PhD versus MPhil?

[My Name is Yon Yonson]

So here's the deal:

I applied to 17 PhD programs, many of which were well out of my league, and 1 MPhil studies (at Univ. College London). I was accepted by two PhD programs and also got into the MPhil program at U College London. The two PhD programs I got in to are top 25 programs, and are fairly focused in their strengths. Recently my interests have expanded to contain other areas of study -- areas that these PhD programs don't cover well. U College London, on theother hand, has an extremely great fit and encompasses my major interests along with my burgeoning interests which aren't covered as well by the two PhD programs.

Here's some background: My undergrad was in polisci, and I just graduated with an MA in Humanities from UChicago and took all philosophy courses. If any of you are familiar with the program, it's a bit of a streamlined process and so my writing sample, while I believe it was fairly strong for my lack of a philosophy background, could have been better (especially since my paper was so limited in scope and negative in its conclusion). In addition, UChicago has some very idiosyncratic grad courses, which some schools might not necessarily see as providing me with the necessary, broad grounding in philosophy.

Would it be best to go to the MPhil program and reapply to PhD programs afterward, since it would give me a much more solid, more well-rounded philosophical education (defining my interests for myself mainly) and, to boot, allow more time for a better writing sample? Or am I insane to even consider turning down a PhD from a top-25 program, even if it does not entirely mesh with my interests (mind you, there's some good strong areas of fit, but my areas are broad and changing and I'm young to philosophy)?

Another question I have, for anybody familiar with the MPhil program at UCollege London, is about finding: Is getting funding a challenge? Some of the scholarships/fellowships are only open for me after I got accepted, which means I have to apply now and I probably won't hear before I have to make a decision on the PhD offers. I waver between thinking funding isn't the biggest issue (as long as there's some funding) and thinking it's dangerous to have to cough up some cash for something that won't guarantee me a job in the end.

Thoughts?

[sebgrebe]

Hey,

take one of the PhD offers.

1) To get funding for Master's in the UK is hard. I read somewhere else in this forum that only about 25 % of the BPhil students in Oxford get funding from the university. At other places, funding is even scarcer (in St Andrews, where I am, only about 10 % of students get funding). Given that you haven't majored in philosophy, your chances to get funding might be even lower. Consider further that rents in London are ridiculosuly high + living costs are in general significantly higher than in the US (where I suppose you're from?) (My answer assumes that your PhD offers include funding)

2) Don't worry too much about fit of interest. Your PhD will take at least fife years, probably longer. During that time it is highly likely that your interests will change again. The validity of my advice obviously depends on how much your interests differ from the work done in the departments. Say you're interested in Foucault and stuff and the departments you have offers from are hardcore analytic, then this would be an issue. If the difference is not that harsh, I wouldn't worry.

3) In general, it probably won't get easier to get into PhD programms in the next years. Leiter just recently posted something about departments taking less and less people in and given the tough situation on the academic job market, this process might continue (and would probably even be a healthy one).

Thus, yes, I think it would be some kind of insanity not to accept your PhD offers;) Consider yourself lucky. Congrats, BTW!