PhD, etc outside the US

[Kim Cuddington]

Janet Joy (jjoy at nas.edu) wrote:

:   After listening to the US-Brit-NZ comments, I thought I'd throw in the
:   Canadian perspective.  I did my undergrad years in the U.S. at a
:   research-intensive Big10 university, then went to Canada to do my PhD at
:   a similar size research-intensive university.  When I got there I was
:   astonished to find most graduate students working 9-to-6.  I then did two

Hmmm, well, I've attended 3 Canadian universities and I've never seen 
anything like 9-6 hours. However, I'm in ecology so maybe it varies across 
disciplines. My last supervisor (MSc) expected at least 8-8, 6 days a week, 
and I often worked till midnight.

Here's another cross-cultural difference. In my discipline, the MSc is a 
research degree. I wrote and defended a 150 page thesis while doing course 
work. I then entered a PhD program that is entirely research oriented (no 
course work) although I also have to assist in the teaching of classes. 

What is the status of the MSc in the US? I'm under the impression that it 
is a "consolation prize" for those that don't obtain their PhD. 

Cheers,
Kim