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The scrutiny of doctoral studies as a field of academic research and discussion is relatively new, but it is growing quickly. An understanding of what has been said and why is important because it helps us to comprehend recurring themes and issues. This paper examines 995 papers written on issues of doctoral studies through the years 1971 to 2012. Thematic analysis of these papers presents six central themes through which the management and training of doctoral students has been embodied. These six themes include teaching, doctoral program design, writing and research, employment and career, student-supervisor relationship, and the doctoral student experience. This paper expands on this analysis to unveil the roads we have travelled and the paths we are yet to travel down, and importantly the issues which have not been fully explored, and thus--continuing with this metaphor--remain uncharted.

The purpose of this qualitative study was to gain in-depth understanding of students’ experiences in a cohort-based hybrid instructional technology Ph.D. program at a Research 1 University. Participants were 14 current and former students in the Instructional Technology Ph.D. program from the 2016 through 2020 cohorts. Participants completed an eight-question open-ended survey administered using Qualtrics. The survey was developed using the Community of Inquiry (CoI), which also serves as the theoretical framework for this study. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the data. Four themes related to cohort success emerged from the analysis of the data. Results provide faculty and administrators with a better understanding of how students experience a cohort-based hybrid Ph.D. program, including the fundamental support students need for personal and academic success. Themes revealed through this research will inform faculty and administrators of critical elements to consider in the design and development of future cohort-based doctoral programs.

Background Doctoral programs have consistently garnered the attention of policymakers in medical education systems due to their significant impact on the socio-economic advancement of countries. Therefore, various doctoral programs have been implemented with diverse goals. In Iran, a research doctorate program, known as PhD by Research, was introduced primarily to engage in applied research related to healthcare needs. Nevertheless, the achievement of the program’s goals has been questioned. This study aimed to identify the implementation challenges of the Research Doctorate Program and its solutions in Iran. Method This descriptive qualitative study followed the Standards for Reporting Qualitative Research: A Synthesis of Recommendations and was conducted in two steps. Firstly, the challenges of the Iranian Ph.D. by research program were identified through the perspectives of the program’s students and graduates. In the second step, relevant solutions to these challenges were determined by focus groups of key informant experts. The transcripts were analyzed using qualitative content analysis. Results Five students and six graduates were interviewed in the first step and seven experts participated in the second one. The challenges and related solutions are explored in four main themes, including: (1) admission criteria, (2) program goals and expected outcomes, (3) curricula, and (4) financial and human resources. The study showed that various dimensions of the doctoral program are not aligned with each other and how to adapt the program in these dimensions. Conclusion The study revealed the importance of a systematic approach in defining various dimensions of doctoral programs according to program goals and provided specific solutions for defining a research doctorate program in the context of a low- and middle-income country.

This study elucidates how doctoral students perceive the challenges and impediments of their doctoral programs. In this study, the demands of doctoral programs are characterized as challenges that stimulate students' potential and hindrances that threaten their well-being. Thirty-five full-time PhD students at various stages of their programme participated in semi-structured interviews as part of a qualitative study. The thematic analysis investigated students' challenges and hindrances in their programs. Qualitative research identified three themes under challenge and hindrance demands: institutional, supervisory, and personal. The study developed six propositions based on transactional stress theory regarding challenge and hindrance demands. These propositions assist supervisors and doctorate educators in explaining the challenge and hindrance demands framework in a doctoral program context. Demands, such as ambiguity in doctoral research roles, inadequate resources for doctoral programs, and interpersonal conflict, threaten the well-being of doctoral students. Challenge demands such as workload, role responsibility, and role complexity support students' potential growth and well-being. Furthermore, the present study offers three recommendations for enhancing the doctoral program: establishing an approachable institutional ecosystem, emphasizing the vital role of supervisors, and fostering work-life balance among students.

Graduate and doctoral schools around the world struggle to shorten the long time to degree and to prevent high dropout rates. While most of previous research studied individual determinants of PhD completion, we analyze the impact of two structural reforms of the doctoral program on thesis completion at a selective European graduate school. Exploiting a unique PhD dataset covering 30 entry cohorts, we identify reform effects on PhD outcomes using an interrupted time-series regression design. We find that the first reform improved timely completion rates by between 10 and 15 percentage points (according to the specific outcome), whereas the second reform increased completion rates by between 9 and 20 percentage points. Additionally, each reform reduced dropout rates by 7 percentage points. The results are robust to various sensitivity checks. At the end, we discuss lessons learned for those in charge of graduate schools and/or PhD programs.

While extensive research exists for both the doctoral experience and career paths after the doctorate, less is known about the initial motives for starting a PhD. In this study, 11 History PhD holders from an Australasian university were interviewed about their reasons for embarking on the doctorate. The motives and aspirations cited by the participants validate several of the categories identified in the limited existing literature, such as improving career prospects, personal development, and intrinsic interest in their discipline. Moreover, the data support the contention that candidates enter the doctorate with multiple motives. From this History sample, however, there were no overt motives relating to the participants' sense of their own identity and pressing social justice concerns or 'research as politics'. The data reveal that third parties (friends, colleagues, family members, and academics) when consulted prior to enrolment did play a generally encouraging role in the decision to start a doctorate. A recommendation emanating from this research is that universities consider offering workshops for would-be candidates before enrolment so that initial motives for doctoral study can be explored and reflected upon before a candidate embarks.

Previous research suggests that it is the department, not the graduate school that bears the greatest responsibility for doctoral students' progress and success (Ehrenberg et al., Doctoral education and the faculty of the future (pp. 15-34). Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2009) dictating the need to examine and understand how doctoral students experience their education at the department level. In the present study, we analyzed the NAGPS' 2000 National Doctoral Program Survey (NDPS) data in an effort to understand the differences in the satisfaction levels of doctoral students (current, recent graduates, and former) across various academic disciplines (e.g. social sciences, humanities, engineering) and different institutional types (e.g. research extensive and research intensive). Employing both traditional (ANOVA) and item-level (Rasch Rating Scale Model) analyses we found that although overall satisfaction with doctoral experiences appears to be equivalent/similar across multiple disciplines, student satisfaction within disciplines varied significantly and consistently with respect to specific academic experiences.

Background The number of doctoral programs in health professions education (HPE) is expanding. Entrustable professional activities (EPAs) can be a mechanism to define the expected activities of the HPE doctorate to inform training and assessment processes. The purpose of this study was to develop and reach a consensus on EPAs for HPE doctoral graduates. Methods We used a modified Nominal Group Technique (NGT) to elicit EPA titles followed by two rounds of a modified Delphi survey to seek consensus on the EPAs among groups of experts (HPE doctoral graduates and Board of HPE Examiners members) at the national level in Iran between July 2019 and July 2020. Results A total number of 92 initial EPA titles, which emerged from brainstorming in the NGT meeting, was reduced to 27 titles during the clarification process. The final EPA framework consisted of 24 EPA titles with descriptions, arranged in three categories: Research and scholarship (6 EPAs), Educational development (11 EPAs) and Educational management (7 EPAs). All final EPAs scored ≥80% agreement at the national level. Conclusions The proposed EPAs framework can be used to improve the HPE doctorate training and to inform employment decisions. A future international consensus procedure could use these EPA outcomes as a starting point.

PurposeThrough a case study of a recently established but rapidly growing research-intensive university in China, this study explores how transnational joint doctoral programs are strategically instrumentalized to overcome policy restrictions on postgraduate degree accreditation. It utilizes the cumulative (dis)advantage theory as the analytical lens. This study investigates the innovative, bottom-up initiation of transnational higher education tailored to the development goals of the university and this region, thus providing an alternative perspective for the dominant top-down discourse on transnational higher education research in China.Design/methodology/approachThis study employs a qualitative case study design that incorporates semi-structured interviews and document analysis to investigate the examined university’s joint doctoral programs.FindingsThe study examines how, through its transnational joint doctoral programs, the case university actively accumulated the advantages of recruiting excellent research students, cultivating the public’s confidence and deepening international collaboration. These advantages created a virtuous circle, which further reinforced each other and accelerated the university’s development. The disadvantages include power disparities between the case university and its partners, students’ study discontinuity because of temporal and spatial division and the challenges of co-supervision. Accordingly, the university implemented counterstrategies such as adopting a differentiated stance with varying partners, offering flexible administrative and management supports and aligning differently with various supervisors’ collaboration styles.Originality/valueThis study presents innovative institutional strategies in the Greater Bay Area of China to pursue rapid development and internationalization through transnational higher education programs. It also strives to illuminate the significant role of transnational higher education in facilitating experimental governance with Chinese characteristics.

Background Well-trained public health professionals are key to addressing both global and local public health challenges of the twenty-first century. Though availability of programs has increased, the population health science (PHS) and public health (PH) higher education landscape in Germany remains scattered. To date, no comprehensive overview of programs exists. Objectives This study aimed to map PHS and PH master’s and structured doctoral programs in Germany, including selected program characteristics, curricula and target competencies. Methods We conducted a systematic mapping of PHS and PH programs in Germany following a prospectively registered protocol ( https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/KTCBA ). Relevant master’s and doctoral programs were identified by two study authors independently searching a comprehensive higher education database, which was, for doctoral programs, supplemented with a google search. For PHS programs, general characteristics were mapped and for the subset of PH programs, in-depth characteristics were extracted. Results Overall, 75 master’s and 18 structured doctoral PHS programs were included. Of these, 23 master’s and 8 doctoral programs focused specifically on PH. The majority of PHS master’s programs awarded a Master of Science degree (55 out of 75 programs). The PH master’s program curricula offered various courses, allowing for different specializations. Courses on topics like public health, epidemiology, health systems (research) and research methods were common for the majority of the master’s programs, while courses on physical activity, behavioral science, nutrition, and mental health were offered less frequently. Structured PH doctoral programs were mainly offered by medical faculties (6 out of 8 programs) and awarded a doctorate of philosophy (Ph.D.) (6 out of 8 programs). PH doctoral programs were very heterogeneous regarding curricula, entry, and publication requirements. There was a broad geographical distribution of programs across Germany, with educational clusters in Munich, Berlin, Bielefeld and Düsseldorf. Conclusion Germany offers a diverse landscape of PHS and PH master’s programs, but only few structured doctoral programs. The variety of mandatory courses and competencies in these programs reflect Germany’s higher education system’s answer to the evolving demands of the PH sector. This review may aid in advancing PH education both in Germany and globally.