Self Funding Humanities PhD at Cambridge?
Hi all,
I wanted to get some opinions here. I've had a good application cycle being admitted to lots of British institutions for an environmental history self proposed project. It's US energy history, but I've not received any funding to complete it. I've been told to wait till July, but think any funding is increasingly unlikely. I have received an offer to do this at a US institution however, with a small wage in return for teaching alongside studies (only for the academic year).
I understand the overwhelming consensus is to not self fund for a variety of reasons, but I'm somewhat considering it based on the following criteria;
- Post degree route does not strictly look like an academic career (policy, research etc. Topic is relevant to ag, power, and infrastructure amongst other things.)
- Postgraduate loan would cover tuition for three years at Cambridge, could fufill rent and living expense with work and family support.
- Best place to do US history outside the US is likely Oxbridge. Strong department focus for it, and good resources (network, clusters with environmental focus).
- No existing masters debt. I had a scholarship to study for a two year taught MA previously in the US, and completed a year exchange as an undergrad while getting my BA in American studies here in the UK. I think this has given me credibility and network with regards to my work. I did however, find it incredibly stressful at times, prone to a horrible worklife balance, and really burnt out after balancing teaching, research for a public project instead of a thesis, and coursework. I have a lot of anxiety over returning to the US, and essentially completing another two years of coursework before then studying for a further three at least.
- PhD from Cambridge is better on a CV than US institution, and might have a better network for post grad in fields outside of history.
- Can potentially return to the US post grad for post doc, and other work (Being a dual national makes this easier.)
I also understand some of the drawbacks of self funding;
- The stigma associated with it
- Difficulty accessing archives needed for work (although, I think I could make this work with a variety of means + no visa requirment)
- Difficulty in balancing work and study, although again I think this is similar to the US PhD only this time I'm closer to family and friends.
- The US institution is in a really good spot for my work regionally. But they've also told me to seriously consider Cambridge. It would likely also be different than my experience at the previous institution, but still quite hard.
- Reluctancy to accept family support; I love my family, and we're not mega mega rich. They've (unprompted) told me that if Cambridge is really what I want to do, they can help. It won't bankrupt them, but it's also not a degree in engineering or medicine.
So, I really want to do things at Cambridge but I want to see if I'm being a complete moron. I'd also be alright with the US again probably. I've reached out to various people I know in both countries in the field to see what they think. Planning on reaching out to a few Cambridge current students shortly.
TL:DR is self funding at Cambridge worth it? Will people think I'm a knob, or stupid?
EDIT: Really appreciate the variety of advice here, and the reality of some commentary. Family is not generationally wealthy. Funding situation would be a combination of post graduate loan for tuition, work and small amount of family support for rent/living. Grants for research. Current plan is to wait until July then fully commit to US institution.