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Ask HN: PhD in the UK or US?

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11–20 of 48 posts

Re: Ask HN: PhD in the UK or US?

#11
post #3

It might help to know which country you're a citizen of. For example, having to deal with visa issues or adjusting to an unfamiliar culture could be a distraction from your PhD work. Also, trying to finish up a PhD while interviewing for jobs in a different country might be stressful.

Ah of course, I'm a US citizen! I went to UCSD for undergrad, and am attending Harvard and Georgia Tech for my master's

Be aware that the UK is currently planning to leave the European Union, where a lot of high quality funding for projects is coming from. The next few years are a little bit unclear in that regard.

Re: Ask HN: PhD in the UK or US?

#12
post #9

UK will not only be faster (you concentrate 100% on research with no extraneous busywork) and you will get to tick the “international experience” box at the same time.

So, in short, US and UK will be faster? How come? Now the guy is more lost than before...

I would choose the advisor regardless of his/her physical presence (whether at US or UK) and then follow my decision accordingly. I know for a fact that you want to have a friend on your side for the next 4 years or so.

Re: Ask HN: PhD in the UK or US?

#13
post #12
post #9

UK will not only be faster (you concentrate 100% on research with no extraneous busywork) and you will get to tick the “international experience” box at the same time.

So, in short, US and UK will be faster? How come? Now the guy is more lost than before... I would choose the advisor regardless of his/her physical presence (whether at US or UK) and then follow my decision accordingly. I know for a fact that you want to have a friend on your side for the next 4 years or so.

So, in short, US and UK will be faster?

A UK PhD takes 3 years, a US typically 6 because it is padded out with running errands for the prof and other time wasting.

Re: Ask HN: PhD in the UK or US?

#14
I would opt for the UK because i'm from europe and don't plan on going or moving to the US, so i think UK would be a more logical choice. I would expect the PhD process to be equally intensive and hard work, and the end result to be of equal validity and value. that being said, if for example you have a big name university wanting to take on your phd project in either and a smaller name in the other, you might opt to go for the big name because it will look more fancy on your resume if a person looks at it who is not in-depth in the field and doesn't know how to compare them apart form knowing some big names.

For you i would suggest taking a look at your future and seeing where and what you want to do there. if you want to do something in the US i would recommend following in the US as employers there will probarbly be favorable to US based universities as obviously some parts will be more tuned to the US market and academic culture, where the UK will be more tuned to their own environment there.

I think in the end your own personal input is what makes a phd valuable and good, as it's your own research project and it's in your hands what quality you will deliver. it will be judged on correctness and all sorts of things, but you are the master of your own project and research so it's your own input which matters most. this will be the same in the UK and the US.

I would go for one based on my future plans and geographic location of those plans more than 'quality' of the establishment, as it's not a course you will be following, but your very own hard work which will be the value and object of the Phd.

Re: Ask HN: PhD in the UK or US?

#17
Your supervisor and the program should be your main criteria, not the country. Many of my friends have had miserable PhDs if they had the wrong supervisor for them.

My 2 cents of experience based on Oxford, for what it's worth.

It's a beautiful city and the University still opens doors 10 years later, when I think it shouldn't matter. The network is also a powerful one, which you can leverage in your career, if you make the effort.

During exchange programs, I noticed students at Oxford and Cambridge generally cover more material than their American counterparts, as the undergraduate degrees are more specialised. The CS departments at both also emphasised mathematical content over software engineering - I'm not sure where you want your focus to lie

Re: Ask HN: PhD in the UK or US?

#18

I recall reading some article about someone who got into a pickle financially in part because they went to school overseas, so their American student loans were due while they were in college overseas because being in college elsewhere somehow didn't count for deferring payment or something. Make sure you understand that angle. Find out before you go overseas whether or not that has material impact on your student lo…

Source:

Theoretically, when you decide to continue your education, you don’t have to worry about making any payments until you graduate. That wasn't the case for me, as I decided to attend graduate school outside the United States

https://www.bustle.com/p/ive-paid-18000-to-a-24000-student-l...

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17111608

Re: Ask HN: PhD in the UK or US?

#20

You may also wish to compare the funding situation for the various advisors. Each country and university has access to different grants and other sources of funding. You have to keep in mind that doing a PhD is a full-time job. You won't be able to have a part-time job and do quality research, so unless you are able to self-fund, the money aspect is critical. I believe that, in general, PhDs take longer to complete i…

> the money aspect is critical

Any reputable PhD or DPhil in computer science is fully funded. You don't need to think about a part-time job or self-funding.

> In my experience it is very difficult to be accepted when you propose specific research and it is outside any existing scope.

This is more common in the UK and isn't seen as a problem here.

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