Global reach of UK doctorate

This paper, authored by Professor Stan Taylor explores existing published source materials to begin describing the global doctoral landscape

Report on the Joint Meeting with the EUA-CDE on 3rd May 2019 at the British Academy

International higher education is a rapidly changing environment and is affecting many aspects of doctoral education, especially training structures (UKCGE, 2015) and thesis models (Jump, 2015, Council of Graduate Schools, 2016). Given the role played by assessment in assuring quality and the current good reputation of UK doctorates (Clarke and Lunt, 2014), it was timely for the Council to focus on making some cross-country comparisons of doctoral assessment as a first step in documenting consistent and divergent practice, in parallel evaluating the strengths and challenges of current assessment processes, in the UK and internationally.

The Council was delighted to welcome 144 delegates to the conference — including over 40 representatives from countries outside the UK, such as, Australia, Austria, Canada, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Macau, Malaysia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Romania, Spain and the United States — together with plenary speakers from Australia, the United States and Germany

The role, remit, form and structure of graduate education remains a significant matter for government, policymakers and the higher education community. It is at the nexus of national and international policy changes in research, innovation, immigration, the professional skills agenda and funding for higher education.

There was a time when the doctorate was regarded as a highly specialised and niche undertaking to be entered into by a relatively small number of individuals in an atmosphere of cloistered calm and quiet. These days have long gone.

This report is intended as a strategy document, highlighting key trends and challenges in the recruitment and training of international postgraduates, and underlining the need to treat international postgraduates as a separate constituency from international undergraduates.