Final Year Projects - How to select and compete your project

I am writing this opinion from personal experience as I believe that I initially did a PhD for the wrong reasons. When it came to the end of my course I had applied for a few jobs but wasn't sure exactly what I wanted to do. I was about to become a Master in Chemistry so surely I should do something involving my discipline? As part of my course I had done a short research project and was advised that I should stay in the area and do a PhD, as I had no idea what else I could do I agreed and was told I would start in the October on the basic £6,600 grant. Thinking back I never really decided on a choice of what I exactly wanted to do my ...  Read the complete review

As anyone who is a student in higher education will be aware, in order to gain your degree, you will have to produce a magnum opus during your final year at university. Although the weighting, word length and selection procedure does vary between courses and colleges, the importance of your dissertation is clear to every student. Having been there myself, I am aware of how huge and daunting it seems when you begin, how you feel you will never be able to produce anything long enough or suitably academic - I hope my experiences and advice will be useful to those of you about to start (or already working) on your project. ● Why did I choose to write on this ...  Read the complete review

Most degree courses will require you to do an independant project in your final year, often refered to as a dissertation. The nature of these projects vary from subject to subject, but the core elements are the same - you work alone, you pick your own topic, do research/experimentation/create something, you write it up and hand it in. This project may well be the most rewarding thing you do at university, although it could equally be the most probelmatical. A bit of thought in advance can make all the difference. ************************* How to pick your topic. I would sugest that you begin to think about your project at the end of the ...  Read the complete review

For most of us, our final year project is the best part of our degree course, it means no lectures, occassional tutorials and a 48 hour write up one two days before the due in date. What a break we say, 'but' in reality what produces a good project? Firstly, you, the student can decide what you would like to research, staying within the realms of your subject area of course. Some points to keep in mind when deciding: Keep your topic narrow. The narrower the topic the better project you will produce, a broad topic makes it difficult for you to concentrate enough on each part of the topic, and this looses marks. For example, if you want to study; ...  Read the complete review

Select early and make sure your truly interested in it. - Advantages: Shows that your self motivated, Teaches you to Research, Can be rewarding - Disadvantages: It a lot of work, You can end up going in circles, lots of proof reading