After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the universities of the former Soviet states faced a lack of public funding that left them with tuition fees as their main--and sometimes only--source of revenue. In a context where universities were exclusively focused on their economic survival, the decision of Ilia State University (ISU) to introduce in…

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…

Purpose: This paper provides a cross-national analysis of PhD supervision models, milestones and examination procedures in order to compare PhD programs and their practices. Design/methodology/approach: A comparative approach is employed, which systematically interrogates PhD supervision models, milestones and examination procedures in the United…

Although the high costs of implementing personnel development programs in enterprises and increasingly in universities as well are commonly accepted, the scientifically-grounded evaluation of a program's effectiveness is often neglected. The aim of this paper was to evaluate a personnel development program for academics at a German university…

This paper sheds light on one of the key phases in the service contract of the international partnership between TBU in Saudi Arabia and George Washington University (GWU) in the US to develop a doctoral program of philosophy degree (PhD) in educational leadership and administration. The aim of the research was to evaluate the first workshop that…

The aim of the paper is to report some of the research findings from a workshop held at an International Professional Doctorate Conference. The workshop aimed to elicit the views of attendees surrounding the following questions: How do you currently measure the impact and outcome of your professional doctorate programme(s)? What tools, frameworks,…

Supervisors play a crucial role in helping doctoral students to successfully complete their degree. Current practice in the development of doctoral supervisors is mostly focused on regulatory issues rather than on pedagogical topics. Existing research suggests a range of successful strategies for supervisor training including the development of…

This qualitative study presents findings from the evaluation of a pilot mentoring scheme developed in Liverpool Business School. The majority of studies on university mentoring schemes have focussed on undergraduate or taught postgraduate students, less attention has been given to doctoral students. The purpose of this scheme was to enhance peer…

Purpose: This paper aims to investigate the potential benefits and limitations associated with aligning accreditation and academic program reviews in post-secondary institutions, using a descriptive case study approach. Design/methodology/approach: The paper describes two Canadian graduate programs that are subject to both external professional…

The authors' lived experience of devising a professional development programme for research supervisors and securing SEDA (Staff and Educational Development Association) accreditation informs this paper. Our first purpose is to outline the programme and discuss its uniqueness in using a community of practice model in conjunction with practitioner…

This paper reports on implementing learning plans at an Australian university and their perceived use in supporting doctoral candidates' professional and academic development. The implementation of individualised learning plans for doctoral candidates was the outcome of university-wide discussions regarding coursework in the PhD. Based on a review…

This article reports findings from a recent research project, commissioned by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE), which explored the current landscape of professional doctorate (PD) provision in English higher education institutions (HEIs) (Mellors-Bourne et al., 2016). Given the absence of a clear definition by the Quality…

In 2014 the institutionalization of European higher education and training, as well as research and innovation, policy entered a new phase: a number of financial instruments were simplified and merged. The Erasmus Mundus programme, wherein consortia of European and overseas universities built joint master's or doctoral degrees, was split into two…

Models of doctoral education in Africa remained similar to those in European universities, well into the 2000s. However, there has been an increasing realisation that such programmes are ill-suited for the African realities. With recent efforts to revitalise higher education in Africa, considerable attention has been placed on the need to explore…

In Europe, doctoral education systems have been systematically reformed. These reforms are aimed at improving the quality of research and the competitiveness of European countries. In Finland, the reform project of doctoral education started vigorously in the mid-1990s which has contributed significantly to the emergence of more structured…