next »

[krh2010]

I’m an American coming to the end of my PhD (humanities) at a UK university (not Oxford or Cambridge).  When I first enrolled on the PhD course, I was eager to remain in the UK university system—I had already completed a BA and MA in England.  However, once I complete my PhD I plan to apply for jobs at both US and UK universities.  But I’m very concerned about:

(1) whether it's likely for an American citizen to be hired by a UK university

(2) how US hiring universities will look upon an American who has earned a PhD in the UK

I'm also curious to know the differences of working in US vs UK higher education?  And is it difficult to move between university jobs in these countries, if I were to have a change of heart later in my career?

[euro_trash]

Is your degree from a "new" university?

[krh2010]

It is a new university (1960s) but not a post-1992 univeristy...

[cranefly]

It is normally harder to get a job in USA with a UK PhD. There're a few posts on here about it (can't find them though). The reasons being:
1. Less teaching experience/no teaching experience.
2. The impression that you're less prepared (no comprehensives, etc.).
3. Less emphasis on publishing (well, in my experience).

I think it will be easier for you to find work in UK than USA. I had plenty of interviews at UK unis.

That being said, a lot will come down to your publications. Publish, publish, publish. With great pubs, it won't matter nearly as much. And try to get some teaching experience too!

[sandgrounder]

Honestly your nationality will be irrelevant for a UK university - basically it's going to be the usual publications, teaching experience etc that will matter. If your department has done OK in the RAE and you appear to tick all the appointable boxes with ease then it just becomes a question of how overcrowded a field you are in and what the odds are like as a result - e.g. communications you're in luck apparently, medieval history not so good. I don't think Oxbridge candidates are at an advantage except at Oxbridge (in fact I think their lack of normal teaching experience and the fact that they often don't know much about the workings of an average UK research university disadvantages them) so I wouldn't get worried about that or your nationality (you've been in the UK long enough to be considered practically a citizen by this Brit anyway).

As far as the US goes, outside of the sciences, foreign-earned PhDs do seem pretty rare at the junior level. It seems more normal in my social sciences field at least to establish yourself outside the US first and then go across at a more senior level when essentially it's just research reputation that matters. I do think though it depends a bit on your discipline, evidence of networking there and what kind of university you want to work for. Discipline wise are you in an area where your work fits with mainstream US research or where the UK is considered strong? If so that makes it less problematic e.g. they'll know what you're talking about! Are you / your supervisor networking in US circles? If so again that would help. Finally are you looking at a US research intensive university or a (S)LAC - if the latter then I think it would be hard. While I do think a lot of US opinion on UK/European PhDs is ill-informed, it is true that we aren't trained to deliver very basic survey courses to people who know nothing about the subject (and maybe don't really want to either). I think I'd be very bad at it myself and that any college needing someone to deliver predominantly that sort of teaching would be absolutely correct not to consider me!
There are a few threads in the working in the UK forum about what US academics working in the UK think are the pros and cons of each system, that would be worth reading through. I think the key in being able to move between systems is having an excellent research record.

[helpful]

Because of the UK doctoral system, you will be weaker in teaching than a US Phd grad. But you will be stronger in terms of the ability to carry out independent research plans, and research experience than many Ph.D.s in some disciplines in the U.S. So it is field dependent.