Global developments

~ Trends in Doctoral Education

Overview and research

There is no doubt that the contemporary doctorate is being substantially influenced by global developments. While different countries are responding in different ways, we can notice the impact of issues such as:

National groupings and organizations
Focus on timely completions and research training
Increased focus on quality assurance
Increased mobility and transport
The ubiquity of English
Technology and changes in the nature of knowledge and research
National security and terrorism issues

Such developments mean that not only are institutions, and individuals within those institutions, being expected to work differently, but the students who are entering those institutions are coming with different backgrounds and expectations from what might have been the case 10 or 20 years ago.

National groupings and organisations

A substantial impact on the doctorate is the Bologna Process. This process aims by 2010, to have 45 European countries implementing:

Easily readable and comparable degrees and transcripts
Uniform degree structures i.e. a three year Bachelor award, two year Masters degree, and three year Doctoral programs
A means of offering credits across countries so that one credit point would be of the same value in all universities in the countries involved in the agreement
Increased mobility of students and staff due to increased alignment
Promotion of European co-operation
Promotion of a European dimension in higher education
A form of quality assurance to enable European awards to be internationally recognized (Department of Education, 2006).

With such a large number of institutions working in this co-operative manner, smaller countries such as Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Singapore and many South American countries are having to decide on the risk associated with not joining this development.

Timely completions and research training

One particularly interesting factor in the Bologna Process is the concept that the doctorate will be three years, not four. However, it is important to note that the new Bologna model has a three year undergraduate award, a two year masters, and then entry into a three year Doctoral program. This is in line with developments in several countries, including Australia, where there had been a focus on timely completion. This has in turn: 'Meant that the nature of the PhD program has had to be rethought and the process of "getting" a PhD has had to be made more professional with a greater emphasis on the "training" side of research training than had been the case before. Improving the professionalism of the PhD program has certainly had its benefits' (McEachern, 2004 p. 46). Such developments have seen structured programs and courses introduced for research candidates in many systems. Another development in the 1990s was the introduction of Professional Doctorates and more recently the Practice Doctorate, aimed at students looking to undertake doctorates in the fine and performing arts.

In the early 2000s, particular developments have been a focus on "generic skills" or graduate attributes. (See entry on graduate attributes) With such a focus, there has been a surge in research training and education programs and courses.

Increased focus on quality assurance

Another development related to doctoral education, which is particularly highlighted in the Bologna Process, is the notion of quality assurance. One of the reasons behind Bologna was to provide some means of being able to benchmark and assure the quality of doctoral programs throughout Europe. Quality Assurance has developed as a major factor in higher education, partly as a result of the increased risk associated with a knowledge economy. Managing the knowledge explosion and the increasingly complex nature of knowledge brings increased risks which need to be managed, and quality assurance is one means of doing this. The Quality Assurance movement has become a global phenomenon.

Increased mobility and transport

The increased mobility that arrangements such as Bologna offer to students comes at a time when transport mechanisms and costs allow students and staff to move almost effortlessly from one side of the globe to the other. International research consortia are tempted to be more mobile. Switzerland, for example, one of the smallest countries in western Europe, has the largest percentage of its employed population with doctorates (27.5 doctoral holders per one thousand of the workforce, with the next closest being Germany with 20.1).

Most universities in Australia expect each doctoral candidate to attend and present at, at least one, if not two international conferences during candidature. With such expectations come requirements for doctoral programs to prepare candidates for operating within this global environment with collaborative, technical and cultural skills and sensitivities. Furthermore, the contemporary doctoral program needs to prepare graduates with the knowledge, skills and attitudes which allow them to see the value of their work within a global context.

The ubiquity of English

Linked with processes such as Bologna it is perhaps the ubiquity of English that is one of the major issues influencing the contemporary doctorate. Hastened by, but not necessarily a direct result of, the Bologna process, the doctorate in Europe is being offered almost exclusively in English. This is not surprising given the use of English in higher education, and particularly in doctoral education, throughout the developed and developing world. One particularly obvious outcome is the need for English language preparatory and testing programs e.g. IELTS, and English language support programs for students during candidature. Another is the concern, particularly of smaller countries, as to the preservation of their national language(s).

Technology and changes in the nature of knowledge and research

Given issues of mobility and travel opportunities, and the wide-spread use of English, it is not surprising that rapid developments in communication and other technologies have meant that in many areas of research it is not possible for any one research group, university or in some cases countries, to undertake some forms of cutting-edge research. We are operating in an increasingly globalised environment where some of the newly emerging areas of research require large, often multi-national, teams of researchers; others are dependent on multi-disciplinary teams, all requiring of the researchers highly developed teamwork and communication skills.

This increased push for much greater multi-disciplinary research has been occurring not only across the science and engineering fields but also the humanities and social sciences which is leading to changes to the very nature of knowledge and the way that we undertake research. This focus in multi-disciplinary research degrees has led to concerns regarding adequate supervision, given there are few qualified multi-disciplinary supervisors, and concerns with examination. While it might be possible to get one examiner who is expert in one aspect of the research, and another who is expert in different aspect of the research it is generally quite difficult to find expert multi-disciplinary examiners.

Link these developments with the increased mobility of researchers, and enhanced information and communication technologies and it becomes clear that doctoral education is undergoing change.

National security, national borders and terrorism

Perhaps one of the more difficult topics is the impact of national security and terrorism on doctoral education. At the doctoral level, for example, one of the main outcomes since September 11 has been the changes to the destinations of various national groups undertaking their research degrees. For example, there has been a substantial increase in the number of students from the Middle East travelling to Malaysia to undertake their doctorate when previously they might have gone to the USA.

National developments draw our attention to two quite different but equally interesting issues related to international research students. For about the past 20 years, many universities in some of the more developed countries have been earning substantial funding by enrolling international students. In many cases there are examples of brain drain as a result of the overseas education experience, a serious issue for many developing countries. A newly emerging trend, with a good example being New Zealand, is where high-level doctoral candidates are actively sought and attracted to the country with the aim of encouraging them to stay on after completion as part of the capacity building of the host country.

The above text was based on the following research:

Auriol, L. (2007). Labour market characteristics and international mobility of doctorate holders: Results of seven countries. Paris: OECD.

Department of Education, Science and Training. (2006). The Bologna Process and Australia: Next steps.

McEachern, D. (2004). A balance between the pursuit of excellences and real world needs of students. In M. Kiley & G. Mullins (Eds.), Quality in postgraduate research: Re-imagining research education (pp. 45-52). Canberra: CELTS.

McWilliam, E., Singh, P., & Taylor, P. (2002). Doctoral Education, Danger and Risk Management. Higher Education Research and Development, 21(2), 119-129.

Nerad, M. (2006). Globalisation and its impact on research education: Trends and Emerging Best Practices for the Doctorate of the Future. In M. Kiley & G. Mullins (Eds.), Quality in Postgraduate Research: Knowledge creation in testing times(pp. 11-12). Canberra: CEDAM, The Australian National University.

Ideas and tools

A co-tutelle enrolment is one where a candidate enrols in both an Australian and at a partner university overseas (normally in France/Europe), under the terms approved by both universities. The candidate applies separately for admission as a co-tutelle PhD student to both universities in the normal way. Successful co-tutelle enrolment leads to two PhD/doctoral testamurs, one from each university, assuming that the candidate successfully completes both universities' examination requirements. The candidates spends substantial time at both universities during candidature.

ANU information

Co-tutelle arrangements

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Alternatively, contact the College Associate Dean (HDR) for more general college information.