Any Americans in Germany, or Europe, for PhDs?

[melissaam]

I'm an American citizen with a BS from the US and an MSc from the UK, ideally looking for a PhD position. After three unsuccessful application seasons in the US (and requesting feedback which basically said "you have a lot of great things but those pesky undergraduate grades you can't do anything about are hindering you, maybe the applicant pool will be weaker next year") I've decided that next season I likely won't apply in the US but instead look outside of the country.

 

I've considered an international PhD for a while now, and even had a PI in the UK who would be willing to take me on as a PhD student but we have been unable to find me funding to do so, and I am not in a situation where I could pay my own fees. There are a few groups in Germany that I've followed, and from what I understand the associated tuition fees are lower for everyone.

 

I've already reached out to two groups and got one response which basically said we don't have funding but if you can find your own stipend then we will definitely read your application. It seems like funding for Americans in Germany is MUCH easier to come by than funding for Americans in the UK.

 

Has anyone else looked into PhD programs abroad/in Germany as an American? If you've done one, what were your experiences? Did you have to provide your own stipend? And especially, has anyone applied to any through DAAD.de?

 

I'm really curious! 

 

 

[TakeruK]

I've looked into EU and UK schools as a Canadian (not quite the same, but we would both be non-UK, non-EU applicants). And I found the same as you: In the UK, it is very very difficult to get funding for non-UK people. I have a friend from the UK who is actually ineligible for UK-based funding because he spent the last few years in Canada (doing a Masters) and in order to qualify for PhD UK funding, you had to be in the UK for the past N years (don't remember what N was exactly). And this person was a UK citizen!! Also, many UK schools say that they will only take an international student if the student can win one of their very few/prestigious international student awards. No self-funding allowed.

 

In general, I found that EU schools are better for international students than UK schools. It seems like there were more options for finding funding and while we would still not qualify for a lot of EU fellowships, they seemed to have money for non-EU people more often. The only thing I should mention is that (at least in my field, maybe not yours), the EU schools operate more like Canadian schools, where a Masters is required for a PhD program, so it is good that you have that (while a MSc doesn't seem to count for much in the US). 

[melissaam]

 (while a MSc doesn't seem to count for much in the US). 

 

 

 

ISN'T THAT THE TRUTH! I recently got some feedback on a PhD application I submitted to the University of Minnesota where the actual quote was "The admissions committee noted that there was a lot to like in your application, including an evidently strong performance at UCL (although admittedly they were less clear on how to evaluate that transcript as compared to a transcript from the U.S.) and good research experience."

 

It's a transcript with a number grade as opposed to a letter where 70+ is considered excellent. I really don't see the issue.