I wish to write research books and lecture at uni Do i have to have a PHD?

Question

Do i have to do a Masters to do a PHD? Or can i just find an obscure subject and get funding from the ESRC. My field is in Education and Sociology. I already have a degree and a PGCE. I have one years teaching experience in a sixth form college

Answer 1

I'm looking into this as well. There are two options here. If you want to lecture on a QTS degree or PGSE course then your qualifications are fine as they are. You need would need 5 years teaching experience before you could lecture though. Fair enough really, can't tell others how to do it unless you do it first.

If you wanted to lecture a subject it is more difficult. For most posts you definately need an MA in the subject and you will have to either hold or be working towards a PhD. At this point you can start to apply to uni's as a lecturer. Most person specifications state that you must have a good publication record so you must have undertaken several peices of research and had them published in journals.

One way to get your foot in the door, and probably the route I will take, is to work as a research assistant. You need to hold an MA in the relevant subject and you work under a lecturer who is doing some form of research. This means you get to type their notes and fetch their cofee. (OK, there's a bit more to it) But you get about £20k for the pleasure. Whilst in a posistion like this you will learn a lot, meet the right people and do your own PhD at the same time.

Finding an obscure subject probably won't help because the department of "Yellow lesser spotted frog's mating habits in July" will either be non existant or so tiny they won't be able to employ you. I'm doing my MA in children's literature, but will probably end up as part of the English department, teaching a Children's Lit module.

As for writing research books, if you mean to further your academic career then you need to look at getting published in a journal. If you are talking of writing books for the sake of writing books (nothing wrong with it, just different) you need to write to publishers with a proposal of your research, explain why it is new and how it fills the gap in the market. Remember that publishers are there to make money so you need to demonstrate how your book will do that for them.

Really hope I haven't just put you off. Nice to see another person with a brain on the Answers forum. Good luck with the career.

Answer 2

The ESRC are bastards for getting funding from if you are not a recognised researcher in the area. Which means you need good publications and ideally a track record with research funding, unless you are collaborating with someone who has that, and your idea is kick *** and novel.

Some crap old polys that are now universities will take you on as a "lecturer" without a PhD but you'll never get any research or writing done as you'll spend all your time teaching, and the ESRC won't fund you if you go to one as they are seen to not provide the resources for you to complete the grant.

The traditional route is to do the PhD, publish it, do a postdoc, and then get a lectureship. This is probably the easiest and fastest way to funding. Non-traditional routes are more difficult because it is difficult for the ESRC assesors to determine whether you could actually manage the grant

Answer 3

You probably don't need a PhD but it might help with your chosen career. Afterall a PhD is a research based degree where you write what is basically a book at the end of if. You could do a Masters (I have a MSc by research) to see if you enjoy research first. You can go stright onto a PhD, my uni started you all off on a Masters and then you had to do a transfer to PhD paper. There was the option to duck out with a Masters too.

Hope this helps!

Answer 4

Most universities recommend a PhD for their faculty, but not all. It really depends on if they're public or private,how big the department is, and otehr factors. Buit Not all require it, no. My advisor in college had a master'sdegree, heck, when I went I think about 8 people held doctorates.

So the short answer is no, you don't need one. And that's a huge undertraking in its own right, a PhD. Only attempt it if you reeeeeeeeeeally want it. Undergraduate degrees are easy enough to plod through cuz you need it. Graduate degrees are only persued by people who WANT them. They're also more difficult to obtain, course work wise. I'll find this out for meself soon enough,come September. :D

Answer 5

Tom Lehrer (look him up - he's a satirical songwriter - you may have heard some of his songs; he also wrote for Sesame Street!!!) taught at some of the US's most prestigious universities. He graduated from Harvard at 18 (!) and immediately began teaching undergraduate mathematics courses. However, he has never done his PhD. In his words, "I never got a PhD. I wanted to be a graduate student all my life, and they wanted me to be a PhD. The two goals were incompatible."

So you do not need a PhD - but you do have to be brilliant if you have not got one!!!

Answer 6

You can lecture as yoiu study for your PHD - especially if you are specialising in an education field. You will need extensive teaching experience though.

Answer 7

Masters then PhD is the general way to go.

If you are looking to work for a university then a PhD will maximize your choices, but beware; it will over-qualify you for other positions.

Answer 8

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Answer 9

You don't need it - if you're an exceptional researcher, then you should be able to get by. However, if you get a phd it will maximise your career chances.

Answer 10

research it.