Doing a Ph.D. AbroadBiagio Cosenza, Ph.D.

Illustrations by Antonio Di Matteo

ISISLab, Universita’ degli Studi di Salerno (Italy), April 22nd, 2013

Disclaimer

• Ph.D. studentships work differently according to– Scientific field– Country– University– Research group– Professor

• This presentation is just an personal view of what a Ph.D. Studentship is

ISISLab, Universita’ degli Studi di Salerno (Italy), April 22nd, 2013

Summary

• Doing a Ph.D.– Why– What is a Ph.D.

• Doing a Ph.D. Abroad– US, UK, Germany, Austria– Staying abroad during the Ph.D.

• What to do next?

ISISLab, Universita’ degli Studi di Salerno (Italy), April 22nd, 2013

Doing a Ph.D.

• Doctor of Philosophy• Highest academic degree awarded by

universities in most fields of study• Equivalent titles– Dottorato di Ricerca, Doktor, Doctorat, Tohtori,…– Some countries make distinctions between Ph.D.

and Doctoral studies

The Value of a Ph.D.

• XXX vignetta?• Un idea:• "Having a PhD in Italy vs Having a PhD abroad" /oppure

"The value of a Ph.D."parte sulle diversita culturali e sul come e' vista al ricerca fuorivignetta divisa in dueleft (sfondo una citta tedesca): "So, you are doing a Ph.D, cool!"right (sfondo una citta Italiana): "What are you doing? What does exactly Ph.D. mean? So, are you becoming a doctor helping people?

ISISLab, Universita’ degli Studi di Salerno (Italy), April 22nd, 2013

Why to get a Ph.D.?

• An original contribution to knowledge• Do something that most people couldn’t do• Do something that’s never been done before• Be called doctor when you finish• You don’t have to search for a real job for a

while– OK, this is not a good motivation

Why DO NOT get a Ph.D.?

• Not wanting a Ph.D.– Happens when we choose to do it as ‘backup solution’

• Get a job before finishing• Underestimating what is required• Overestimating what is required– Relativity theory wasn’t Einstein's thesis

• Having a supervisor which– Has no idea about your research– Loses contact with you

• Not having a thesisEstelle M. Phillips' and Derek S. Pugh's, How to get a Ph.D.

ISISLab, Universita’ degli Studi di Salerno (Italy), April 22nd, 2013

Unwritten Rules of Ph.D. Research

• Attending courses• Prepare lecture/tutorships• Presentations• Conferences• Reports– Annual/monthly/weekly reports

…and do research

ISISLab, Universita’ degli Studi di Salerno (Italy), April 22nd, 2013

Understanding the Academic System

• Roles– Research assistant, Postdoc, Lecturer, Professor

• Publications– Books, Journals, Referred papers, Reports– Impact factor

• Paperwork• Funding

ISISLab, Universita’ degli Studi di Salerno (Italy), April 22nd, 2013

Important Tips

• Time Management– Do not procrastinate

• Read• Write• Do review, get reviewed• Present/expose your work

– To a critic public• Work WITH your supervisor

– Do not hide yourself– Do not ignore his advices, bypass his decisions, …

• Networking

Doing a Ph.D. in the United States

• Admission• Requirements: – Master of Science/Master of Arts– Bachelor, for Master “en route” programs

• Apply to open positions, usually via online form– GRE and TOEFL score

• Each University has its minimal score

– Interview– Sometime also Skype interview

• Students usually apply to 2-6 institutions

Doing a Ph.D. in the United States

• VISA• Ph.D. Candidacy and final Ph.D. thesis• Duration: usually from 3 to 5 years – 10 years limitation in some Universities

ISISLab, Universita’ degli Studi di Salerno (Italy), April 22nd, 2013

Doing a Ph.D. in the UK

• Few differences with US• Funding– In UK mostly P.I. oriented

• Time to completion– In UK, most PhD positions are offered as studentships that

are funded from a time limited, specific grant and for a well defined project

• Courses– In UK a PhD doesn’t typically involve coursework or

exams, but solely researching and submitting a PhD thesis.

Doing a Ph.D. in Germany/Austria

• Strong difference with American University system• Required: Master’s degree, Diploma, Magister,

Staatsexamen– For some studies on which thesis should be written in German:

TestDAF or DSH• Tenured professor and Privatdozent are aloud to make call

for Ph.D. students – They are called Doktorvater/DoktorMutter

• Open a positions may be– Very specific, if funded by projects

• E.g. FWF Einzelprojekt (Austria), DFG Sachbeihilfe (Germany)• Topics is well defined from the beginning

– More generic, if funded differently

ISISLab, Universita’ degli Studi di Salerno (Italy), April 22nd, 2013

Doing a Ph.D. in Germany/Austria

• Individual Ph.D. vs structured Ph.D. (Germany)– Only structured in Austria

• Contract may include teaching• Duration: 3 to 5 years (by law no more than 6)– In Computer Science, for big research group usually 5

years– Some groups have specific policies

• E.g. 4 top conference papers, or cumulative Impact factor > 5.0

• Final dissertation

Going abroad during the Ph.D.

ISISLab, Universita’ degli Studi di Salerno (Italy), April 22nd, 2013

Going abroad during the Ph.D.

• Co-PhD– Co-PhD program that allows students to earn a PhD degree

jointly with two different departments/Universities• Visiting program

– Country specific• In Germany

– DAAD Scholarship, BMBF Mobility Funding, …

• In Austria see OeAD database http://www.grants.at/

– Field specific• E.g. for High Performance Computing

– HPC-Europa, DEISA-Prace, HiPEAC Network, …

• May be your Supervisor doesn’t like the idea…

What to do next?

ISISLab, Universita’ degli Studi di Salerno (Italy), April 22nd, 2013

What to do next?

ISISLab, Universita’ degli Studi di Salerno (Italy), April 22nd, 2013

What to do next?

What to do next?

1st degree 4 yrs Exp

(No Masters) Masters PhD

Aerospace/Defense $48,076 $62,500 $70,000 $87,500

Consulting/Prof. Services $59,535 $72,129 $65,121 $77,415

Energy $42,032 $64,351 $65,074 $70,761

Financial Services/Banking $56,837 $66,231 $62,937 $73,002

FMCG $39,767 $66,528 $45,286 $52,710

Manufact./Automotive $35,417 $64,447 $60,716 $70,466

Media/Entertainment $43,250 $53,637 $46,927 $63,745

Pharma./Healthcare $41,942 $68,182 $71,287 $72,346

Public Sector/Non-profit $37,569 $66,478 $60,478 $73,188

Retail $39,767 $56,326 $53,541 $72,388

Telecoms/High Tech. $48,647 $57,500 $72,500 $75,000

Transportation $37,592 $50,805 $50,967 $53,933

QS International Recruiter Survey 2007

Doing a Ph.D. Abroad

Useful links

• The Guardian, Higher Educationhttp://www.guardian.co.uk/education/higher-education• National Postdoc Associationhttp://www.nationalpostdoc.org/• Time managementhttp://www.cs.cmu.edu/~pausch/Randy/Randy/TimeManagementTalk.ppt

• Biagio Cosenza’s home pagehttp://www.dps.uibk.ac.at/~cosenza/• Antonio di Matteo’s bloghttp://andimabe.blogspot.com/

Thanks!

Questions?