Posted by Meri-Tuuli on November 12, 2006, at 3:17:24
In reply to Re: What exactly is a Grad student?, posted by Jost on November 11, 2006, at 17:37:33
Hey! Thanks for the reply! Its made it somewhat clearer. So am I a grad student in American terminology because I'm studying for a masters?
Anyway here goes:
11-16 years -> Secondary School (ie high school in America) Take GCSEs at end in ~10 subjects
Depending on how you do in GCSEs you will be entered into the Sixth Form (either at your previous school or you go to a 'sixth form college)
16-18 years -> Sixth Form -> A-levels in 4/5 subjects, it used to be only three, but they changed it. So for instance, maths, physics, chemistry, or history, geography, art, or somesuch combination. (Yes its slightly crazy only studying three subjects like that!)
Entrance into univerisity depends on your grades at A-level. So for Oxford Cambridge, you usually need three As. BTW it is quite hard getting an A grade at A-level, particulary in physics, chemistry etc. They say if you get an A is some subject at GCSE it will mean that you will only get a C grade at A-level...Most 'good' students typically get Cs, Bs.
University lasts 3 years in England, 4 years in Scotland, and you pretty much only study the subject you got in for, ie you applied to do history, you only study history for 3 years. We can't usually pick modules in different subjects like I think you do in America.
Then after 3 years, you do either a masters (one year) or a phd (three years). Although most phds usually take 3 and a half years. You don't bother taking any courses or anything within your phd - you just get straight down to research! You produce a thesis - usually based on three or four papers that have either been published, or are in submission sort of thing.
So its all rather quick here in the UK compared to the states, although I think its helped here by not having to study anything that isn't your subject. And its more detailed - an american prof here reckoned our final year undergrad classes where equivalent to masters/phd classes in the US. This was confirmed by an American exchange student from Princeton - she was supposed to be a major in our subject but was pretty clueless. The downside to all this detailed knowledge is that we don't know much outside our subject, a good or a bad thing depending on your point of view.
So there are people here who get a phd at 24 or 25. In fact, one of my ex-classmates is already doing a postdoc and he's only 26! And he isn't some genius either!
Oh and with phds, you don't have to sit any extrance exams or anything at all like that. Projects (usually titles) are usually posted by professors and you simply apply, like you would do a job. Then you get in, have to do that phd (usually because there's funding for that particular topic) and thats it. There doesn't seem to be open ended phds, although I'm in the sciences, and I guess if you have your own funding then they don't care what you study. So you usually go in knowing exactly what you have to study etc etc and of course, a lot of the sucess is down to whether the phd topic is actually feasible or whether the professor seemingly strung some random words together.
Anyway,
Meri
poster:Meri-Tuuli
thread:702575
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/studs/20060709/msgs/702753.html