Indeed. Here in Denmark there are two options for PhD, you can either get one of the proposed topics, or you can submit a proposal. Changing supervisors (at l

Indeed. Here in Denmark there are two options for PhD, you can either get one of the proposed topics, or you can submit a proposal. Changing supervisors (at least in my experience) is not a problem, and this happens fairly regularly. It is better for a university to change supervisor than to lose a PhD student, as that happens often enough. The salary here ($4500 or so per month, pre tax) for a PhD at a university is enough to lure those interested in academic work (especially after spending 5 years on Student payments of around $1k/month), whilst not being incredibly high. Of course, if you go into the private sector to do your PhD, you can expect a higher salary.