True in my limited experience (EE not CS). The UK PhDs get a pretty well defined thesis topic and graduate on schedule. The US PhDs don't have a clear finish l

True in my limited experience (EE not CS). The UK PhDs get a pretty well defined thesis topic and graduate on schedule. The US PhDs don't have a clear finish line until less than a year from finishing. The "joke" in the US is that if someone says they are six months from finishing it is really a year, if they say a year from finishing it is 2+ years, if they say more than a year they have no idea how much longer.