Foreign PhDs

[Therewillbeluke]

I've yet to start my Masters but have been killing time thinking about PhDs and was wondering if anyone could shed light on American students getting PhDs at British or European institutions, specifically Nottingham, Cambridge, Tübigen, and Leuven. 

 

[AbrasaxEos]

I have not done any of these things, but have a number of friends who have, and by far the largest issue that people run into seems to be funding.  A lot of the scholls give little or no funding to American students, and as such the programs end up being very expensive.  The programs themselves are very good and generally well-respected, though the shorter 3-year model that most work on sometimes is looked upon less favorably by US institutions in terms of hiring in terms of TAing and other duties that the 5-year model in the US affords.  This is not absolute though, as I know a number of schools of a more evangelical bent go for the foreign PhDs.  This is mostly hearsay and secondhand reporting on my end, so if someone on here has more direct experience they could speak to it better.

[sacklunch]

Like Abrasax, I have heard from a number of professors that the degrees are not as marketable as the North American 5 year PhD. And of course they are known for garbage funding. This is unfortunate given that may of their programs are excellent. I'm planning on applying, for instance, to Cambridge and possibly KU-Leuven, though I very much doubt I would be able to attend. And even if I could, I'm not sure if it would be a great idea if you want to teach at an American school. Then again, I know at least at Duke there are professors who have European PhD's and they seem to be doing fairly well. So, I guess, my thoughts are mostly hearsay, too.

Edited June 3, 2013 by jdmhotness

[Yetanotherdegree]

I agree that funding is a big issue, and I've heard that North American institutions prefer the North American PhD, complete with comprehensive exams that attest to areas of knowledge and competency. However, if you have successful teaching experience and you've done research that has been well received, then I don't think you're at any disadvantage if you have a top-tier European doctorate, at least in terms of employability. Student loan debt, on the other hand...

[Kuriakos]

It's sort of an open secret that UK profs often end up accepting more Americans for the money and consequently end up supervising more people than would be considered acceptable in the US. At least, that is what a former prof who has worked in both countries told me. 

[Therewillbeluke]

Drugazi, I am very interested to hear your perspective on one year degrees at European institutions, Leuven included. A lot of the doctoral students here have what seems to be the equivalent of a Th.M from schools like St. Andrews or Edinburgh.