By upgrading directly from Master's to PhD, continuity in an academic environment can be maintained. This means that there is no need to interrupt your academic career or adapt to a new academic environment, and you can save time and money by not having to spend time on the transition process from a master's degree to a Ph.D., and avoiding a gap in work after a master's degree.
So what requirements do you need to meet if you want to go directly from master's to doctoral without gap?How should I prepare my application materials?How do I contact a teacher to write a letter of recommendation?Today, we have our tutor Gene Liang to share his application experience!
Instructor Profile
Ph.D.: King's College London – Culture, ** and Creative Industries.
MSc: London School of Economics and Political Science – Culture and Society.
Undergraduate: Peking University - Chinese Chinese Languages and Cultures.
Background of the application
Undergraduate: Chinese Language and Literature, Peking University GPA: 368/4.00，top 20%
MSc in Sociology (Culture and Society) Distinction Degree
ielts：8.0(r8.5 l8.5 w7.5 s8.0)
offer for phd applications:
kcl: culture, media and creative industries
cambridge: east asian studies
edinburgh: sociology
manchester: east asian studies
cuhk: gender studies
Application History
The decision to apply for a PhD was already made at the time of the master's degree in the UK, so the next question was clear: prepare your own research proposal and start contacting potential PhD supervisors. The basic materials required for the application of a PhD in the UK are: research proposal, CV, writing sample and 2 letters of recommendation. The most important thing is actually the writing of the research plan, finding a suitable research topic for oneself and being willing to accept oneself as a supervisor for doctoral students.
ThereforeSince my master's enrollment in September, I have been writing my PhD research proposal and constantly contacting potential PhD supervisors by email. It's a long process, but it's really rewarding to communicate with professors and listen to their comments and suggestions on their research topics. Specific writing skills for selecting supervisors and research proposals cannot be expanded due to space limitations. But in my personal experience,The frequent communication with my master's supervisor at LSE during my master's degree has helped me a lotOn the one hand, he gave me a lot of advice on academic writing and doctoral application, and also helped me recommend a lot of relevant supervisors. This is actually about how to make the most of the potential resources in the school when studying for a one-year taught master's degree in the UK, Hong Kong and Macao. Professors will have a fixed office hour every week to answer questions for students on the project or course, which is actually a good opportunity to improve themselves, not only to ask questions about the current problems of the course, but also to discuss the selection of mid-term or final topics with the teacher, and consult the feedback and suggestions for further improvement. At the same time, it also allows professors to remember and understand themselves better.
Why do you have to let the professor remember him?AnotherAn important reason for this is letters of recommendation。If you do not apply directly for a PhD, the PhD application needs to be submitted by the end of January (considering that many scholarship applications have deadlines in late January). This means that when you submit your application, the end of the first semester of your master's degree has just been submitted, and many professors in the UK will not write a letter of recommendation for you if they do not have a basic understanding of you (the definition of "understanding", they will use the results and evaluation feedback of the course** as a reference).
At least, many of the teachers at the cold LSE, such as the professors in the Department of Sociology and Gender Studies I contacted at the time, rejected me outright, and even wanted me to apply for a gap year (this again involves the issue of determination and planning for a PhD, so I will not expand on it for the time being). At this time, it was my master's program supervisor who agreed to write a letter of recommendation for me. I have discussed and communicated with him many times in the middle of the course, and although it is a 3000-word essay, he likes the process of my arguments and arguments very much, and is so impressed that he even gave him a score of 82. After he agreed to write a letter of recommendation for me, it was more logical to talk to him about the UK PhD application. Therefore, this example can demonstrate the importance of making good use of Office Hour.
Ph.D. study
Of course, in the end, the result of the doctoral application was still satisfactory, and considering the research direction and professional influence of the supervisor, I chose to be inKing's College LondonI started my PhD career in the Department of Culture, Media and Creative Industries Depart (CMCI). CMCI is the most famous department of Kings that has opened so-called big media majors such as CCI (Creative Cultural Industries), ACM (Arts and Cultural Management) and GMI (Global Media Industries).In the UK Ref 2014** and communication major evaluation, research power ranked first in the UK.
CMCI is a super interesting department with a rather rigorous research tradition. The self-selected topics of each doctoral student and the research projects of the teachers are very interesting, such as fan research and cultural policy, salsa dance and identity politics, urban light and human emotion research, fashion and gender, funk** and youth subculture movements, etc. Every day at the Strand campus office, you can chat with your PhD colleagues outside of your own research and get a lot of inspiration at the same time. Regular doctoral seminars every semester, special lectures by professors in the department, and invited leaders in related fields such as Angela McRobbie, Paul Gilroy and D**id Molly will make people deeply immersed in this infinitely beautiful research atmosphere.
I hope that my application experience can help students in need.