Pattaya Bar/Go-Go Death Watch

[arthas]

I´m in the process of considering where to take my PHD in Social Science, and Chiang Mai University is one of my options.

Do someone have any experience with any of the PHD programs at this uni, and the Social Science Program in particular? Is it an internationally recognised university? Will a PHD from Thailand make it easier for me to get work (and work permit) in Thailand? (My wife is thai - and if I´m going to live there for a long period of time, I need work).

Any helpful advice would be much appreciated!

Snowy regards from Norway ,

Arthas

Edited January 30, 2007 by arthas

[Tywais]

Im assuming you want studies where English is the teaching medium, here is a list of several schools and what they offer > http://www.escapeartist.com/efam25/school.html

And at Chiangmai University the PhD programs > http://www.grad.cmu.ac.th/grad/Doctoral.php

[Casanundra]

Will a PHD from Thailand make it easier for me to get work (and work permit) in Thailand?

To be perfectly blunt the answer would be a resounding no, however you may be offered a position as a lecturer at a University in Thailand either during your studies or after they have finished.

[arthas]

Im assuming you want studies where English is the teaching medium, here is a list of several schools and what they offer > http://www.escapeartist.com/efam25/school.html

And at Chiangmai University the PhD programs > http://www.grad.cmu.ac.th/grad/Doctoral.php

Thanks. I guess I could´ve been more precise. The exact PHD program I´m talking about is this one: http://rcsd.soc.cmu.ac.th/

Arthas

[lannarebirth]

Will a PHD from Thailand make it easier for me to get work (and work permit) in Thailand?

To be perfectly blunt the answer would be a resounding no, however you may be offered a position as a lecturer at a University in Thailand either during your studies or after they have finished.

Not even for NGO or foundation administration? Maybe UN?

[jakhoeblal]

Currently all PhD programs of 29 Universities in Thailand are under surveillance of the Min of education, because of some corruption.

Chiang Mai University is one of them.

So please check before...

[scorecard]

Will a PHD from Thailand make it easier for me to get work (and work permit) in Thailand?

To be perfectly blunt the answer would be a resounding no, however you may be offered a position as a lecturer at a University in Thailand either during your studies or after they have finished.

Also keep in mind, most Thai universities employ foreigners on one of the following arrangements;

1. - If your very very lucky* they might give you a contract (can only be a one year contract and renewal is up to numerous local factors) which has a small monthly salary**, plus you can build up your income by lecturing hours.

But lecturing is never guaranteed, in fact you can have some semesters where you are not needed as a lecturer, therefore no lecturing income at all. This route would probably come with a one year work permit.

Notes: * & ** I deliberately wrote 'very very lucky'. and ** Would have some specific duties, usually related to something that their own staff cannot do. An example, be the liaison person for a specific complex research item with some foreign universites where your past knowledge and experience is absolutely needed /critical in relation to the nature / success of the research.)

Also note, this whole situation is rare, many factors, but partly because the senior Thai teaching staff are always well aware of what's happening around them, and they will yell loudly and quickly if they believe they have been 'sidelined' in any way. Further if you were given such a contract then the salary in most cases would be small but it would proably be much higher than what would be paid to a Thai lecturer, and again the more vocal lecturers (plenty of them) would possibly lobby : "...why is the faculty paying a higher salary when Thais can do this work, etc... . Also deans and program directors are very careful to not get 'offside' with their Thai lecturers because, in many Thai universities, there is a ballot process to decide the new 'dean' or 'director' when some retires / gets moved etc, and all Thai lecturers have a vote.

2. - Another posible route to get a work permit can be the university supportng your work permit application with a written guarantee that the university (that faculty) will give you at least two full courses for the one year life of the work permit. This route is possible but not all universities are willing to use this route and I understand that the labour office in some provinces don't accept this idea, and you can't change either point.

In general terms faculties don't talk to each other and you would generally find very little to zero attempt / cooperation to get you employed acros two or more faculties.

Also be aware that the majority of English language lectures is conducted by Thai lecturers who in many cases are highly capable, credible in regard to the subject, and often very capable of presenting in English. What usually makes the difference (you get the offer to teach the course ) is your past deep / long-term experience in that subject area.

The above is from my experience lecturing at three Thai universities, others may have had different experiences with all of this subject which is worth sharing.

Edited May 18, 2011 by scorecard

[HaleySabai]

Perhaps you should first look deeper into the fundamentals,if not the relevance, of the Thai-education system,at the post-secondary level first, before considering to invest time and brain-power into a PHD.

I met a Thai-budding PHD holder not long ago, doing his thesis on the variety of Laarbs in Thailand and their social significance.

[jdinasia]

Will a PHD from Thailand make it easier for me to get work (and work permit) in Thailand?

To be perfectly blunt the answer would be a resounding no, however you may be offered a position as a lecturer at a University in Thailand either during your studies or after they have finished.

Not even for NGO or foundation administration? Maybe UN?

To be perfectly honest ---- The answer would be a resounding YES, not no. Particularly if you were teaching, but in almost any field related to your research. NGO's and businesses in Thailand would be far more likely to take you than not having a PhD. That being said, an overseas PhD. would be better in almost all situations.

Thais LOVE their bits of paper, and advanced degrees count a lot here.

[scorecard]

Perhaps you should first look deeper into the fundamentals,if not the relevance, of the Thai-education system,at the post-secondary level first, before considering to invest time and brain-power into a PHD.

I met a Thai-budding PHD holder not long ago, doing his thesis on the variety of Laarbs in Thailand and their social significance.

The major Thai universities do have internalional credibility in terms of Ph.Ds. e.g. In aware of a European lady (from Geneva) who is half way through her Ph.D., right now being supervised by her coach from a major Thai university, all sanctioned an agreed to by her highly credible business school in Geneva. Basically no credible university would agree to such an arangement without being convinced of the credibility of the other university. Same comment goes for exchange programs at BBA and MBA level and there are many such programs in place between the Thai uni majors and highly credible business schools across the world - US, Europe, Aust. Singapore, China. and more. A second example a Thai Ph.D. candidate who did half of his work supervised by a major Thai uni, and half his work supervised by UCLA at Berkeley.

On the other hand I'm also aware that some Thai universities grant Ph.Ds. for subjects / research which would not 'pass the test' in many other countries. For example I know one Thai man who, through a Thai university which is close to the bottom of Thai uni rankings, has a PH.D. for profiling the different types of overhead projectors (the old style ones where you put a plastic transparency of the glass plate on the top of the machine).

In terms of Chiang Mai univeristy I have no knowledge whatever of the social sciences faculty, but I am aware that their business school is not too far down the list of Thai Unis, their engineering faculty is highly credible and many of their their graduates have work contracts befoe they graduate, and their pharmacy faculty is very highly credible in fact most of their graduates are quickly scooped up by major hospitals in Bkk.

I'm also aware that there has recently been a 'scandal' about corruption at CM uni. I don't know the details and I don't know whether it was a small scandal or a big scandal. But the reality is that education overall (government ministries / offices / schools - all levels) is ranked the second highest in the Thai corruption listings, after the police.

Edited May 18, 2011 by scorecard

[richard10365]

I have heard positive comments about the M.A. in Sustainable Development. I would guess their PhD program would be good as well. Although, don't pay attention to their estimates of the exchange rate on their tuition and fees page. Someone in their finance office seems to think you can still get 42 to 43 baht to the dollar.

About it being internationally recognized, I had asked once Cambridge, Harvard, and UCLA via email if they would recognize my degree from Payap University if I wanted to study there and they said as long as the degree is recognized by the Thai Ministry of Education, then they too would accept it. However, you still have to pass all the other admissions requirements such as the interview and personal statements. I also think that getting a job with a degree from CMU would also depend on what your CV looked like. If your past work and educational experience are what a potential employer is looking for then perhaps it would definitely help.

There is another PhD option in Chiang Mai. Payap has a program on Peace Building. I have no idea what you would do with a PhD degree in Peace Building but there are lots of conflicts around the world (and in Thailand) that might have need of a peace builder.

For a link to the program, click here.

Here are the Peace Building instructors. Feel free to Google them to learn more about them.

1. Mark Tamthai (PhD, Indiana), Philosophy of Peacebuilding and Reconciliation; Dialogue and Mediation; Religiousness and Peacebuilding.

2. Chaiyan Rajchagool (PhD, Manchester), Political Economy of the State; Social Theories and Peacebuilding; Literary Studies

3. Paul Chambers (PhD, Northern Illinois), Civil-Military Relations; Politics of Peacebuilding.

4. Suchart Setthamalinee (PhD, Hawaii), Cultural Dimension of Peacebuilding; Violence and Peacebuilding in Islam

5. John Butt (M.Div, S.T.M., ThD-ABD, Harvard), Comparative study of religions), History of Human Religiousness; Buddhist and Christian Religion; Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue and Understanding

6. Ishwar Harris (PhD, Claremont), Indian Philosophy and Religious Thought; Gandhi’s Philosophy of Peace and Nonviolence.

Edited May 18, 2011 by richard10365

[WinnieTheKhwai]

Will a PHD from Thailand make it easier for me to get work (and work permit) in Thailand?

To be perfectly blunt the answer would be a resounding no, however you may be offered a position as a lecturer at a University in Thailand either during your studies or after they have finished.

Not even for NGO or foundation administration? Maybe UN?

Well, the resounding 'no' was in reference to making it easier to get a work permit. The main thing that matters when it comes to getting a work permits is that there is a company or organization out there that wants to hire you. Everything else is secondary.

Of course there is a requirement that you should show that you have the right qualifications for the job, but in almost all cases a PhD would not be required. Masters or even Bachelor would be just fine.

And if there was a job for which a PhD would be valued, then it doesn't matter much if this is from Thailand or not. Main thing is you landing a job.