Duration is another difference, 5 year PhDs are rare in Europe. The Netherlands mostly has 4 year programs, Germany mostly seems to have 3 years. At the same ti

Duration is another difference, 5 year PhDs are rare in Europe. The Netherlands mostly has 4 year programs, Germany mostly seems to have 3 years. At the same time, PhDs here require a MSc (2 years usually), which in turn requires a BSc (3 years usually). So in the end, total time from start to PhD doesn't differ too much.