- #1
LizarD0
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I'm about to start the fourth year of my undergraduate physics course at Cambridge in the UK at the end of which I will be awarded an M.Sci and B.A. Since I am confident that I want to continue in academia, I have started looking around for a PhD. Since, I'm not a British citizen (but I am EU so after doing my undergraduate here I will be eligible for the same funding that UK citizens are) I have nothing keeping me in the country and so I am also considering the US as a possible destination for a PhD. However, there are several aspects of the American PhD which make me question whether it is worth all the effort of applying there:
1. Takes much longer than UK PhD (MIT says 3-7 years, avg 5.6 years, UK 3-4 years)
2. Significant taught component in the US. After 4 years of intensive coursework in the UK I'm getting tired of example sheets and exams and I'm not too keen on doing an equivalent of another Master's course just because American colleges teach a limited amount of physics in their undergraduate colleges.
3. All the additional tests expected from me such as GRE, IELTS (this could be possible waived since I'll have a degree from a UK institution, but US university websites only mention waiving if one is from a US university). As above, I'm tired of exams.
My interests lie in ultra-cold atoms and optics in quantum computing and there people working in this area on both sides of the ocean. I have obtained a first in all my three years so far (my third year result being particularly high) so I reckon I have decent chance when applying to the top universities in the US (I'm not going to bother crossing the ocean for anything sub Ivy League, it's just not worth the effort and the cost).
My question is: do people think that it is still worth applying to the US as well despite my concerns above? Given that I will graduate with a M.Sci would be possible to reduce the coursework and hence the time necessary to complete a PhD?
Thanks
1. Takes much longer than UK PhD (MIT says 3-7 years, avg 5.6 years, UK 3-4 years)
2. Significant taught component in the US. After 4 years of intensive coursework in the UK I'm getting tired of example sheets and exams and I'm not too keen on doing an equivalent of another Master's course just because American colleges teach a limited amount of physics in their undergraduate colleges.
3. All the additional tests expected from me such as GRE, IELTS (this could be possible waived since I'll have a degree from a UK institution, but US university websites only mention waiving if one is from a US university). As above, I'm tired of exams.
My interests lie in ultra-cold atoms and optics in quantum computing and there people working in this area on both sides of the ocean. I have obtained a first in all my three years so far (my third year result being particularly high) so I reckon I have decent chance when applying to the top universities in the US (I'm not going to bother crossing the ocean for anything sub Ivy League, it's just not worth the effort and the cost).
My question is: do people think that it is still worth applying to the US as well despite my concerns above? Given that I will graduate with a M.Sci would be possible to reduce the coursework and hence the time necessary to complete a PhD?
Thanks