My day today - 27/11

Boy was it a long day! Today was the second nice day in a row, but I unfortunately had to go in to the office today. I had a lot of work to do. I also worked on doctoral applications. Did I tell you I was applying for doctoral positions? Welp, I am indeed.

I've got applications going to the USA and throughout Europe, though I have generally founds positions relevant to me located in northern Europe. It's a big difference - American PhD applications versus European PhD applications. I know that there is still a lot of diversity in terms of the application process among European countries, but there are some big differences that are consistent between the American and European processes. For instance...

1) Employee versus student status: To me, it seems that in most European universities doctoral "students" are really employees (though I don't believe this to be the case in the UK). These students generally receive a salary and benefits as other university employees do. In some universities, PhD students are explicitly called an employee. I believe this to be the main factor in why the application processes are so different. In the USA, doctoral students are exactly that - students. They do not receive a regular salary or any benefits (unless included in a funding package - will get to that in a bit). The PhD student is essentially a customer to the American university. The university will attempt to prepare a program plan that suits the student's needs and desires. On the other hand, the European PhD (one that is funded anyway) is expected to actually contribute to the department's work and works as part of a team. Often times PhD funding in Europe is tied to a specific project that the faculty has funding for or that they are interested in researching further. In the USA, students can choose what they want to research though this may not necessarily lead to research in areas where research is really needed.

2) Cost of the application: Generally there is no application fee among European universities. I have found some that require a fee, but it is usually minimal and much less than American schools charge. Application fees in the US generally range between 50 and 60 dollars (38 to 46 euros). But they can be upwards of 125 dollars (97 euros) for very prestigous private universities.

3) Coursework:

4) Funding:

5) Exam requirements:

6) Transcript/Diploma requirements:

7) Opportunities for international collaboration:

To be continued...