Photograph: Connor Brook
Jennie Dziegiel did an MA in Religious
Studies at Lancaster University, and is now a first year PhD student in the
Department of Theology and Religion at Durham University. Her PhD looks at how
working in healthcare shapes people’s spiritual and religious world views, and
is funded by AHRC Northern Bridge Doctoral Training Partnership.
In October, I’m moving back to Durham to start a PhD, funded by the AHRC Northern Bridge DTP. Frankly, I can’t believe I’ve ended up feeling capable of passing on wisdom about PhD proposals and funding applications. This time last year I was almost entirely clueless. But I ended up with three funding offers from three different AHRC consortia. If, like I was, you’re looking at the application processes with fear and trepidation, I hope this post might help. I’m spelling out the things which I think not only helped my applications stand out, but kept me sane while I was pulling them together.
1)
Give
yourself as much time as you can
This is
probably the most basic but most useful piece of advice. PhD proposals and
funding applications should be marathons, not sprints – they take time, care and
attention. The process isn’t easy, and – for me at least – rushing would have
made it much, much worse, and probably made my proposals far weaker. As it was,
I chewed over my ideas for almost seven months before I hit the submit button
on my last AHRC application, starting almost as soon as I had finished my
undergraduate finals (though that was as much happy coincidence as good
planning). In that time, my ideas changed and developed. I had the chance to
get a bit of a head start before my Masters got under-way. Time is a huge help,
if you can get it.
2)
Create
yourself some headspace
Applications
take up time and energy. For me, it was definitely important that I had some
mental energy spare so I could focus properly on getting everything ready to
the best of my ability. I was writing my applications while doing the first
term of my Masters, and thankfully I had the foresight to set up my taught
modules so that I had one less that term, giving me time and space. I maintain
that pulling everything together was the equivalent of at least a module’s
worth of work anyway. Plus (don’t say it too loudly) you might actually want
some time off. Try not to fill your life up to the brim, if you can avoid it.
3)
Ask
for all the advice you can get
I just did a
quick count, and I think thirteen different academics at seven different
universities had sight of my proposal in some format at some point before I
submitted it anywhere. In every case, it was because I bit the bullet and asked
for help from the people who know what they’re talking about. I received a real
mix of feedback. Some was really affirmative and gave me an important burst of energy.
Some highlighted things I would absolutely never have thought of otherwise.
Some was constructively critical. Some was destructive and made me cry. But all
of it was useful, and my applications were far, far better for it. Ask for
help; go to application sessions put on in your faculty or department; read the
online advice from funding bodies and departments; check out this blog. If
you’re likely to be invited to interview, maybe go to some practice sessions.
You’ll learn a lot about constructive criticism, as well as developing a level
of boldness you probably didn’t know you had. Lap up the advice, even if it
makes you cry.
I personally
found it really useful to ask people who knew absolutely nothing about
religious studies to read my applications. For some subjects this won’t make
sense at all, but I knew that if I was invited to an AHRC interview then the
panel would include some people who weren’t experts in my field. So I made sure
my applications (and, eventually, my interview presentations) were clear and
easy to follow by testing them both on my parents. They loved me enough to be
honest, and I loved them enough not to get cross when they pointed out my
spelling errors and the sentences that had been edited so many times that they
had ceased to make any sense.
4)
Impact,
impact, impact
We all know
that a PhD needs to be original, but nowadays it needs to have research impact
too. Spell out your academic and non-academic research impact early on; sing it
from the rooftops, loud and clear. I can’t be sure, but I suspect that the phrase
‘of interest to the NHS’ did a lot to make my proposals competitive. I also got
in touch with some relevant organisations before I submitted the application,
so I could state sincerely that I had their initial go-ahead. If you’re
uncertain about research impact, ask for some of that advice.
(When it comes
to originality and impact, someone very helpfully reminded me early on that
being original isn’t enough: there might be very good reasons it hasn’t been
done already...)
5)
Tailor
it (and don’t bite off more than you can chew)
I ended up
with a lot of final proposal drafts, all based on the same ideas, but subtly
yet significantly different. Each of them was tailored to either a specific
university or a specific funding body. When it comes to different universities,
take some time to research and explain exactly why that university and that
department is the perfect place for you to do your PhD. It doesn’t have to be
long, but that couple of sentences might make all the difference. For funding
applications (and interviews, if my experience is anything to go by) spell out
in the plainest terms possible how your PhD will fit with that funding body’s
aims and goals. For both, give a short comment on why you think your supervisor
is perfect for the job. I tried to shape each application according to the
advice I had been given by that particular supervisor as well.
I was also advised
early on not to apply to too many different universities or funding bodies.
Partly it’s because prospective supervisors invest a lot in you, so you don’t
want to waste their time if they haven’t got at least a decent chance at a
return on their investment. But it’s also a case of retaining your sanity. I
put in three university applications and five funding applications, and it’s a
lot to juggle and research. There was a sixth funding application I abandoned
because it would have tipped me over the edge. Pick the supervisors that are
the best fits, and run with the most relevant funding bodies. Other than that,
don’t bite off more than you can chew.
6)
Pay
attention in Theory and Methods
This one
probably only applies to those expecting to go from a taught masters to PhD
relatively quickly. Theory and Methods was not my favourite module (at all).
But it was useful. It rammed home some things I knew anyway, and taught me some
things I wouldn’t have known otherwise. Learning about quantitative methods was
almost entirely useless for my MA, but was definitely useful for my PhD
proposal. If Theory and Methods isn’t your thing, sit tight, and savour the
bits that are useful. If it is your thing, I admire you.
(And work hard
on your masters – I’ve heard it said more than once that funding panels would
rather see someone with a 2:1 at undergrad progress to a Distinction at Masters
than drop from a First to a Merit. That said, I’ve not got my MA results yet…)
7)
Stay
organised
How many times
have we heard this? With PhD and funding applications, it makes a huge
difference. Get a diary, and put all the application deadlines in it. Make a
spreadsheet, detail the document requirements for all the different
applications, and stick it on your fridge. (Then check it off as you go - we
all need that positive affirmation.) File and label your documents carefully,
and keep some form of backup. Scan all your transcripts and certificates so
they’re to-hand. Proof-read your applications one last time before you send
them off, so you don’t come within seconds of sending an application to
Lancaster which explains how wonderful Exeter is. Don’t scupper all your hard
work with poor organisation.
8)
Persevere
I’ve just
about got to the point where I can joke a bit about how stressful my PhD
applications were. But the whole thing was hard work. I have never come so
close to giving up on my dream of being an academic as I did last November
(yet). I shed hours of tears.* I took ridiculously long train rides all over
the country for interviews. I had to pick myself up when a prospective
supervisor accused me of being failed by the school system because my grammar
was all over the place. And once that was all done, and the applications were
in, I had to stay sane long enough to find out whether all of the hard work had
paid off, or had all been for nothing. I always said I would be perfectly happy
to miss out on funding and go and find myself a sensible nine-to-five instead,
but deep down I knew how much I wanted it, and how in love I had fallen with my
proposal. That love (and occasionally re-reading a particularly edifying
reference) helped me persevere through the dozens of different document drafts,
the curt email replies, and the occasional bout of stress-fuelled insomnia. Be
ready for it to be tough, and remind yourself regularly why you’re putting in
all of the effort. Persevere. It’s a great feeling when all the different
documents are ready to go.
(* I’m a big
crier though, so don’t panic. If my tear-ducts can survive, so can yours.)
