Experimental Particle Physics - U of Oxford vs. U of Chicago vs. SUNY Stony Brook

[linjunsong]

Hello, guys. I am an undergraduate student who aims to study experimental particle physics and wants to be a faculty member in the academic in the future.

Now I get some offers of admission, including 3-year(it may be possible to prolong to 4 years) D.Phil(Ph.D.) program at the U of Oxford in UK, Ph.D. program at SUNY Stony Brook, and MS-PSD(Master of Science at Physical Science Division) at U of Chicago(this program is not directly linked to its Ph.D. program, which means there is a significant possibility that I cannot land into its Ph.D. program after graduating with a master degree), Ph.D. program at Indianna U - Bloomington.

Since U of Oxford doesn't provide me with any funding, I have to apply for a scholarship from China Scholarship Council, which has a provision that I have to return to China in two years after I get my D.Phil degree, staying in China for 2 years, otherwise I will have to pay for the funding. So I am wondering about what kind of effect it will exert to my academic life if I return to China, where experimental particle physics research is not as good as that in Europe or US. The financial issue of graduate study in US is not a concern to me.

Here I have some other questions:

1.Some professors from my undergraduate universities say that the 3-year Ph.D. program in the UK is not as recognized as that from the US, where a Ph.D. degree usually takes 5 or 6 years. Because it is too short, so a student may not get enougth training in it. Is it the case? What is the usual prospect for a Ph.D. student from Oxford and from Stony Brook or Chicago? Can I find a good post-doctrol position after graduating from Oxford?

2.What is the difference of research level between universities in the UK and those in US? I know that US has the best physics program, but how big is the difference? And how is Oxford compared with the Stony Brook or the U of Chicago?

3.What will you choose and why?