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Ask HN: PhD in the UK or US?

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

#31

If you can do it at Oxford I would definitely say do it there. It'll be faster, you get to experience in the UK, and Oxford is a really nice city and university.

In general think about:

1. Subject/Supervisor 2. Location and acceptance in your target industry 3. Time for completion. 4. Cost and funding.

1. Supervisor relationships can make a massive difference in a PhD. You will work ridiculously hard either way - but a good supervisor will make it feel like worthwhile while doing it. A bad one will make it feel like hell while doing it. Checkout other postgrads and post doctorates who have worked with the supervisor you are considering. What is the quality of the papers? How often did they publish? How long did ti take them to complete? Contact then and ask them about their experiences.

2. Oxford is a worldwide known university it will open doors, has a fantastic network and will not be a barrier to future US/international work. (This cannot be said about other good UK universities that are not as well known internationally). For the US - Places like Stanford, Princeton, Berkley and Caltech (+ other) are similar - they open doors and have ready-made networks that can help. When looking for a place look for the ecosystem - industrial and academic - to see which can support both your research and possibly your post-doctorate career.

3. Time for completion will be massively dependent on the area that you do and pressure/support to publish from your supervisor. In general a UK PhD may be a more condensed experience if fully funded and fully focused but that is but not always the case - it depends on how your PhD is financed and structured (also dependent on supervisor).

4. Economic stress is a big component of people not completing PhDs. Spend time working out all costs (cost of course, cost of living in possible location of your candidate universities) and what financing/funding is available. Even if the PhD research position is funded - it may not cover the costs of living in a specific location.

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

#32
post #8
post #7

UK will be faster. US if you get into Stanford or another big name school.

Sorry but you cannot compare quality over time, even for a big name school. PhD students will have to work to earn the degree, no matter what.

>PhD students will have to work to earn the degree, no matter what.

And they will have to work more in the US for the same degree. It's just a reality.

When I was in grad school, many advisors simply assumed an average of 5 years for a PhD (regardless of whether they had an MS degree). If a particular student was quite a bit more productive than the average, they would let them graduate in 3 years (after MS). Otherwise, it would be 5. 7 if they felt the candidate was slow in producing results.

In engineering, I've literally seen students do projects beyond their main thesis because the advisor felt they hadn't done enough and needed to stay longer. They did add the extra work to their thesis, but it had nothing to do with their thesis topic!

I don't know the current state in the UK, but when I was in grad school, someone I know in the UK said it was straightforward there. They give you 3 years of funding after MS, and no more. Period. You are expected to finish in those 3 years. If you don't, you lose access to facilities unless you pay out of pocket. The typical student in the UK simply cannot afford to pay, so the system shifts towards being done in 3 years.

(They also don't take as many courses as they do in the US - perhaps no course is even required - it's pure research).

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

#33
If you already know what you want to do during your Phd, definitely go to the UK. You will be done in 3 years, and the quality of universities is world-class.

Everyone is talking about Oxford and Cambridge, but the best rated Computer Science department in the UK is actually in St Andrews[1], the third oldest university in the English-speaking world.

It's more focused on software engineering than theoretical mathematics, though.

[1] https://www.theguardian.com/education/ng-interactive/2018/ma...

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

#34
Start with your step after you get your PhD and make your way back. If it's for the industry, I would stick with the US. which companies are you targeting? (Google, Microsoft,....) they probably have a preference. Usually it's only companies with R&D that would higher PhDs. If it's academia, it's also important to pick a top tier school. Schools usually hire from the same tier or higher. pay close attention to this on.... Overall if you're looking for employment in the US, stick with the US. Americans we don't know much about the rest of world's universities.

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

#35
post #34

Start with your step after you get your PhD and make your way back. If it's for the industry, I would stick with the US. which companies are you targeting? (Google, Microsoft,....) they probably have a preference. Usually it's only companies with R&D that would higher PhDs. If it's academia, it's also important to pick a top tier school. Schools usually hire from the same tier or higher. pay close attention to this o…

Many comments focus on the duration, but this is not really the criterian. I would even extend my study until I secure the job I want. I did my PhD in the US, quit the industry after 20 years of working in the industry & switched to the academia.

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

#36
post #33

If you already know what you want to do during your Phd, definitely go to the UK. You will be done in 3 years, and the quality of universities is world-class. Everyone is talking about Oxford and Cambridge, but the best rated Computer Science department in the UK is actually in St Andrews[1], the third oldest university in the English-speaking world. It's more focused on software engineering than theoretical mathemat…

Surely the “neuroscience inspired ML” that op mentions is much closer to “theoretical mathematics” than “software engineering”?

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

#37
post #33

If you already know what you want to do during your Phd, definitely go to the UK. You will be done in 3 years, and the quality of universities is world-class. Everyone is talking about Oxford and Cambridge, but the best rated Computer Science department in the UK is actually in St Andrews[1], the third oldest university in the English-speaking world. It's more focused on software engineering than theoretical mathemat…

Surely the “neuroscience inspired ML” that op mentions is much closer to “theoretical mathematics” than “software engineering”?

Sure, Oxford or Cambridge might be a better fit in this case. I would recommend St Andrews to those, who are thinking of doing a Phd in a less theoretical field of Computer Science.

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

#38
You need to think about funding. Most U.K. funded PhD opportunities will not be open to you as a US citizen.

Most U.K. PhD funding is now being routed through what are called ‘Doctoral training centres’ and these generally only have funded places for students from the U.K. or the EU, unless it’s an industrially funded one in which the scope of the project will generally be very strictly defined.

Most non-EU students come in on special programmes where their country pays for the PhD I.e. Chile has a programme called CONICET that a colleague of mine was funded through.

In all my time in research heavy (look for the “Russell Group”) Universities I’ve not met a couple of PhD students from the US for that reason.

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

#39
post #33

If you already know what you want to do during your Phd, definitely go to the UK. You will be done in 3 years, and the quality of universities is world-class. Everyone is talking about Oxford and Cambridge, but the best rated Computer Science department in the UK is actually in St Andrews[1], the third oldest university in the English-speaking world. It's more focused on software engineering than theoretical mathemat…

That really depends on the specific ranking you're looking at. In this case, student satisfaction ratings seem to be a major component, which tends not to bode well for the quality of the ranking, if you want to know how good an institution is academically.

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

#40
post #39
post #33

If you already know what you want to do during your Phd, definitely go to the UK. You will be done in 3 years, and the quality of universities is world-class. Everyone is talking about Oxford and Cambridge, but the best rated Computer Science department in the UK is actually in St Andrews[1], the third oldest university in the English-speaking world. It's more focused on software engineering than theoretical mathemat…

That really depends on the specific ranking you're looking at. In this case, student satisfaction ratings seem to be a major component, which tends not to bode well for the quality of the ranking, if you want to know how good an institution is academically .

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