Post #745388
2026-03-23 15:39 UTC
Replies (31)
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@twoodford@sandiegourbanists.com 2026-03-24 03:35
@foxy Recent graduate here. 0) US 1) Expected 3-4 years after masters (which is +2 years). Limit is 7 years. 2) 48 "units", which is approximately 1.5 years of full-time coursework. Coursework is generally satisfied by master's coursework though. 3) I was usually fully funded for research, but did up to 10 hours a week of TA work during <10% of my degree. The actual teaching contact (as opposed to grading) was probably 4 hours per week.
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@etzel@mas.to 2026-03-24 01:46
@foxy Hi, there! I'm finishing my PhD at a public Mexican university, which does require having a master's degree. My program doesn't work with credits, but we do need to take a couple of classes in the first two or three semesters (lost count). There's no requirement in my program to do any kind of work. There's a common public scholarship program that pays very reasonable and may require some kind of "social service" activities, but they are pretty board, not necessarily teaching.
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@takakx@hachyderm.io 2026-03-23 23:00
@foxy 1. Brazil; 2. The expected amount of time for the programme is 4 years; a Master's is not explicitly required where I'm currently enrolled; 3. 36 credits; 4. At least in my case, N/A (I was not paid)
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@Artemis201@mstdn.social 2026-03-23 21:53
@foxy I'm a recent graduate. 0) USA 1) 5 years, does not assume masters 2) 30 coursework + 30 research. The research credits did not have a set definition. You estimated how long your research would take and divided the credits between that time. 3) I did research, not TA. I did 20 hours of paid research a week, plus either classes or 20 hours of research for credit. I worked full time during summers. I was essentially salaried, getting paid once a month for a set amount.
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@bool@mathstodon.xyz 2026-03-23 20:18
@foxy 0 - Spain 1 - 3 after you actually enroll at the university, assumes master 2 - You have some competencies that you have to get by attending some classes or by doing some other stuff (in practice: publish one paper and take two classes that are like 8 hours each) 3) 0
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@InfamousSnake@hcommons.social 2026-03-23 20:00
@foxy Here are my answers: 0) Finland. 1) Four years is the target, after your Master's. (There's currently a pilot program aimed mainly at STEM fields where it's three years.) In actuality it takes much longer, unless you're incredibly lucky with funding. 2) 40 credits ECTS, most of which can be chosen very freely. The actual dissertation is 0 credits but almost all of the work. 3) There are no TAs in my field (the humanities) here. You might get paid to *teach* a course or two, if your university is forced into a situation where they actually have to hire someone to do so; if you have full-time research funding (grant or salaried doctoral researcher position), there's a set maximum (something like 5-20% of your hours) that you can spend on teaching or any other work.
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@contaminase@wandering.shop 2026-03-23 19:31
@foxy not a student, but well, the memories are still fresh and the things did not change much. 0) Sweden 1) 4 years, but usually 4.5-5 years, see below. Technically I did not have MSc (had some equivalent), but it is assumed 2) 240, 120 comes from the defense, 50 should come from courses, and the rest is research. So 50? 3) teaching up to 25% percent was in the contract. Compensated with time (e.g. funding for the 5th year). Industrial PhD students don't have it.
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@jaror@social.edu.nl 2026-03-23 19:25
@foxy 0) Netherlands 1) 4 years, assumes Master's 2) 0* 3) 0 * We do need 45 "graduate school credits". These are split into: 15 credits for things like writing and presentation courses where 1 credit is basically a full day course with some homework, 15 credits for summer schools where 1 credit is one day of a summer school, and 15 "learning on the job" credits which you get for supervising students, giving a guest lecture, writing a paper, etc.
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@ln@social.linux.pizza 2026-03-23 19:21
@foxy In the Netherlands a PhD is a job, with full benefits like pension, salary (not stipend) and sick leave. You need to have a masters and while there is no official credits you need to get, its normal to TA 2 years, thats 4 courses over 4 semesters. The phd contract lasts 4 years with 2 extensions of a few months possible, but most people get only one extension. You get your phd when the committee decides its good enough, this is vague but usually in the first year they tell you what is expected in terms of achievements. Good luck.
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@Sobex@social.sciences.re 2026-03-23 19:19
@foxy Are you interested by answer from PhD holders that have graduated somewhat recently ?
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@melissawm@pynews.com.br 2026-03-23 15:54
@foxy what is an ects?
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@geno@hachyderm.io 2026-03-24 11:09
@foxy 0) France. 1) 3 years, can be extended to 4 (don't know if they still pay you after the third year, but I assume no). 2) At least 9 ECTS of training are required to do the PhD defense. I didn't find any specification on how much the thesis is evaluated. 3) TAing is not mandatory, you can do a maximum of 64h and it's paid ~40€/h. Giving that the PhD salary is ~2k/mo, TAing is not necessary to make it for the end of the month, but it's a good round up.
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@CatoTheYoungest@corteximplant.com 2026-03-24 09:40
@foxy 0) In which country are you pursuing your PhD? Germany 1) What is the official duration of your PhD programme? I'm employed by the state for up to 6 years. During this time I will be payed for teaching and research. I can use this time to write my PhD. Does it assume you already have a Master's? Regularly, you need to have a Master's or an equivalent degree to start your PhD at my university. I believe exceptions are possible. 2) How many ECTS are you required to get in order to complete your PhD? Zero. I don't need to take any courses in order to complete my PhD. 3) If you are paid for TAing, can you estimate the number of teaching contact hours you need in order to supplement other sources of funding? Is TAing teaching? I'm supposed to do 4 x 45 min of teaching per week. It's a lot more work though because the teaching needs to be prepared, I'm grading homework, am involved in exams and am organising the teaching. In a bad week this is about 40h of work. During the lecture free period there are weeks when there is almost nothing to do for teaching. I get to use the rest of my time for research and I can use the research for my PhD, if I get it published.
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@moritz_negwer@mstdn.science 2026-03-24 08:44
@foxy 0) Netherlands, Neurobiology. 1) nominally 4 years. It took me 8.5 years to actually graduate, which is definitely longer than most (average ca 6 years, after the end of the 4-year contract often unpaid on the side). Master's is typically required. A PhD program is considered a temporary job, not a study. 2) technically none, though the institute had a graduate school that gets you another certificate along with the PhD if you complete half a year's worth of MSc-equivalent courses.
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@behethot@piaille.fr 2026-03-24 08:00
@foxy France, 3 years and yes, 180ects but the manuscript and defence account for 150, I don't teach
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@godoot@toot.kif.rocks 2026-03-25 08:04
@foxy 0) Germany 1) No official duration, you usually get a three year contract of you are on third party funding, which is common, and likely a second one afterwards. Average time very much depends on area of research. It assumes a Master. 2) 0 3) NA
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@OrvarLog@mathstodon.xyz 2026-03-24 20:52
@foxy 0) Sweden. 1) 4 years of study (see further comment) Master 'or eq.' assumed. 2) Technically the whole degree is counted as a total of 240 credits (8 semesters full time study) where exactly what proportion is the thesis work or others depends on the specific PhD program (see below). In my case I need 60 credits defined as 'courses' where 20 credits should be 'broadening' and 30 credits 'specialisation' within my field of study. In practice these credits can all be made very research adjacent. The last 10 credits should be in ethics, pedagogic, writing skills or similar. 3) The PhD program is a full employment for 4 full years of study. Any other tasks outside of this (teaching or representation in councils or hiring committees etc.) is compensated in prolonged time and cannot exceed tasks corresponding to more than one year prolongation (i.e. 20% non-study tasks through a total of 5 total years). Depending on the program this may be more or less mandatory. In my case I have chosen to teach, and get compensated 60 hours for preparation of 8x2h lectures + creating and grading exams. Note the general rules are regulated university wide in 'doctoral education rules' ( eg https://www.gu.se/sites/default/files/2025-11/Rules%20for%20Doctoral%20Education.pdf ). The details on course work and teaching obligation is different for every PhD program and is regulated in a 'general study plan' for the program. Furthermore (maybe of interest), being employed to study, any reported sick day (or day taking care of sick children) is seen as a day not studying and leads to a further day prolongation of your time. You also have the right to reduce the study pace (I think down to 50%) making it possible to make the study time longer, but with equally reduced pay.
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@aarblaster@mastodonapp.uk 2026-03-26 21:22
@foxy hey! 0) United Kingdom 1) 6 years (part time) and no 2) no credits 3) We are paid for TAing. But I don’t do it. As part time student I have work full time to pay for my studies.
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@amj@mastodon.xyz 2026-03-26 17:03
@foxy 0) France 1) 3 years but I'm currently in my 4th, yes 2) It's not ECTS it's a number of hour of formation it can be almost anything, I have to follow 100h. (even sometime going to a conference count as formation) 3) for the first 3 years it was not mandatory to teach I taught 64h/year (the maximum allowed) It was part of my contract but I was paid more to do it. Now I'm ATER I have to teach 192h/year (I don't get paid if I don't do it 😢 )
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@tessarakt@mastodon.social 2026-03-26 16:59
@foxy what is a PhD "programme"?
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@g_collain@datasci.social 2026-03-26 13:06
@foxy 0) France 1) 3 years, but social science PhDs usually last 4-6 years and only the first 3 years are paid… Masters assumed. 2) 180 ects (mostly for the defense) 3) We can teach max 64 hrs/year the first 3 years. After we may apply to a temporary teaching position which is 192 teaching hours per year (usually for one or two years + those positions are kinda hard to get). Many of us rely on unemployment benefit and other jobs for the remaining years.
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@jac@types.pl 2026-03-29 16:20
@foxy 0) US 1) Funded up to 6 years, no masters required, masters can shorten requirements and funding by 1 year, 2) 9 classes under quarters, currently 3) 5-10hr/wk realistically
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@adavid@aus.social 2026-03-29 13:02
@foxy 0) Australia 1) Three years. Upper Second Class Honours as entry. Masters acceptable. Evidence of recent significant research activity is the primary requirement. 2) No academic workload requirement. Submission of thesis and at least one first author paper. 3) TA work is paid, though hours spent is sometimes compensated by a multiplier of the standard rate, as the hours allocated rarely match the work hours, inluding preparation time. Money is not a primary goal for my TA work.
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@tillmanreuter@ecoevo.social 2026-03-29 06:41
@foxy Germany, 3y, yes, 24ects, no teaching
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@rautavist@mastodon.social 2026-03-28 22:41
@foxy (finished 2024 but afaik the system has not changed) 0) Germany 1) No set duration, but limit of employment is 6 years(*). Master's degree is the norm; BSc possible but rare. (*) As others from Germany already mentioned, you're employed by the state while pursuing your PhD. For CompSci usually a full time contract, i.e. 40h/week. The contract comes with duties, but should also cover research time. 2) 0 — you're not taking courses, you're researching, possibly TAing, etc. 3) 0
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@cnx@awkward.place 2026-03-27 01:39
Hi @foxy, 0) Republic of Korea 1) 4 years 2) 5 3-credit courses (there are also "research credits" but their registration is purely bureaucratic) 3) I've not been paid for compulsory TA; their are TA positions which pay around 10% minimum wage for each course. TA works here consist of grading and hosting lab sessions, around one working day a month in total.
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@mariamakesamess@mastodon.ie 2026-04-01 08:51
@foxy Ireland 3-4, no 30 (but you can probably get at least half from non course sources?) 0. I’m funded with no teaching requirements, and it covers living expenses, but I do teach an hour or two most weeks because I enjoy it
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@glenplonk@toot.beep.computer 2026-04-06 15:43
@foxy hi! 0) Currently doing a French PhD 1) It required me to have master's diploma and the duration is 3 years from start to finish of the PhD 2) Accordingly, I have to complete 180 ECTS for it (in bizarre ways, like some is just accounted for by me being registered to the PhD, and then I have various requirements, like getting lectures on different topics) 3) I am not TAing yet, but will surely do it soon. As other said, doing a PhD is considered a full time job here, so technically I would not have to
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@hannah@hai.z0ne.social 2026-04-06 14:44
@foxy@blahaj.zone 0) 🇪🇸 1) 3 years, but you can request one ordinary extension and an extraordinary one. Also, disabled students get 6 years right out of the gate, no extensions. Official master's degree (not a postgraduate course) is a prerequisite 2) 600 hours -- they're not established as credits, but they include four compulsory modules (online courses), publications on indexed journals and talks at conferences 3) Applying for a TA position is granted as a scholarship from a number of institutions, which is grouped by the area of expertise (e.g. chemistry, classical studies, mathematics, sociology...) and each area has a number of available slots. The competition is brutal -- you can have an average grade of 9+/10 in your undergraduate and still be left out, since the number of scholarships given to each area is proportional to the number of slots they open, which changes each year. But the upside is that even the one with the least money in my region pays well. I have saved a handsome amount since I got the scholarship/TA. I forgot to mention that you can only apply to TA if you are full time, and you get no funding ehatsoever otherwise, so you either survive on other ventures like private teaching or off savings.
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@bouncinglime@spanner.works 2026-04-08 04:46
@foxy responses from my sibling are too long to post so here's a cryptpad that will disappear in one month : https://cryptpad.fr/pad/#/2/pad/view/4FZEpzv2Nx3efoDTPQdcg+oGN54y6CTna1DSUHzd-uA/embed/ good luck!
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@pjvm@clttr.it 2026-04-06 22:30
@foxy 0) Netherlands 1) four years, MSc is required 2) zero credits if you did a 2-year master, 26 ects if you did a 1-year master; plus some mandatory 'academic skills' courses 3) teaching load is 20%, mostly fulfilled by being a 'tutor' for various courses and it's the expectation that you also supervise up to two BSc theses per year. I'm not sure what the question is implying about how funding works - teaching is an important part of the funding for my department, but the direct reason I teach is not that but just because it's in my contract.