U.S. Students: Experiences applying in other countries?

[dmacfour]

I'd be focusing on schools in Canada, but open to looking at ones in Great Britain, NZ, or Australia. I have an M.S. in Experimental Psych, and am intending to move forward with a PhD. 

What can I expect applying out of country? On average, how more or less difficult is it to get a position and funding? 

[pterosaur]

My only knowledge is about the UK, where I'm currently studying. Here, it turns out to be very difficult to get funding. I'm in science/engineering, but I'm guessing it's probably at least as bad for psych. Unless there's another magical source of funding, mostly the PhD programs are fully funded for UK students (tuition + stipend), partial for EU students (tuition only), and nothing for overseas students. There are usually a few university PhD scholarships (which are of course really competitive) and outside scholarships (like Rhodes or Marshall - even more competitive).

There's also a big difference between US vs UK PhDs. In the US, it's generally 5 years and starts out with courses equivalent to a master's degree. In the UK, you're generally expected to have a master's when you start, and you spend 3 years just doing research. This also means that when you apply, you're usually applying to a specific professor with a specific proposal or project. (There are exceptions, like Centres for Doctoral Training, which are 4-year programs where you don't have to have a project at the beginning.)

Hope that helps some!