, it is something for the sick to look forward to, a positive, external news that will uplift and distract -- so not all the attention is constantly being focused on them being sick all the time. Whatever happens or whatever you choose to do though, it will all turn out to be fine. Good luck to you on everything and best wishes.

Hey, Thanks a lot for all of your feedback/advice. The different experiences and perspectives really helped clear things up, and I appreciate the time you took to write them. I certainly learned a good lesson, and I'll be keeping all these suggestions in mind for next time.

Greetings to Everyone, Congratulations to all on their respective acceptances, good luck to those who are still waiting for some news. I was wondering if the forum could help me out with a situation and question. I'm applying for some PhD programs, both in the US and the UK. I've had two interviews so far this past spring, and one took place this evening. The professors from both schools asked me the same question, "are there other schools you've applied to?" In the first one, I answered truthfully, and I felt the tone of the interview committee shift from being interested to being cold. In the end, I did not get the offer. This evening, the professor gave me an unconditional offer, and then afterwards, he asked me the school question as well. I replied 'No' right away. He became very quiet, and then I elaborated: "There are currently no other pending applications, I withdrew from all the other schools except this one." Which is not true, actually, because I'm still waiting to hear back from two more places. I think he could detect that what I declared wasn't the truth, but at the moment I just lost my head completely and was afraid of repeating the mistake at the first interview. Now however, I am very anxious that he's bound to find out anyhow about the other places, as the circles within my field are quite well connected. I was wondering if anybody's met similar circumstances, and had any advice for an email followup to explain lest further inquiries may be required, or in a next interview, etc.. Helpful advice will be greatly appreciated, thank you very much for your time!