In France there are three levels (these are the same for most countries in Europe I think):   Licence (3 years) Master (2 years) Doctorat (about 3 years)   In the U.S. I believe there are three levels:   Undergraduate (4 years) after which we earn a "Bachelor's degree" Graduate (about 2-3 years I think) after which we earn a "Master's degree" maybe (I'm not sure at all) Doctorate (or maybe this is included in the "Graduate" part? I don't know)   I'm a French student and I'm planning to arrive in the U.S. for the beginning of the Graduate part (I'm going to study astronomy).  I know I should begin the application process at least 7-8 months before leaving France, but should I be leaving right after I finish the 3rd year of Licence or right after I finish the 1st year of Master?  In other words... Which one is generally considered to be equivalent to a U.S. Bachelor's degree: the 3rd year of Licence or the 1st year of Master?  Does it depends on the quality of the universities? Maybe second-rate universities accept students who have the 3rd year of Licence to their Graduate programs ; while first-rate universities only accept students who have the 1st year of Master to their Graduate programs?
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In France the higher education is like this:   3 years of "Licence" 2 years of "Master" 3 years of "Doctorat"   But what about in the United States?  I heard that they have things called "undergraduate", "graduate" and "postgraduate". How many years do each of those take? And what are the equivalencies between these and the "Licence - Master - Doctorat"?  Note: If the answer to this question depends on the field of studies, then the field is physics.
35320
Question is pretty much in the title. I have a French drivers' license, and will be driving in the USA in a couple weeks. Is it accepted as-is, or must I get a translation? What preparation do I need to do?
76048
My background:   Final year computer science undergraduate in the UK. Spent one year working in a scientific facility developing software for scientists. My colleagues had previous academic experience (PhDs in math or physics). Researched for 3 months under professor N within my university. My dissertation begins in February, so cannot use my supervisor from that.   I want to pursue a PhD, and am at the stage of applying for programmes. However, each programme requires "two academic references", and am unable to come up with a second one (professor N being the first) that would provide the best application.  Giving many of you read references, and recruit PhD students, which of the following references would you prefer receiving:   A senior software developer where I previously worked (he has a PhD in physics), but I feel this is not "academic". My personal tutor (a professor who helps with any personal or professional problems), whom I have not seen in a few months, but have used for references before (to get the aforementioned job). Professor B who has taught me over the past three months, but whom I am not close with (on a personal or professional level).   I know my question is a bit specific, so perhaps to generalise:  Q. Is it acceptable to have industrial references when applying for PhD positions, or should I instead use university professors as reference? Even if they may result in a generic reference letter.  Q. How can I speak with professor B to avoid him writing a generic reference letter about me?
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Are students with masters degree allowed to enter a masters program in the same area at a good university?  Is second masters a good option for a better research experience and improving your CV before applying to a PhD in top programs? I am specifically interested in US universities and computer science.
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I am asking myself the question "Should I do PhD or should I leave academia and go for an industrial career?"  My life-goal is being a professor. And I love to do research.   PhD is surely a bite that not everyone can chew. But I wonder who can chew it?  I never was good at tests and exams. My BSc. GPA was 2.84/4.00 but finished my MSc. with 3.50/4.00  However, currently I am working on a conference paper and I feel like even that is too much for me. It has been nearly 3 months and still, the paper draft is to be improved (not the wording but the content).  I am surely a hard-worker but not always. Sometimes, I let go of my work and absorbed in other stuff (composing, amateur radio etc). If this period is too wide, I have to spend double effort to warm-up and remember where I left.  I don't know how things work in PhD. It usually is 5-6 years. It is the one of two most-challenging milestones in academic career (the other is getting the title Assoc. Prof). Should I completely be a "nerd" and work on my thesis systematically (something I could never make in my entire life) or working periodically but with extra effort is still sufficient?  So, here's my question: If I say "I'm considering to do PhD" and ask your advice, what would you ask me? What kind of skills/characteristics do you look for a potential academician?  I know it is way too late for me to ask this kind of question, as a person who almost finished his master's degree. But better lose the saddle than the horse.
26592
The question asks it all really. When referring to a master's degree, do you use an apostrophe or not? That is, is it "a master's" or "a masters"?
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Is it possible at all to do a PhD without a Master or a Bachelor's degree?   Every now and then I meet someone who claims he knows someone who knows someone who was able to do a PhD without previous degrees (maybe only with high-school).  Is that true, was it true in some specific cases?
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Is it possible to apply for a graduate program in theoretical physics without having a bachelor's degree in physics or mathematics?  I'm completely self-taught. I'm half way through Jackson electrodynamics and Peskin QFT. These books are taught to students at a graduate level, let's say that I can pass the GRE exam and graduate level examinations. Is it possible that this would substitute for an undergraduate degree?
1591
The situation: You did your B.Sc. and M.Sc. in CS with focus on subfield X1 and are now pursuing a PhD in subfield X2. There is a Masters program in subfield X2 available where you do your PhD that offers courses that allow you to advance in this subfield (which is pretty new to you).  Does it make sense to get a second M.Sc. while pursuing a PhD if the courses of the Masters program will be beneficial to your PhD work? Subquestion: Do you think it is even feasible to do this based on your experience?  The geographic context is Europe/Germany so a PhD does not include course work. A Masters (at a university of applied sciences) takes 3 semesters full time with the possibility to double that time when doing it part time.
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I didn't do well in a part of a technical interview for a master's program, which was a question in the field X.   The most important subfield of my major for that program is X and X is not particularly my strength, because I took more advanced courses in other subfields during the last two years of my undergrad. But that is exactly why I want to do that master's program. I've had the necessary elementary courses in the field X, but did not go deeper in those topics, simply because there is not enough time to take all the helpful and good courses as an undergrad. That's why I decided to take some other courses as an undergrad and leave advanced courses in X for my graduate degree. I also want to do a Ph.D. after my master's and the field I want to do my Ph.D. is quite directly related to the master's degree I was interviewed for and involves a great deal of X.  To me, it makes perfect sense to apply for a master's program in a field that I'm not strong in, because otherwise, I wouldn't need to take more courses in that field and I will learn whatever I need, quite easily, through self-study. Is it a good idea to email the admission committee (or the professor who interviewed me) and explain this to them now? (Please keep in mind that I could have mentioned this point in my SOP, but I didn't. Probably a bad decision...)
107459
I'm writing an essay, and want to know the promotion rate and average duration from assistant professor to associate professor and associate professor to professor in recent years. Sadly I don't know the data for the US. Could anyone tell me?
50547
I will soon be attending a Ph.D program in mathematics. I do not know how common this practice is, but the department has a requirement that graduate students must learn a foreign language and be able to read and write mathematics in that language. The three choices are French, German, or Russian. I personally have no preference on which to learn, but I was wondering if there were other reasons that would make one language more advantageous over the others in terms of a general mathematical career. Thanks in advance in any response.
57854
Is a three years bachelors degree in Commerce and three years bachelors degree in Law from India termed to be equivalent to have a four years graduate degree from the US?
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I hope to receive my PhD in Mathematics in May of 2015, so I am currently applying for jobs.  Due to life circumstances, I'm fairly certain that I will only be staying at my next position for about 2 years.  Does this mean I shouldn't even try to apply for tenure-track positions?  Will a hiring committee not even consider me for the position if I'm not willing to commit to staying with them for a certain amount of time?  I would love to get a teaching/lecturing position at any institute of higher education (4-year research university, liberal arts school, community college), but as I look for openings, a lot of them are tenure-track assistant professor positions.  Should I go through the effort of sending in an application, or will that be a waste of my, and the committee's, time?  Thanks for any advice you have!  Edit (to address Nate's comment):  My wife is currently applying for 2 year graduate degree programs in various cities in the US, so I'm applying for jobs in the same cities.  When she finishes her program, we plan to move outside of the US (Africa or Southeast Asia), where I do hope to remain in academia, teaching mathematics to college-aged students.
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I am really confused by the difference between Hochschule (university of applied sciences) and (Technische) Universität ((technical) university) in Germany, especially with respect to the master’s degree.  What is the main difference and features?  Can a master graduate from Hochschule have a chance to do PhD like a graduate from a university in Europe, US, Canada or Australia?
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Do people take time out to go home, meet with family etc. during their PhD?   If yes then for how long and how frequently is it usually?   How does one deal with this with one's advisor?  What are the pros and cons?     Given that one basically has just about 2-3 years in practice to do all their PhD work, I don't understand how anything else fits in the schedule except work. The entire idea of a PhD looks quite scary to me that one is expected to produce cutting-edge stuff in that short a time starting from just standard graduate courses!    PS: the question is general, but if it is field-dependent, I am interested in particular in physics PhDs (theoretical high-energy physics specifically)
14242
Let's say that you're a 27 year old autodidact who has gained enough knowledge in a particular field of the formal sciences - like mathematics, for instance - to be able to take the highest course number from the selection of graduate courses for math.   Now this autodidact wants to enter university for the first time. However, from his perspective, he thinks that it would be a waste of time to restudy what he already knows.   I'm personally wondering if there is a way to demonstrate that he is capable of taking graduate courses so that he could apply for a graduate degree without having to study all the courses at the undergraduate level again.   Also, I'd like to add that this question is really hypothetical. It's just something I pondered on my way to school today.