<p>Is it possible? I am from Europe, where we usually apply for PhD positions after we graduate with our Master's, at least in the natural sciences, no idea what it is like in the humanities. Those positions are tied to a specific topic and lab and usually it takes 3-4 years until we get our PhD. Usually no PhD program involved and if so, it also does not take longer than 3-4 years (as opposed to 5-6 years over in the US since you guys can start working on your PhD with a Bachelor's already). So is it possible to do the same in the US if I find a supervisor that is willing to take me? Or are there any university regulations that forbid it?
I know that it always depends on the individual case, but if there is any "general rule" against it then it is pointless to even try doing it and I won't put up my hopes too high. My supervisor has a couple of friends in the US and I am thinking about applying for PhD positions in their labs, if that is possible at all. The only drawback about PhD programs for me is that you have to do lab rotations and take many classes which I have already taken during my Master's. After 5.5 years of school I don't want any more classes and exams (and 5 years for a PhD seems like a very long time, too)..</p>
<p>It’s not uncommon for students from Europe to come to labs at my university to complete the research for their PhDs – usually, as you suggest, through friends of professors they know. Generally their PhDs are awarded by the European university in which they are officially enrolled, since to earn a PhD from the US university, you must complete the PhD program.</p>
<p>If you want to complete a PhD program in the U.S., you are going to have to take the classes and the comprehensive exams and it will very likely take you 5 years to complete. A PhD program is not going to award you a PhD without completing the requirements for their program. They may waive some requirements for you and give you advanced standing, but likely that would only get you out of about a year of classwork and will certainly not get you out of taking their qualifying exams.</p>
<p>If you only want to do the dissertation research and skip the coursework and exams, then do a PhD in Europe or Australia. You could likely do an exchange program or get special permission and funding to do some of your research in the U.S. I have a friend who completed the coursework and exams here in the U.S. and she’s moving to Brazil to finish the rest of her program.</p>
<p>You should also keep in mind that different programs focus on different things. You might be able to get some credit for classes you’ve taken as part of your program, but it’s very likely you’ll have to take some other sort of classes to continue your education.</p>
<p>I know in my engineering program students come in with all sorts of different math backgrounds, so they have a whole set of different classes you can take depending on where you started. Likewise, there are different tracks within the program so you can specialize within your subfield by taking classes pertaining to that.</p>
<p>If you have a higher degree than a bachelor’s (Master’s, Diplom, etc.), most programs in the US will consider it the equivalent of a US master’s, which means that you will have to take your comprehensive exam and additional courses before doing your thesis work.</p>
<p>Thanks for your answers, guys.</p>
<p>So it is definitely not possible to do a PhD outside of a PhD program, to just do my thesis research (and perhaps take a class or two alongside)? I know that sometimes professors move to the US and “take their PhD students with”, how is that organized?</p>
<p>Every US department that I have seen spells out specific requirements that must be completed before the award of a PhD - the “PhD Program” you were mentioning. While a few individual requirements may be waived depending on circumstances, I highly doubt that you could avoid more than a small portion of the program. Please note that I am not referring (as beenthere2 did) to the practice of counting a masters towards part of the PhD - that is simply giving credit for requirements fulfilled at another school, rather than an exemption from requirements.</p>
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No. If they allowed that, then they would need to extend that opportunity to all other students and the PhD program they have crafted becomes meaningless.</p>
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While I have not gone through it, my wife has had cause to look into a similar issue lately. To my understanding, students facing this situation are given three options:</p>
<p>1) Students who are still early in their studies may simply remain behind and find a new advisor.</p>
<p>2) Students who have started their research may be (and usually are, from what I understand) permitted to complete their research as a non-resident, rather than find a new advisor and research topic. They are subject to the original school’s requirements, but complete those remaining requirements (hopefully few beyond the actual thesis) at the new school as a visiting student. The details of this can get ugly, and tuition may be demanded by both schools depending on circumstances!</p>
<p>3) Any student may attempt to transfer, but doing so places them at the whim of a new admissions committee (who are likely to favor them in this circumstance) and places them under the new program’s requirements - whatever they are.</p>
<p>No, Robbi, it is not possible.</p>
<p>In your second question - to build on what cosmicfish said, whether or not they are given these three options depends heavily on the rank of the professor who is moving and whether he or she is able to negotiate for that. Professors have to negotiate to be able to bring their students with them, because those students cost money. Not only do they cost overhead, but if the professor doesn’t have enough funding the student would have to be funded, too. If you were working with a well-moneyed professor who was planning to move to the U.S. and had grants and such, they might be able to negotiate to bring you along and continue to fund you under their grant. Usually if this happens, the admissions process is just a formality. If you are working with an assistant prof or a prof with few resources, the negotiation may not work. You could still try to apply to transfer and the prof could advocate for you, but it’s not a guarantee. I have a prof who moved here from another university (within the states) and her students all stayed put.</p>
<p>The other thing is that a professor bringing you with them does not necessarily exempt you from the requirements of the program. Again, this requires negotiation skills on the part of the professor. More flexible universities might take advanced PhD students and transfer all of their credits if their professor makes it clear that they want that to be the case in order for them to come. But if the professor is junior or doesn’t have a bargaining chip, it’s not uncommon for transfers of this nature to have to take courses that are required as part of the program even if they are advanced. It’s unlikely that a 1st or 2nd year grad student would be taken along with his/her professor simply because at that point you can still get another advisor, but even if it did happen, it’s likely that they would have to take the coursework that any other beginning student would have.</p>
<p>Not only is it possible, it is the usual path for the better PhD programs. The better schools do not accept terminal master’s students for most academic programs (e.g., they will accept Master’s students for professional programs like Business or Engineering, but not for most other fields). Most of these schools will grant you a MA or MS after you pass your qualifying exams if you leave the program without finishing the PhD.</p>
<p>I was admitted to a number of top PhD programs without a Master’s Degree.</p>
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Not quite true - while almost all US PhD students eventually reach a stage where the only thing they have to do is complete their thesis, very few (if any) departments admit students directly to that stage. As a an example at two “better” PhD programs with which I am familiar, UIUC ECE requires a minimum of 24 credits after the masters and in residency before you can even take the qualifying exam, and MIT EECS has a set number and spread of courses that you must take to get a PhD and which is not significantly reduced even if you have a masters degree going in!</p>
<p>To really help the OP, are you aware of any respectable PhD programs in the natural sciences (I do not think they have gotten any more specific than that) where they could come in with a masters in hand and have nothing but the research and thesis to complete?</p>
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Many people are, but that doesn’t help the OP, who HAS a masters and does not want to do any more coursework.</p>