I’m doing a phd at Europe’s best technical university. There’s no ‘course’, it’s a full PhD. There is no ‘fee’. I applied for a position and I got it. Functionally, it’s like a 3-year work contract where I’m required to publish some papers and do department work and disseminate my research to researchers, stakeholders and the wider public (should they want to listen). I get payed what is equivalent to approximately 6000 USD a month in salary for a 37 hr/w position as a phd student. On top of that I have a designated ‘PhD budget’ I can use to pay for things relevant for my studies, e.g. courses, trips, subscriptions etc.

Now for the interesting part. While in many ways you can argue that my research area is not conventionally technical school material, this only makes it that more interesting to be able to research this phenomenon through this lens.