How does the quality of a PhD differ in Germany, Denmark, Sweden? I am planning to apply for a PhD position in Computer Science but haven't decided yet which country to study in. So far I found interesting universities / research groups in Germany (where I am currently studying), Denmark and Sweden but the structures of PhD programs seem to differ widely. Therefore I was wondering if these differences also result in a quality difference.

Up to my current understanding the systems and differences are as follows: (Please correct me if I'm mistaken.)


In Germany Computer Science PhDs are usually unstructured, without course work. Only published papers and the thesis count. Exchanges semesters are not usual (at least at my current university). PhDs usually take up to 5 years.
In Denmark and Sweden PhDs are structured and include course work and usually an exchange semester at a foreign university.
In Denmark PhDs take exactly 3 years and in Sweden about 4 years.


Do these differences affect the overall quality of the PhD and the experience/ knowledge you gain from it?

For example, Danish PhDs are much shorter than German ones and include additional course work and an exchange stay abroad. I get the impression that Danish programs are much more guided than German ones but that you have less time to do research. Does this imply that you learn less or are students in a guided environment more productive?
In Germany, there's a huge variability in the quality of PhD theses. The quality of a particular PhD and the benefits gained from it are mostly determined by the quality of the workgroup and its supervision culture.

To identify the good workgroups, you can simply look at the research output of their PhD students, in particular, publications at good venues.