International developments in doctoral education. Case study: Germany

ABSTRACT

This contribution introduces the general principles of doctoral education in Germany first and then describes and discusses four key drivers of change: the increase in numbers, the diversification of degree models, the impact of the Bologna reforms on doctoral education, and changes induced by the COVID-19 pandemic. In the conclusions the implications of these key drivers for change in doctoral education are analysed, namely the extension of the policy field focusing on doctoral education, the gradual loss of the traditional university monopoly in terms of doctoral degree awards, the shift from the dissertation as product to the process of doctoral education and training, and finally the extension of requirements in terms of skills and ceompetences to be acquired in the process in order to make doctoral degree holders fit for non-academic labour markets.

KEYWORDS:

• Specificities of German doctoral education
• increase in numbers
• diversification of degree models
• the role of the bologna process and the lisbon strategy
• Impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic
• doctoral degree holders and the non-academic labour market

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Barbara M. Kehm

Barbara M. Kehm was a professor of Higher Education Research at the International Centre for Higher Education Research (INCHER, Kassel University, Germany), the University of Glasgow (UK) and currently still is a Fellow at the Leibniz Research Center for Science and Society, University of Hannover (Germany). She has published widely (more than 30 books and more than 350 book chapters and journal articles) on a variety of higher education issues.