> Even the length of the PhD program doesn't seem to be as important as total length in field. Oh, I by no means meant to disagree with this! My point was tha

> Even the length of the PhD program doesn't seem to be as important as total length in field. Oh, I by no means meant to disagree with this! My point was that the programs themselves are differently structured, so comparing the actual time a PhD takes does not really work, since there are a number of possible combinations of undergrad/grad(/grad)-degrees that make up the length of an individual project. In the end, people will probably be at about the same stage, but that does not mean that going from undergrad straight into a PhD in the US and the UK work he same way. As a further example, in Germany, you were able to do just a PhD, as your only degree ever, until relatively recently. In the end, it probably wouldn't matter, since PhD is PhD (in a way), but your way there is hardly comparable!