based on the comments i received from the last post, it seems like there is an implicit assumption that a phd (or any degree for that matter) is of inferior quality to that in the us. i am probably reading into the comments too much, and i blame this on explicit comments i have received from other colleagues educated in the us which suggest as much. part of me thinks, "that’s a shame" and i feel disappointed at the reaction, but the other part thinks, "well i guess i among the few that realise the merits of a british degree". the later is obviously the more desirable position.
it shouldn't be personal i know, but on so many levels the place you studied begins to define you. at some level you have to allow this and at some level you hope that your work speaks louder than the brand name of your university. newcastle is not harvard, it is not yale, it is not UCLA. i do not contest that. but my issue is that these schools and the schools sitting under the umbrella of the american academic pretension does not seem to differ from the woman in the shop insisting that the hand bag with such and such a name is far superior to this other one...paying no attention to the quality and detailing of both hand bags. plus has anyone ever questioned the necessity of a hand bag (of course someone has) or the necessity of the university name? why isn't all about scholarship for the sake of scholarship?
a small cheer for academic idealism!!
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Just to clarify,
I hope i didn't give you that impression. My real point was that it seems as if the UK DPhil system is more streamlined and focused so that it seemed in my limited experience to take a bit less time than phd in the USA. If anything i see this as a benefit, and it is why i considered trying to go to school over there a coupel of years back.
I ended up at a state university graduate program so no shame in the UK program. In fact many of them seem to be doing very interesting things related to especially urban agriculture. I think for example at the University of Brighton and Sheffield.. I would rather do somethink along those lines at one of those Unis, than spend tons of money on a Ivy degree in 3D parametrics..
no worries, just got me thinking about other experiences i had and started to make me wonder where these questions were leading to. anyway, thank you for your comments. it has been an interesting exchange!!
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