| Topic Name: |
Advice Needed: PhD? |
| Message Name: |
OK, perhaps we're ju |
| Date Posted: |
04/18/2000 |
| In Reply To: |
Of course it is not possible to make a general statement, but since I have a foot in both the academic and the consulting world and regularly read theses that are published in my field, I think I have a relatively good insight.
The committee evaluation is the same as in Europe, one opponent to "attack" the work and an outide evaluation group. From what I have seen, however, European theses are regularly longer. My own thesis has a volume of +250 pages and is not exceptionally extensive. Another aspect is that they often are more qualitative in their nature.
BTW, also the programs in Europe do not necessarily have a pre-defined time frame, i.e. you work until you are finished (this is, however, country dependent).
Anyway, this was not meant as an offense, but reflected my own experience. Be happy to have good MBA programs, because there the US are clearly ahead. |
| Message: |
OK, perhaps we're just comparing apples and oranges and we're just from different disciplines. I too am with one of the top 3 consulting firms right now (one of McK/BCG/Bain) after completing PhD thesis in the U.S. (289 pages:)) and I do believe my perspective is accurate in my discipline. I've had a few post-docs from Europe in my lab and I do know for a fact that PhD in my discipline in England and Germany are of a defined period (3 years post masters, if I'm not mistaken). Tough to argue the qualitative part of whether the theses are generally better in Europe or the States. I'm not saying that US PhD's are better, just that the statement of European PhD's are more difficult is not true, in my humble opinion.
Don't mean to pick a fight. Just had to stand up for the quality of a US PhD. Comparing US and Europe, I might agree to say both are of equal quality; but I will vehemently disagree to the notion that European PhD's are somehow more difficult to obtain.
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