Choosing a university for my PhD. Need help.

[royalsharp]

Im with a public organization who demands me to obtain a doctorate in the field that relates to my work. In my PhD study, i want to work with a great professor who is one of the big names in my field. He has published a good number of papers closely related to my project. However, he's not from a top university in HK. He's working for a university that may not be as academically blue-ribbon as others, but his work on the field and his academic achievments is second to none. People out there keep telling me that you have to choose a top-tier university for your future career prospect. Your voice will not be heard and doors will close if your degreed doesn't look classy.


What should i follow? Any comments and suggestions are appreciated.

[Phan Quoc Huy]

I'm coming to HK to pursue a PhD degree too. May I know your desired field of study?

[nawor]

I don't agree that a top university is required. From what I have seen having your PhD from a well known university may help on your accademic resume when you are a known accademic and giving guest lectures etc but I don't think it shouldn't help much for jobs.

The focus of your PhD will be to write enough quality publications to graduate. I would chooose a supervisor who you think is most likely to be able to help you achieve this.

While doing the degree the name of the University will have nothing to do with your research. Instead your work will be between yourself and your supervisors.
I would further say that having a top name supervisor is also not hugely important.
I've seen top name Profs that have bunches of students and vary rarely spend any time supervising them and assisting with their research.

Make sure you can choose a supervisor who has a record of having students with quality publications in your area of reasearch. Make sure they will have time to assist you. Check with their other students and ask them how often they meet with their supervisor etc. If you require particular resources make sure you will be able to obtain them.

My final piece of advice is to have a well thought out plan from the start.
The easiest path in my opinion is to do something experimental. Perform some original experiments, analyse, write up and then your done.

[fraxbo]

It really depends on the field. The previous poster is almost certainly from the sciences because he thinks of PhDs as collections of publications instead of a monograph, and thinks of the professor somehow influencing the publications. In the humanities it is entirely different. Your dissertation will be a monograph, and any other publications will not count toward your degree, but will be good for your resume. As for your exact question, ALWAYS go to the program that fits you best. University rankings have little to do with the quality of their post graduate degrees. That has everything to do with the professors and colleagues studying alongside you. for example a Yale PhD in history is a joke, but in English it is top notch. So it sounds to me like your choice is clear. Go with the guy who fits you well.

[royalsharp]

thank you everyone for providing informative comments/suggestions. i've learnt a lot from u guys.

[royalsharp]

I'm coming to HK to pursue a PhD degree too. May I know your desired field of study?

Hi Phan Quoc Huy, my specialization is "language stereotype." It is a sub field of sociolinguistics. You can share with me your concerns over PhD study.

Many thanks

[nawor]

Fraxbo - you are correct that I'm from the sciences. I should have mentioned this. In my field it was reasonably common to produce a number of publications and then turn them into a thesis. Humanites and other fields could be a different story.

[Phan Quoc Huy]

My field is "creative media". I will pursue PhD degree in the City University of Hong Kong. Don't know much about your field but I saw "sociolinguistics" on the website of the College of Liberal arts and social sciences, cityu. Department of Chinese, Translation & Linguistics.

I would totally agree with fraxbo on the point that university ranking isn't that important for post-graduate degrees. In my case, I chose my supervisor for his excellent publications and reputation.

[royalsharp]

thank you so much Phan Quoc Huy for information. CityU is also good at sociolinguistics. BTW, are u from Vietnam?

[Phan Quoc Huy]

Yeah, royalsharp I'm coming to HK this month. found this forum an excellent place to make new friends.