PhD from France / PhD from research institution as opposed to university

[james.sc]

Hi all,

 

This is my first post on the forum. I am finishing up my MA in the States and my academic adviser who I plan to continue to study with into PhD just got a job at a French research institution called the National Center for Scientific Research, or, Le Centre national de la recherche scientifique (is anyone familiar with this center?). I am studying in the area of East Asian linguistics and there are a bunch of big names who are either physically there or attached to the center in some form. They grant PhDs but it's not a school so they probably don't have GA / TA-ships etc. But my real concern here is how this PhD would look to a US university in terms of getting a job later etc. I rarely hear about Americans getting oveseas degrees, especially outside of England or Canada. Also, how does getting a degree from a research center i.e. non-university differ with regard to how it would be received?

 

Thanks all very much for your feedback.

 

James    

[jeffster]

You might want to check with people in your field specifically to see how this would be taken.  Maybe some faculty at your MA institution?  I'm not familiar with a system where a non-school can grant a PhD, but maybe it's not that unusual elsewhere.  When I consulted with my undergrad faculty they largely told me not to go overseas if my goal was to work in the US, unless the foreign school had name recognition here in the States.  But every factuly I talked with was in the econ department, so YMMV.

 

I sort of thought a foreign degree might set me apart from the competition a bit, but they didn't seem to think so.  Good luck!

[james.sc]

Appreciate the help. Yes I think you're right about checking specifically in my field. That's exactly what I plan to do because it's hard to get information on my field specifically.

 

-James.