Dear all,

I have been offered a PhD position in Aarhus, Denmark in a good social science research institute, but I am torn between accepting their offer or accepting an offer for a one-year Level A research position at the University of Melbourne. Melbourne have not offered a PhD position, but the expectation is that I will apply and hopefully get admitted for 2012 (I missed the 2011 deadline). Basically I don't know whether to take the offer in Denmark or Melbourne because eventually I would like to move to Australia and work in academia.

By way of background, I am an Australian with two masters degrees in the social sciences from European universities and I am looking to do my PhD in sociology, education or public administration. I have a strong academic record and one peer-reviewed publication in a high ranking journal, plus I expect more to come due to some research work I have completed for an institute.

From my experience in northern Europe, the chances of getting PhD funding are very poor, corrupted towards insiders and locals, and very random. I don't know what the system is in Australia, but if it is equally difficult, I would probably not want to take the risk of moving to Melbourne (with a partner and a young child) in hope of getting a PhD position in 2012. I would be an "insider" in Melbourne because the people who offered me the Level A position know me quite well, but it worries me greatly that I would end up without a PhD position in 2012, at the end of a one year Level A contract and a family to provide for.

I suppose the purpose of my post is to gauge how random and competitive PhD funding is in Australia. I did not even see a research proposal requirement on the University of Melbourne's website for applications, so I wonder how applications are ranked based on merit.

To add further financial detail to my situation, Aarhus offer a 3 year employment contract worth around 34,000 AUD per year after tax, but this contract include roughly 6 months of service to the institute (eg. contract research, research presentations, English language proofing of institute publications). If admitted into Melbourne, I am told I could expect around 55,000 AUD before tax for the Level A position and around 29,000 AUD in a tax-free scholarship to do a PhD (the institute at Uni Melbourne will offer a top-up). I doubt 29,000 AUD would be enough to survive on with a partner and child in Melbourne, but the family benefits are somewhat higher for people with children in Australia. I would also hope to be able to supplement my PhD stipend with other teaching or contract research work in Australia.

Sorry for the length of the post. I would appreciate any advice people may have regarding the PhD funding process and cost of living in Melbourne.

Thanks!

Even though it might seem like a very complicated situation, it isn't so really: basically you have to make a choice between a guaranteed PhD position or a year's work with a non-guaranteed PhD position. You shouldn't rely on "hopefully I get admitted", especially not in the current economic and education climate. If I were in your position I'd take the guaranteed one in Denmark and move on from there. You will have a PhD after 3-4 years and can still move to Australia afterwards...

Thanks niekyvanveggel,

I ended up accepting the offer in Melbourne rather than Aarhus. While Aarhus would have been a far safer option in terms of getting a PhD and is a lovely place to live, I think that the prospects afterwards would have been far more limited because of my language and the relativel lack of teaching/contract research options in English. Even though one has mobility to move between universities and countries after getting a PhD, from my experience in Europe the tendency is for preference to be given to internal candidates. I expect this si also the case in Australia, where PhDs from within end up with the Level A & B positions in their own institution (though I was offered the Level A position even though I have my masters from EU, so I am not so sure).

In the end, I was just not ready to commit to specialising in an academic career in Denmark and run the risk of getting a PhD but no ongoing job afterwards, as the labour market is so much poorer in Europe compared to Australia, particularly for mono-linguists and those of foreign backgrounds.

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