Linguistics PhD in (continental) Europe?

[bahasasastra]

Hello everybody,

I'm finishing my MA and am interested in applying for linguistics PhD programs in non-English-speaking countries, specifically European countries such as Germany, Netherlands, Norway, etc. However, a professor in my department told me that when she would hire a professor, she would have a question mark if the applicant had his/her PhD from Europe. She did say that Netherlands seemed OK, though. And I've had some people who told me that the research environments in France and Germany aren't as good as in the US. What is your opinion on doing a linguistics PhD in continental Europe? Do countries like Netherlands or the Scandinavian countries offer good research environment? What about the job prospects afterward? I would appreciate your advices.

Edit: I am interested in cognitive semantics, and I plan to go into academia after my PhD.

Edited January 29, 2017 by bahasasastra

[fuzzylogician]

What subfield and what are your post-PhD plans? It's hard to say more without knowing at least that much. 

[bahasasastra]

Sorry for not mentioning that. My subfield is cognitive semantics, and my post-PhD plan is headed towards academia.

[fuzzylogician]

There is very good semantics in the Netherlands at several universities, most notably Amsterdam but you might also want to look at Leiden and Utrecht. Also in Germany, especially Berlin, Potsdam, Frankfurt, Konstanz. In the UK, look at UCL and Queen Mary and the University of Edinburgh. Oxford and Cambridge for something very different. In France, the Ecole Normale Superiore and maybe one other, but it's less developed. There is also stuff to look at in Belgium, e.g. NTNU, and Oslo. (This is off the top of my head so not an exhaustive list.) I don't know much of anything about cognitive semantics, though, so I'm telling you about what I consider to be semantics, which is what they do in the States. In all of those places, if you look, you'll find some local/European PhDs and also quite a few US PhDs. Overall I'd say that alums from leading US universities have an advantage, but it's not like you can't get anywhere with a European PhD. Of course you also didn't tell us which country or countries you'd like to have a job in, so that too remains an unknown. 

[bahasasastra]

11 minutes ago, fuzzylogician said:

 Of course you also didn't tell us which country or countries you'd like to have a job in, so that too remains an unknown. 

Thank you for your reply. I'm pretty much open for job locations. Any continent is fine for me, as long as I work at a decent school. Are there any places where I would be disadvantaged if I had a (non-UK) European degree? I have the impression that some East Asian countries disfavor non-US degrees. (This seems to be evident from the fact that in the East Asian universities I've checked, most faculty members are US school alums) How about in other places?

Edited January 29, 2017 by bahasasastra

[fuzzylogician]

The world is a big place, I don't think I can give you informed opinions about every university in every country on every continent. If you have more detailed questions, we can try and help. Otherwise, my best advice is to go to the websites of some universities you might consider working at, and seeing who they employ and the moment. If everyone has a US degree, that'll teach you something. If everyone has a local degree from that same country, you'll learn something else. On the other end of things, you could write potential advisors and ask them where their previous students have gotten jobs. Your particular advisor will have more influence on your career than the university you're at, in most cases. You'll learn a lot from knowing that they've had successful students in the past and where they are now.