i saw most uni offer phd in science

means wat?
public uni also
no uni offer phd in biotech or biochem

means after u enter only u choose to do your projects in certain field?
wow
good

so u have to discover somethings or create somethings?
very interesting 
but i think quite hard
need a bit of luck
and a LOT OF HARDWORK

normally the duration is 3 years right?
y i saw some in us can finish phd in 1 or 2 years?
need to attend conference?
publish idea in journals?

so long?
then i will be an old aunt.
u in wat field?
u work a few years only continue or juv stright away study?

actually y u wanna do phd?
is malaysia lack of phd?
r u working now like part time?
get scholarship?
next time u wan work as wat?
u must be very good lo
first class honour from bsc to phd

is biochem your choice?
actually many of my friends don know wat to choose
is like choosing the course u really like or for the job prospects
we r afraid of choosing somethings we lke but hard to get job in the future
there is a huge difference between dream and reality 

i agree with mostly what u have mentioned there, esp the bold statement.=)
Doing Phd is not an easy and simple task, it need a lots of passions and hardwork,a dn more importantly ur passion on research.
I believe you do have a deep interest in the research on protein fields, so only u choose to do protein engineering.
I have a foreign professor in my university who did a good and high quality research on proteins, i still remember when one of my seniors,who do not have any little ideas on how to differentiates and understand about the various protein structures, the prof can figure out and explain in a more detailed way and patiently drew out 3 dimensional description of proteins in order to boost the understanding.
He has indeed shown his deep interest in this field.

Biochem is a very general degree indeed, lots of postgrads programme u can do after the degree. =D
I would somehow have in my mind that i will venture into emzymology in near future.=)
Would you mind to mention the scholarships that u currently attached to? In what sense do you feel that Phd is more like working ?

Another thing which i would like to add on is, Phd does not limit you only to research university or lab, it is more than what u could think of, if u r an expert in a certain field, do google out what the field emcompass, look for the prospects in the field.for perhaps a consultant in a factory and other working settings, like a food and nutrition centres are also in the scope.

Thank Deus I'm not in your field / uni! I've have been given the boot a long time ago if this was a case. And so would a lot of my PhD. colleagues.

the scholarship is quite hard to get
how u apply?
how they judge?

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Not very true. It depends on which system you're doing your PhD in. The American system for example, is more akin to a structured course in the first 1-2 years (with exams that you have to pass and all), and then becomes a lectureless/structureless system, after you've chosen a supervisor and stuff (Typically you apply to a department, and then you only get the research supervisor after 1-2 years). This does mean that the typical length for a PhD there is about 5 years (Princeton is an exception, their PhDs last 4 years), compared to the British system (which I'm more familiar with) where PhD courses last 3 - 3.5 (if you're lucky, 4) years (3 for research + 1/2 year for preparation of the thesis), due to funding constraints. The British system is similar to what's being described above, where you pre-choose your supervisor before undertaking the PhD program.

Typically knowing when you have enough original material to compile a PhD thesis will be a matter of discussion between you and your supervisor, and you have to go through a defence (viva), where you'll either get a PhD, or be told that you have to do a rewrite and come back for another defence, or if it's not good enough, they might just award you a MPhil instead of a PhD. This is not a mere formality, it does happen.

and to add, phd candidate is required to published their research finding in cited journal publishers.

in UPM for example, there are Graduate Research Fellowship (GRF) awards to the selected PhD candidates, monthly allowance about RM2.5k is not mistaken plus summore other allowances for local people.

but in return, UPM expected the candidate to publish at least 2 cited papers.
and bear in mind that it is worthy to own several journals when defensing your thesis during viva.

and when u graduated, u will obtain a cool 'Dr.' title in front of your name that make people 'wow' at you. 
Germany engineering PhD will obtain more cool additional title, "Dr. Ing."

Regarding viva, is there any uni. out there which DOESN'T practise it? Cause over here in Monash, we don't.

i do think that is Australian system.
my concern is, is there no question arises since the thesis wasnt went through examination, defending, etc etc

and i also heard that some of the Japanese PhD studentship doesnt require to come up with any nobellity values? somebody can explain?

as for me, having a PHD doesnt mean u are good enough... old folks always think that by having master or phd, u will become someone that are better than others... what make u think like that???

yes u are better than others..  but, only on the fields that u are in... if u have a PHD in banking & finance, it wouldnt make u answer each and every question on the other fields such as religious, sports or even science...

if i were given a chance to further my study up until the PHD, its because i wanted to be an expert on that fields and makes something that have a big impact on human being & earth....

your degree is biochem can your phd be physiology/anatomy/pharmacology?

By academic convention, only MD (medical doctors) are allowed to use Doctor before their name.  Phd holders are not suppose to use the word Doctor before their names.  Even Mahatir knew this and told NST during an interview prior to his retirement when asked about bogus Phds in Malaysia.  Go to any reputable university and call a Phd holder a Doctor and listen to him quickly tell you about the convention.  Of course, if its not a reputable university or someone who desperately wants to show off his Phd (real or bogus), then you find out the wannabes.

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Added on June 23, 2010, 7:40 pm

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Added on June 23, 2010, 7:45 pmTo Highwind85, interesting to hear that you started a phd in biochem.  If I were you, once you finish, look overseas for work and opportunities.  Malaysia is still a ulu place for science research and industry.  My brother in law had his phd from Imperial/Cambridge as it was a joint effort between the universities for his phd.  He's a professor in NUS now and informs me that when it comes to many areas of science research, Malaysia does not publish enough papers internationally or is gearing its efforts to capitalise on science.  Singapore does and is classed as developed world standard for such research and industry.  Join the Brain Drain!

Sth to share, I am a 2nd year phd student in UK and one of my phd colleague over here is an assist. professor (i.e Prof. Madya) in the Malaysia. Am appalled that you don't need to have a phd to become a professor/ assistant prof in Malaysia.