Questions tagged [united-kingdom]
On standards or conventions specific to the higher education system in United Kingdom (England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland), which differs in structure and style from the systems in other parts of the world.
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Sex worker student offering her (lawful) services
One of my students is an escort/stripper and she has offered me (and other faculty in my department) her "services". I am pretty sure my initial reaction of "thanks for letting me know, now can you ...
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PhD student, issued contract at year 3 which will sign over intellectual property. Is it legal?
I'm EPSRC (Engineering and Physical Science Research Council, the biggest UK funding source in the sciences and engineering) funded. Several months into my PhD an industrial sponsor came along. In ...
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Giving a career talk in my old university, how prominently should I tell students my salary?
I have offered to do a talk at my old university’s 'employabilty fair' ten years after graduation, where am I now. With some advice on traps to avoid, how to make the transition from university to ...
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Can my UK PhD permit me to use the title "Dr.-Ing." in Germany?
I'm moving to Germany in a couple of weeks and I'll be setting up as a freelancer. I'm just curious about my title though.
I got my PhD in the UK in 2015, it states "Doctor of Philosophy" on the ...
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Why does a UK university need to know my sexual orientation and religion?
I want to apply to a postdoc position at a UK based University.
They want me to fill a "Equal Opportunities Data" form with questions about my marital status, sexual orientation, religion and race. ...
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Why do most scientists think Brexit is bad for British science?
From what I've seen in the media, almost all British scientists think Brexit is bad for British science. However I don't understand why. Some of the most common reasons I've seen are:
Loss of funding ...
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What to do if I'm being bullied by students?
I've recently been the subject of bullying by a group of students. I taught a difficult module alongside another module, which was taught by somebody else. The other module was much easier and offered ...
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UK Postdoc - Is salary negotiation even possible?
I have an interview later this week and the advertisement goes something like:
Grade 7: £31,604 - £38,833 p.a.
While talking to a postdoc at my own department, she told me that the scale wouldn't ...
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Reasons for an academic to need administrator rights on work computer
Questions related to this in a not specifically academic setting have been asked elsewhere, notably Should developers have administrator permissions on their PC? and Should dev be admin on their ...
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Can a UK University prevent you from graduating due to an outstanding library fine?
I study in the UK. I just received an email from the academic registrar of my university regarding my forthcoming graduation ceremony.
Contained within the email was this disclaimer:
Please ensure ...
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Should I secretly record a meeting to prove I'm being discriminated against?
I'm a PhD student at a university in the UK. The head and director of graduate studies at my department are trying to get me removed from the department.
Almost all of this is going on over my head, ...
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Can someone interview their sibling?
I just had a job interview (permanent lecturer position not connected to a grant) and, immediately afterwards, I found out that the person who is the group leader and responsible for recruiting is the ...
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Is there a way to improve my grade after graduation?
I graduated around 3 years ago with a degree, from a Russell Group university, in Mathematics. I had some mental health issues in my final term which essentially bombed my grade. Since I had no ...
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UK faculty salaries are much lower than US – is there any upside?
I was looking at faculty jobs, and most of the jobs in UK publish the salary range and band, which (from my understanding) is essentially non-negotiable and adopted by most universities in the UK. It ...
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Why is discrimination based on citizenship allowed in PhD funding in the UK?
This question is specifically aiming at the UK PhD admission system.
Having spent roughly 6 years in the UK - 2 years A-Level and 4 years undergraduate, I am now moving forward into applying for PhD ...
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Can a department revoke a degree, once granted by the university?
I’ve just completed a graduate degree at a university in the UK, as an older student.
The department, IMO, is a mess of politics, fickle actions, and backstabbing. Whilst here, I have been pushed, ...
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Are UK faculty salaries in computer science low compared to salaries in United States?
I'm looking at faculty ads for computer science in the UK and noticed that the average salary range seems to be significantly lower compared to the US. Typically, a starting Lecturer ( = Assistent ...
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Interviewing for a lecturer position in the UK
I have been invited to interview for a lecturer position (AFAIK, equivalent to assistant professor elsewhere) in the UK, after being pre-selected following a Skype interview. This means that the ...
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Feeling bad about taking time off
So I'm a first year PhD student in the UK working on an applied mathematics project. Excluding weekends I put in about 37/40 hours a week of work which leaves me pretty tired to say the least.
...
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Is it inappropriate to contact my Master’s supervisor on Facebook or Instagram for a reference while she’s on maternity leave?
I am currently applying for a PhD degree in Canada and one of my potential supervisors from the UK asked if he could ask my Master’s supervisor for reference. So I emailed my ex-supervisor about this ...
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Is expanding the research of a group into machine learning as a PhD student risky? [closed]
I have the opportunity of doing a PhD under the supervision of an expert in medical imaging at a top institution. Currently their group does not conduct research into the application of machine ...
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How can I thank a senior faculty who's written me a good reference which helped me land a desirable job?
I recently got a good job and I want to thank a very senior professor in my department, who spent time to write me a very good reference.
I am thinking maybe to give him a thank you card when I go to ...
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Etiquette of wearing the wrong academic robes at graduation as a lecturer in the UK
I have graduated three times from UK universities. First was a bachelors' degree, then a Masters' degree, then a PhD. The graduation robes associated with my PhD graduation are absolutely horrible. I ...
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Contacted by head of school regarding an issue - should I be worried?
I am a PhD student at a UK university. A small part of my time is taken up by (voluntarily) organizing a monthly seminar series. The seminar is open to all PhD students in my school, and is regularly ...
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Is it legal in the UK to aim for a certain percentage of women in a math department?
Athena Swan charter is a UK organization promoting gender equality in academia, among other things. University departments apply for gold / silver / bronze Athena Swan certificates, while providing an ...
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Should I quit a PhD with little supervision at a prestigious university and start a new PhD?
I am a second year PhD student studying at a prestigious university in the UK. My main supervisor recruited me 2 years ago just because he is interested in my field and hopes to develop a new ...
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Why are most universities reluctant to offer open-ended contracts to research-funded-staff (such as postdocs)?
In some countries, labour law requires that if an individual has been employed on temporary contracts for a certain amount of time, the employer must offer them a permanent contract (or let them go). ...
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Is it rude to request a book chapter from the academic who wrote it if you don't want to buy the entire textbook?
The title says it all. I want to read a book chapter from a prominent Oxbridge researcher, but I don't want to shell out the cash for the entire textbook in which it's published. Is it rude to contact ...
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Unhappy with my PhD program in my home country, thinking about applying to another university in UK
My problem is a bit unusual and I would love to get some advice…
I'm a first year PhD student in social-sciences and I already got my proposal approved. I moved back to my home country (where I am ...
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Job offer for UK Reader
I'm currently an assistant professor at a US university, three years away from coming up for tenure. Recently, a former colleague of mine who is a professor at a university in the UK approached me ...
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When referring to study at Oxford why is the word "read" used?
When reading about people who have studied at Oxford the word "read" is used instead of study. Example:
"He read Philosophy, Politics and Economics at Oxford"
Why when discussing study at Oxford (...
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Can I be a lecturer without doing research?
This is probably a question quite opposite to the general vibe of people in academia, but oh well.
I am a UK-based PhD student and as I progress through my programme I notice more and more that my ...
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If Brexit is bad for British science, why hasn't the rankings of British universities worsened?
Follow-up question to Why do most scientists think Brexit is bad for British science?
If Brexit is bad for British science, then naively one would expect that the rankings of British universities ...
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Is preparing for a lawsuit a valid reason to defer an exam? [closed]
An employer owes me wages and I have not been able to get them to comply without escalating matters. As a result, I have been preparing to take them to court, but I have an exam for my masters that I ...
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Should a fellowship application justify why the fellowship would be more advantageous than a permanent position?
TLDR: Is it normal that an applicant for a limited term fellowship should have to justify why that fellowship would be more advantageous than a permanent academic position? If so, why?
The details of ...
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Are academic groups allowed to use grant funds to hedge against exchange rate changes?
If an academic group receives a multi-year grant denominated in a currency different from that that they pay salaries, can they use some of the grant to hedge against changes in the relative value of ...
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Is it lawful for a fellowship linked to a permanent faculty position at a British university in the STEM field to only be available to females?
The internally funded Anne McLaren Fellowships at The University of Nottingham state in their eligibility that "Candidates for the Anne McLaren Fellowships must be female and pursuing a career in a ...
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Is it true that scores > 80% are effectively unachievable in the UK?
No one from my UK university appears able to give me a concrete example of an answer for coursework or an exam that would get over 80% for any of my MBA modules.
It was suggested here that this is ...
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In the UK is it acceptable for a lecturer/professor to join student societies?
Student societies are often fantastic fun. At the university I attend there are some members of societies who don't attend the university, they just come along because they happen to like an unusual ...
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What differences should an early career UK academic expect when moving to Australia (e.g., research culture, funding opportunities)?
I'm currently a Lecturer in Computer Science at a (medium ranked) institution in the UK and I've been given the opportunity to join one of the (top ranked) universities in Australia.
While I do ...
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How rude is it for a grad student to be late to a professor's valedictory lecture?
I'm a gradate student at a UK university. Today, I faced a difficult situation and I'm not sure if my decision was right, so I'd like to hear your opinions (I'm not a native English speaker so I ...
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Two PhD's in different UK universities, simultaneously, part-time: absurd idea?
I have what might seem like the nicest problem in the world: I've got offered funding for both of my dream PhD's. I am stunned, incredulous, gobsmacked, but also deeply confused: both are with ...
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Weak student asking for reference for PhD place -UK
I have found a question close to mine Reference for candidate unfit for application but not quite the same, and I have followed some of the advice already.
I'm an academic at a UK institute and a ...
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Can UK PhD studentships legally effectively bar EU applicants by stating that "all eligible applicants must also have been resident in the UK"?
I am aware that many UK PhD studentships are only open to UK/EU applicants (question 1, question 2). In my understanding, they cannot (pre-Brexit) legally discriminate between EU and UK applicants, ...
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How would the UK leaving the EU affect academia and PhD admission?
Will all European applicants count as ‘international students’ then?
Are there any proposals on this yet? I am finishing my BA in two years and was considering applying to the UK, but am worried now ...
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Did it become easier to land an academic job in the UK after the Brexit referendum?
This is a companion question to Why is Brexit bad for British science? Judging from the responses to that question, a significant number of academics are unhappy with Brexit and are not intending to ...
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I gave up on a PhD because of time management, shall I try a second time?
Background
A year ago I gave up on my (first attempt at getting a) PhD because I could not stand the needed time management. I am a mosaic autist but I do live with it without major issues. My only ...
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Why do some universities not provide marking schemes for mock exams?
When I was a maths undergrad, I did some mock papers. However the lecturers did not provide the marking scheme for us to learn from model answers. The reason given at the time was a mumbled '...
user47796
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Who owns the intellectual property for work you do on weekends?
I am an academic at a UK university and have been asked to do some consultancy work for a company who wants to own all the IP for that work. I would only do this work on the weekends. Would my ...
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Is it normal in the UK that postdoc contract mentions I will have to work extra hours (if asked) without further remuneration?
I got a job at a university in the UK. When I got the offer, the working hours were 38h per week. When they sent the contract to sign, it says, minimum of 38h and the university will from time to time ...
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