Professional development for doctoral supervisors differs between higher education institutions (HEIs) across the globe from non-existent support to one off workshops, to mandatory programmes. Communities of practice programmes encourage supervisors to reflect on case studies and conceptual models but there is limited research which explores the…

The alignment with the Bologna process and the subsequent creation of the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) framework, principles, and guidelines have significantly changed Spanish doctoral education. In this article, we identify the critical drivers for that change in Spain and address their implications for doctoral education summarised…

The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of major developments in Iran's higher education system and their implications for doctoral education. In all, four major developments--massification, privatisation, internationalisation, and the coronavirus pandemic--are investigated, and their impact is analysed. The results indicated that,…

This article considers issues that continue to shape doctoral education in Australia in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The aim of this paper is to provide an overview of relevant issue, and to identify opportunities for future research. It describes examples of responses taken at an institutional level, and their implications for the norms and…

Although there has been considerable "post hoc" research on student views of supervisors, there is little on how candidate expectations are constituted at or close to the point of commencement. This study reads students' commentary about the 'ideal supervisor' at the point of institutional induction to examine commencing candidate…

Korea's doctoral education system, which began over 70 years ago on the ruins of the Korean War, has experienced rapid growth until recently. Now, it must continue to progress towards a stage of qualitative maturity that shows world-class levels in education and research achievements. Along with dramatic economic and social development in Korea…

Supervision is one of the most important determinants of a successful doctoral process. However, there have been few large-scale survey studies on the development of PhD supervisors. In this study, doctoral supervisors' perceptions of their supervisory competence, professional development activities and professional support from the research…

A number of key drivers are responsible for the major shifts taking place in doctoral education globally, including massification, globalisation, digitalisation and the knowledge economy. While each of these drivers permeates the South African higher education context to some extent, we argue that the country's complex historical legacies provide…

Doctoral programmes worldwide are facing numerous challenges. Among these challenges is the diversification of the student body in aspects such as age, socioeconomic background, motivation, and career aspirations. However, these programmes often struggle to respond adequately and promptly to these changes. In this article, we employ the concept of…

Over the last two decades, the French doctorate has evolved significantly after the introduction of national policies defined by law in 2003. The most important change was the creation of about 250 doctoral schools, where students spend 3 to 4 years. At the same time, they are attached to an accredited research laboratory to do a thesis and become…

Whilst doctoral supervision online has become almost routine, the COVID19 pandemic significantly changed research supervision. Supervisors were distanced from colleagues and co-supervisors, with less opportunity for the informal and unplanned conversations through which supervisory challenges may be shared and mentoring take place. An accredited…

Doctoral education has been of significance in Türkiye particularly in the last 20 years due to the major expansion of higher education in the country. Between 2002 and 2022, the number of universities in the country almost tripled to reach 207, exacerbating the shortage in the number of academicians and researchers. This, along with the pressure…

As elsewhere across the globe, for the past two decades doctoral education in the UK has been in the throes of change. This article seeks to describe and analyse developments in 1) the national framework for doctoral education, 2) institutional structures, 3) doctoral programmes, 4) doctoral candidacy, 5) doctoral supervision and 6) doctoral…

PhD researchers are increasingly working in non-academic sectors, garnering interest in the extent to which doctoral education is relevant for careers beyond academia. Writing, arguably the most important and challenging activity PhDs must master, is a skill also coveted in the knowledge economy, required of employees across labour sectors. Using…

The historical development of Chile's doctoral education is closely tied to its semi-peripheral position in the world economy. Drawing from secondary data and historical sources on the development of doctoral education, we conducted a critical analysis of the different phases of doctoral education within the last 70 years, paying special attention…