<p>I am a yr 1 student from Singapore studying Biomedical sciences, due to graduate in 2yrs time. I have currently 6months of full-time research experience at A*Star in various labs and a letter of recommendation from my mentor. I wish to apply for a PhD program when I grad.
May I know what else do I need to further ensure that I get accepted into a good graduate school overseas (e.g. cambridge, johns hopkins, cornell, MIT). Okay but I'll most prob aim for some lesser known schools other than the mentioned above.</p>
<p>Are all PhD students funded with a stipend also? I cant afford graduate studies if thats not the case.</p>
<p>Arcas, you will need a four year bachelors degree or a three year bachelors degree plus a masters degree if you want to do your Phd in the US. Virtually all biomedical Phd students in the US receive a stipend.</p>
<p>Really? but in US the PhDs are like 6yrs whereas in UK its like 3 yrs. How about MD/PhD students? Are they funded? If I could spend 6yrs on a PhD, I would really like to consider another yr for MD/PhD.</p>
<p>Arcas, different countries have different educational systems. In the UK, you earn the equivalent of a US master’s degree as an college student – I believe UK “undergraduate” education is a five year program. In Singapore (and other countries), you fall short of a A.B. </p>
<p>In the US, the equivalent of a four years bachelor’s degree is required for all incoming PhD program students. A three-year degree is sufficient only when it comes from universities with an official “Bologna process” system.</p>
<p>UK undergrad is 3 years - where is it 5?
I know some consider a UK PhD = US/CAN masters.
Not 100% sure, maybe not considered so on paper but I know profs mentioning to me that this is how they think of it. But I don’t know.</p>
<p>It doesn’t say anything about Singapore, though. Is the university system there considered British-style, or is it closer to the other Asian countries?</p>
<p>It is my understanding that as MD/PhD programs are by and large NIH funded, they do not often accept international students (I could be wrong). </p>
<p>If you want to apply to PhD programs in the US, you will have to take the GRE exam, and will need 3 letters of recommendation from faculty.</p>
<p>What is a “British-style” school? I wonder. I also recall that some schools specifically say they don’t accept 3 year UK degrees (back when a friend of mine from UK was looking into this). It must be school or program specific, maybe. Maybe honor’s in UK means one more year? Or the thesis makes up for it. At my university (Toronto) you get an Honor’s BSc even without doing a 4th year thesis project, so I don’t know.</p>
<p>I’m Singaporean. I’m now in the US doing a Ph.D.</p>
<p>Arcas, just apply for the direct Ph.D. or MD/Ph.D. after your B.S., it doesn’t matter which system you graduate from.</p>
<p>It’s more important to show that you’re competent enough to do graduate studies.</p>
<p>Secondly, there is nothing you can do to ensure your acceptance into the school you want. You can increase chances but nothing you do will ensure it. I think this is a healthier mindset.</p>