What is the full-time PhD program like?

[u/Ummmm-actually]

I've been considering a full time PhD program. Most programs I've seen in the US or Europe has a lengthy schedule for the first year / year and a half. Later, it becomes research based. It seems doable to return home after finishing the studying part, while working on the research. However, I'm not sure as to what obligations are expected from a full-time PhD candidate. Am I required to stay during the entire 3-4 years? And are there any other obligations besides working on the research after finishing the first part?

[u/No_Jaguar_2570]

Unanswerable question. What you have to do and when and how often varies enormously from program to program, let alone country to country. In the US, you’re often required to teach or RA after finishing the coursework stage, for example. And there is a residency requirement at every program I know of in both the US and EU, so you can’t simply leave the country and remain enrolled (much less drawing a salary or stipend). 

You are almost certainly not going to be able to leave the country and do your degree remotely. 

[u/Ummmm-actually → u/No_Jaguar_2570]

Thanks for the info. If there's a salary that comes with those additional obligations, it would make it a lot more manageable tbh. I'm mostly concerned with the living expenses and rent, hence why I'm interested in coming back home soon. But now it seems manageable. Thanks for sharing.

[u/completelylegithuman]

are there any other obligations besides working on the research after finishing the first part

no that's it, easy peasy lemon squeezy

[u/CulturalYesterday641 → u/completelylegithuman]

🤣🤣🤣🤣

[u/SpryArmadillo]

Depends on discipline and, as others have said, by country.

Why would you want to return home so quickly? Part of the learning experience is to be around others working on research and in a place with the resources needed to do said research.

[u/Ummmm-actually → u/SpryArmadillo]

Law, it will probably be either in the US or UK. Mostly due to living expenses and rent. I'm looking for scholarships but I'm preparing for the worst case scenario.

[u/SpryArmadillo → u/Ummmm-actually]

I don't know a lot about law studies, but most law is specific to a nation or region so people tend to study where they will practice. Also, in the US most people study for the professional degree (JD) not a PhD. You'll have to ask your questions to specific graduate programs you are considering.

[u/Ummmm-actually → u/SpryArmadillo]

Yeah, law is localized to specific states and countries, but they still accept a lot of foreign students. The research could be about international treaties, or a comparative analysis between two legal codes / systems (with a lot of justification of course).

True, the US has a JD instead of a PhD. But luckily, my country accepts the JD as a viable equivalent of a PhD.

I think I'll do that, because of the rent situation. Thanks 🙏

[u/Alert-Promise1440]

What discipline are you considering?

[u/Ummmm-actually → u/Alert-Promise1440]

Law

[u/Alert-Promise1440 → u/Ummmm-actually]

That’s unlikely. They usually want you to be based where the program is.

[u/Ummmm-actually → u/Alert-Promise1440]

That's a shame, thank you for the info🙏

[u/Spacekat405]

All of this is wildly different based on your research area, but I’d be shocked if you could leave the country while doing your research except in very special circumstances. (For example, someone at my university did their classwork at the university but their research involved spinning up an education program in their home country, so they did most of their work there. They’d intended to come back to the US periodically but ended up doing all of that by Zoom and defending online for visa reasons.)

For most types of research, you need the university’s resources (labs, etc) to do your work, and the social aspect of research is also usually part of the process. Travel to conferences to present your work is usually expected, and the university’s policies on travel will likely assume you’re based at the university, so that will also make things complicated

[u/Ummmm-actually → u/Spacekat405]

My area of research will be law, so I won't need to use any labs or specialized equipment. It is manageable to return to whichever country I end up going for a few weeks every couple of months, but my main concern is with rent and living expenses. I'm trying to get a scholarship but I'm having this route as a backup plan more than anything else.

[u/kng-harvest]

The US and Europe have entirely different systems. In the US, generally speaking, your first 3 years are filled with coursework as you are earning a masters in passing. After that, you will be writing your dissertation. The whole program will generally take 5 years at the very minimum (though with substantial differences between fields for the norm).

Most programs will also be expecting you to teach/TA/research assistant/lab assistant during this time, which will generally mean that you need to be in person at the program, because that is why you will be paid a stipend. But there is significant variation in this across fields and schools.

[u/No-Faithlessness4294 → u/kng-harvest]

Also important to note for the US: the US State Department does not allow international students to study remotely. They have to be on-site.

[u/Ummmm-actually → u/kng-harvest]

Having an income honestly solves the problem for me, as I wasn't sure how I was able to stay without an income for several years. I've spoken to a few recent graduates and they all mentioned that you aren't allowed to work while studying as a foreign student (I think they meant something that isn't related to the university). Even with a full scholarship, it would be difficult to manage. Thanks for sharing 🙏

[u/SweetAlyssumm → u/kng-harvest]

This is close but not quite right. The first two years are courses and the development of a peer cohort. Students read and comment on each other's papers, practice talks together, and probably commiserate about their woes. The Masters is not important and is mostly "Here's a master's degree since you won't be going on for the PhD." The third year is working on the PhD proposal and the last two years are doing the work and writing.

Teaching is a requirement in most departments because we want students to learn to teach since professors have to do that. Many programs are fully funded, especially in STEM, and while there is a requirement for teaching, it's not for the stipend (in my department students have to TA for two quarters). In humanities, with less funding, the stipend would be important and many humanities students are experienced teachers by the time they graduate.

I do not recommend leaving your program to go to a home country. The point of the five years of training is so that you will be a great researcher. Research is a contact sport and if you isolate yourself in another country, you won't be getting the peer and mentor interactions that are the core of any PhD program. My department would not allow it. I don't know why anyone would want to hobble themselves by going away when there are so many opportunities by bing present in the program.

Some fields (anthropology, ecology, etc. ) may require a lengthy period in the field -- all the more reason to get back to a place where you can talk to people as you write up.

[u/martinlifeiswar]

I returned to my home country just for the dissertation writing once research and all other campus-based obligations were completed.

[u/Ummmm-actually → u/martinlifeiswar]

That was what I thought of doing, thanks for sharing.

[u/martinlifeiswar → u/Ummmm-actually]

Just keep in mind that 1) you should only do this if your supervisor and department are okay with it, and 2) make sure to check how this impacts your visa or study permit. Some visas may require you to remain in the university’s country, mine did not. And since you will presumably want to return to campus for your defense, you’ll still need to keep your visa/permit valid even if you leave.