I am not comfortable with "finding knowledge gaps"purly at my own and without any supervision. But at the same time I dont have more than 3 years. What should I do? should I take a decision of going to US in the hope of finding a research project.........some say it will take longer there...why longer?

I think you have the wrong idea about phDs in the UK. If they are funded, the project will often be decided by the supervisor. If not, then the supervisor will be there to help you formulate a research plan

You're right about the length of PhD study, but I'm not sure why. I think it's 4 or 5 years in the US. And yes it can be tough having to learn things for yourself - I find I only learn things that are really necessary for my experiments and a lot of it is learnt verbally, things that you wouldn't find in books anyway. This can be difficult and not very satisfying...

You have to do course work i n addition to research and you obtain a Msc after 2yrs in the US then PhD thats why it is 5yrs.

hey Dina, seems you have your mind made up and you're hoping to find someone who'll give you a plausible reason to leave. everyone goes thro the hard times you are going thro. It's how long you hang in there that makes the difference. you are capable of coming up with gaps and filling them. just believe in yourself. see my poem on the next message.

Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgement that something else is more important than fear. the brave may not live forever, but the cautious do not live at all. from now you'll be travelling the road between whom you think you are and who you can be. The key is to allow yourself to make the journey. all am saying Dina, is that, make sure you listen more to yourself than to others when making this decision. most people will tell you to leave...dare to believe in yourself...what is it that YOU want?