Hello Jochen,
I agree with your point - up to a point. Of course, more postgraduate experience can prepare a student better to commence PhD work, but the British system of many decades, in which students go into a PhD program directly after a 3 year degree in most cases works quite well, and you have someone then who can be a productive scientist after only 7 years post-highschool university training. Of course, there is always a percentage who don't do very well. I suspect that in most countries the norm for a first degree is 4 years, after which it should be possible to drop into a PhD program. 5 years seems a bit excessive to me as a starting requirement, and as I have said, it would presently exclude a lot of potentially good candidates.
Ernie Rutter
-----Original Message-----
From: Tectonics & structural geology discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Jochen Mezger
Sent: 04 August 2011 15:40
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: BSc to PhD?
Just a thought for all,
don't you think it is a good idea to have a
Master's degree (or in the good ole days in
Germany, a diploma) before starting a PhD? I
remember when I was a PhD student at the
University of Alberta, Canada, that students
coming directly from a BSc were much more likely
to abort or fail than those who already held a
MSc. I think the step from a BSc, where you are
basically told what to do, to a PhD which
requires independent thinking and research, and
self-discipline and the commitment to several
years of work, is quite steep. I don't think that
I could have succeeded with a PhD without having
done a diploma (aka Master's) thesis first. I
also think that most students who just finished
their BSc are quite young, too young I think, to
do a PhD. There are of course always exceptions...
Best wishes,
Jochen
At 16:19 04.08.2011, you wrote:
>Hi Ernie,
>The requirements to apply for a public-funded
>PhD in Spain require 4 years, not as bad as in Italy but
>still meaning that a masters degree is needed
>before being eligible. Students from the Netherlands
>with a three year degree for example, are also excluded.
>They call this European Space for Higher
>Education. Note that it doesn't include the term Coordinated
>at the beginning.
>cheers,
>Sergio
>
>On Thu, 04 Aug 2011 13:41:07 +0000, Ernest Rutter wrote
> > Hello Emanuele,
> > Thankyou for the information about the PhD opportunity. Are you
> > aware that the entry requirement of a Geoscience degree based on at
> > least 5 years of study will eliminate most potential applicants from
> > naturally English-speaking nations, unless they already have a
> > masters degree as well. Is this really what you wish to do?
>
> > Sincerely
> > E. Rutter
> >
> > From: Tectonics & structural geology discussion list [mailto:GEO-
> > [log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Emanuele Tondi
> Sent: 04
> > August 2011 14:18
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Call
> > for PhD_Italy (again)
> >
> > Excuse me for double post, the previous email has had some reading
> > problems. Regards, Emanuele
> >
> > >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
> > Dear All,
> > the Geology Division of the School of Science and Technology of the
> > University of Camerino, in collaboration with the Department of
> > Geological Sciences of the University of Basilicata, offers a PhD
> > position in: Sedimentological and stratigraphic characterization of
> > carbonate rocks, implications for failure modes and fracture
> > distribution (Earth Sciences_Project n. 3). This is a full-time
> > position, granted for a period of three years, which will start from
> > January 2012. We search for an enthusiastic and versatile student
> > keen to conduct a multi-disciplinary study.
> >
> > This PhD project aims to quantitatively characterize the
> > relationships among the compositional, depositional, diagenetical
> > and physical-mechanical properties of various types of carbonate
> > rocks cropping out in the Mediterranean area. The goal is the
> > assessment of the control exerted by the aforementioned properties
> > on the deformation at shallow crustal depths.
> >
> > Applicants must hold a degree in either Geosciences or Earth
> > Sciences based on at least five years of study. Willingness to
> > perform fieldwork, some experience on the sedimentology and/or
> > mechanics of carbonate rocks and a fluent English are required. The
> > deadline to apply is 26th August 2011. Application procedures, as
> > well as all the forms needed to apply, are available at the
> > following website: http://www.unicam.it/laureati/dottorato/.
> >
> > For further information, please do not hesitate to contact us:
> >
> > The Reservoir Characterization Project
> >
> http://www.unicam.it/geologia/ricerca/reservoir_characterization_project.pdf
> >
> > Claudio Di Celma:
> > [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>
>
> > Emanuele Tondi:
> > [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>
> Fabrizio
> > Agosta: [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>
>
> > Sergio Longhitano:
> > [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>
>
>
>--
>Departamento de Geologia
>Universidad de Oviedo
>
>http://www.geol.uniovi.es/~slf/slf_at_Oviedo/Main.html
***************************************************************************
Dr. Jochen Mezger
Lehrbeauftragter - Lecturer
Allgemeine Geologie
Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg Tel.: 49-0-345-5526120
Institut für
Geowissenschaften Fax: 49-0-345-5527220
Von-Seckendorff-Platz 3
06120 Halle Email: [log in to unmask]
GERMANY
http://www.geologie.uni-halle.de/igw/allgeo/staff/mez.html
http://allgeo.geologie.uni-halle.de/mitarbeiter/jmezger/
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