Andorin

I was just sat around googling for opinions on this matter, as I've got the same problem. You talk to the famous guy, and he sits there throwing big names at you, saying that he can introduce you to these people, and set you up doing collaborative research with them. Then there is the junior professor... when I first encountered his work I was stunned because it was exactly what I wanted to be doing, and no one else in the world was doing it quite the same way. It is a really hard call to make, but I am leaning towards the side of the famous guy. Anyone able to make a cogent argument for chosing the little guy?

Is 19kUSD really a normal stipend? Holy cow.

Cambridge seems to be the popular option... but is this the case, even if it involves turning down a big, well known, prestigous, non-Duke specific, international scholarship (directly covers three years of full funding with all the bells and whistles)? To what extent do people think that should be a factor?

I used to work at the Homewood campus in Baltimore for a while. Homewood/North Charles region is really quite nice, but on the whole the city is a bit of a hole, expecially the region around the med school. It really doesn't have a lot going for it, although I understand that if you drive and don't mind living in a somewhat more suburban regions it can be quite nice. The Chesapeake bay is also easy to get to if you're into that kinda thing, which makes it quite nice. Visited UCSD and impression is that the city is nothing special, and the university is so far out it may as well not be in a city. The campus is really quite ugly in a brutalist fashion as well.

Career > SO

So, I'm holding offers from both Cambridge and Duke, in the form of a 4-year programme at a Biology Institute at the former, and a bio-related programme at the latter. Also muddying the pitch, is a major international scholarship which I can accept if I go to a US school. I already hold an Oxbridge degree and know that I like the environment, but am less certain I would enjoy spending six years of my life in North Carolina, although I am very interested in learning about US culture. The supervisor at Cam is famous, with a whole plethora of Nature and Science papers, while the supervisor at Duke is far less well known, but there would be the option of a dual supervisor project with other professors who are almost as well known as the one at Cambridge. The Duke professor is well versed in technical areas, whilst the Cam professor is primarily an experimentalist, and I am looking to do a primarily theoretical project, although my intention is to acquire some wet-lab skills along the way. In terms of my research question, I would be somewhat intellectually isolated at Cambridge, whilst at Duke there are many people looking into similar things. Following my PhD I expect that I will remain in academia, and probably push towards a position within England, but that said, I would not rule out a move to the US. What do people think? I am curious as to how Americans and others from outside Oxbridge perceive the comparison between Cambridge and Duke. And if anyone is actually familiar with Duke, I am curious about their position on the Duke intellectual scene. I am a great fan of the Oxbridge Union Societies, and the cornucopia of political associations and speaker events that occur in the two cities: can Duke even begin to compete with this? Thanks in advance.