Comparative Analysis of Doctoral Education in Europe

Abstract

Within the institutional and intellectual mindset of a knowledge-based society, universities are faced with demands to rethink their practices and procedures concerning doctoral education. Consequently, many universities established doctoral schools, engaged in a selective recruitment process, often on an international level, introduced a number of taught courses into their programs and defined clearly the steps in progressing through them, constantly tried to improve the process of supervision, and looked for new ways to support their students financially. All these trends point towards a more structured doctoral education in the future, one that goes beyond the traditional master-apprentice model. In light of these changes, I conducted a comparative assessment of doctoral education in the field of political science(s) and public policy across four prestigious higher education institutions was conducted. The analysis focused on three aspects of doctoral education, namely (i) recruitment of doctoral candidates, (ii) organization of the doctoral education, and the (iii) financial support provided to students. More specifically, the study evaluated the total number of accepted PhD candidates, the value of application fees, the amount of coursework, the structure of the third and fourth year of studies, the quality of doctoral supervision, the form of doctoral dissertation, and the attractiveness of the doctoral scholarships in a globally competitive environment, within the specific context these universities’ unique organizational profile and mission.