Any Science graduate students here?

[The Grim Squeaker]

Hola.
Is there anyone here, and available, who has done or is doing a MSC or (preferably) PHD or post-doc in anything science related, in the UK?

(Best is anyone in life science, informatics, neuroscience. People in the Ivy league who are from europe = also good).

I'm trying to dig around about it . (Thanks in advance!)

[Bedlam]

I did an entomology related Phd about a decade ago in the UK.

Given that my current job is nothing to do with that field (or even science) at all that probably tells you how well that went.

[madd0ct0r]

Currently doing an Msc, civil Engineering though

[Ziggy Stardust]

What information are you looking for, exactly? I am not from Europe or anything, but I am getting pursuing a graduate degree in science here in the states (and there are other members, notably Alyrium, who are heavily involved in science academia as well). It's possible we may be able to answer SOME of your questions.

[The Grim Squeaker]

What information are you looking for, exactly? I am not from Europe or anything, but I am getting pursuing a graduate degree in science here in the states (and there are other members, notably Alyrium, who are heavily involved in science academia as well). It's possible we may be able to answer SOME of your questions.

Next year i'll be finishing (hopefully) a masters degree in Neuroscience + a specialization masters in Bioinformatics and genomic science.
I plan to do my PHD abroad (Or at the Weizmann institute). Most of the professors I know here were all at the American Icy league institutions (MIT/Stanford/Harvard), but I'm interested in the English or European Ïvy league", both due to distance (family), rough equivalence in terms of quality (top 17 or top 9 in the world- like there's really any sort of difference at that level ), and the fact that it would save me wasting my summer on doing GREs and the like.

[The Grim Squeaker]

This is a very general topic and pile of questions. Anything you could tell or advise me would be great -
Everything from:

• How the (top) schools in the UK compare to those in Europe and the USA, mainly research wise.
  What the admittance process is like for a PHD tract/graduate studies. (Is there anything required beyond a resume, grades, interview?) . I know the US system has various standardized exams (GRE, GRE by field.., and TOEFL or the like for English), and multiple, exact letters of intent and statement of purpose letters required.
  Is it less competitive/mythically hard to get in than the top places in the Ivy league?
  How is the research and academic environment? (Social life too if any exists).
  Where would you recommend, who would you recomend, what are some good resources, good researchers, etc'
  ..

[salm]

My girlfriend is currently doing her PHD in chemistry in Berlin so since you asked about people form other European countries as well I can answer some questions:

What the admittance process is like for a PHD tract/graduate studies. (Is there anything required beyond a resume, grades, interview?) . I know the US system has various standardized exams (GRE, GRE by field.., and TOEFL or the like for English), and multiple, exact letters of intent and statement of purpose letters required.

She sent a couple of applications and was invited to a couple of interviews. In one she had to do a presentation about her university diploma in English in front of the Professors and the doctorands she would be working with.
In another she was interviewed for roughly an hour part of which she had to do in English.
There are no standardized exams I´m aware of.

How is the research and academic environment? (Social life too if any exists).

Can´t tell you much about the research and academic environment but it´s not as time consuming as one might think. We get to spend plenty of time together. I have several friends who have or are getting their phd and it´s the same there. They have pretty normal social lives.
A phd position usually earns you around 1100€/month. You get more money after the first year. While you can´t afoard a lot of luxuries you can live halfways decently on 1100€ in Germany so you don´t need to get a job to keep you over water. This is what makes it possible to have a social life.
On the other hand you usually have to invest some of your time in educating students.

Even the best German universities are probably not as Ivy League as the top ones in the UK or US.

[Ralin]

rough equivalence in terms of quality (top 17 or top 9 in the world- like there's really any sort of difference at that level )

I'm in humanities/social sciences and I'm still at the master's stage, but everything I've heard says that this is not the case in many fields and that if you can't get into a top ten school in your specific field/subfield it's probably not worth it.

Again, this is coming from a liberal arts background and also from an American background and it's very possibly not as applicable in the sciences, but the difference between "top ten" and "everyone else" can be a pretty damned big one in terms of what comes next.

[The Grim Squeaker]

rough equivalence in terms of quality (top 17 or top 9 in the world- like there's really any sort of difference at that level )

I'm in humanities/social sciences and I'm still at the master's stage, but everything I've heard says that this is not the case in many fields and that if you can't get into a top ten school in your specific field/subfield it's probably not worth it.

Again, this is coming from a liberal arts background and also from an American background and it's very possibly not as applicable in the sciences, but the difference between "top ten" and "everyone else" can be a pretty damned big one in terms of what comes next.

Neuroscience + Bioinformatics here. (Alass, I lack the optimism to try going into History or literature).
The majority of (world class) professors here, did post docs in MIT/Stanford/etc', but graduate-phd in the Hebrew U and Weizmann (which is top 20), but that's not a very valid sample..

[Bedlam]

I can't really comment on the top Uni's as mine was decidedly not but entrance was an application and an interview, with the latter being the more important, I got in mostly because I was able to interpret some of the results they showed me.

If you are shooting for the top (Oxford or Cambridge) then social life around the Uni's is not a problem they are famous for many clubs and societies which can fit almost any interests.

[Ralin]

Neuroscience + Bioinformatics here. (Alass, I lack the optimism to try going into History or literature).
The majority of (world class) professors here, did post docs in MIT/Stanford/etc', but graduate-phd in the Hebrew U and Weizmann (which is top 20), but that's not a very valid sample..

Granted I'm looking at doing my history doctorate in Hong Kong, so it's not like this is a hard rule even for me.

Also bear in mind that "top ten" here is referring less to overall reputation of the school and more to how that specific graduate program stacks up to others in the field. Or, depending on how much you've nailed down your interests, how well the professor there who does the thing you're interested in compares to the other three people on earth who care about the subject.