I've lurked around this forum for a rather long time. It's certainly US-centric, but I was wondering whether someone has heard about the Doctoral Training Centres. Unlike regular 3-year PhD UK programmes, these centres require students to carry out rotation labs, take classes and whatnot, just like a regular doctorate in the States. They are still shorter, however: we are talking about 4 years.
Are these kind of programmes well/better regarded in the USA?
In particular, I've heard about people being rejected from graduate departments like MIT Biological Engineering, Stanford Bioengineering at MASTERS LEVEL!, Harvard SEAS and yet promptly accepted by Imperial College, Cambridge or Oxford (Synthetic Biology/Bioengineering).
Does this mean that these top UK programmes are second tier?! Or are they well regarded?
