Co-supervision is a widespread practice in doctoral education; however, little is known about its effective implementation. Co-supervision is defined here as a form of collaborative supervision where two supervisors guide and support one supervisee's research work in a doctoral study. Four drivers that have contributed to the widespread practice…

As a consequence of reforms in doctoral education, notably since the 2005 publication of the Salzburg Principles, doctoral schools represent the state of the art in contemporary doctoral education in Europe. They aim at supporting the collective vision and endeavour to ensure the personal and professional growth of doctoral candidates, the…

An increase in the number of PhD candidates in the last decades has changed the landscape of employment and the nature of what it means to be a PhD holder. Embarking on a career in academia is a challenging endeavour for early-career researchers while they are confronted with a limited number of job opportunities in academia. Taking into account…

This article reports on a study that analysed multiple logics behind the development of doctoral education in China, Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Thailand. The analysis focused on the development over the past two decades and general measures to ensure quality. Research materials analysed in this article consisted of semi-structured…

The doctorate, as a ritualised form of evaluation, has existed for more than eight centuries--initially linked to Western medieval forms of knowledge production framed by religion, and to the professional training of lawyers and doctors. It nearly disappeared at the end of the modern era. Recast as a requirement for academic professions, it…

In high-income countries in recent years, the non-academic labour market destination of PhD-holders, i.e., the segmentation by industry sector of destination, has emerged as an issue. Universities and other research-intensive institutions can no longer absorb the major share of PhD-holders. Their employment has become a matter of segmentation both…

The costs of attending four-year colleges and universities in the United States have steadily increased over four decades leading to high levels of student debt and many obstacles for low-income students. The analysis presented appraises the extent of the cost and affordability problems, debunking the sensationalistic claims that are common in…

Comparing universities and courses is of interest to a variety of stakeholders including potential students, policy makers, news and media organisations, ranking providers, and universities themselves. There are a range of existing university ranking schemes that provide comparisons (e.g. Academic Ranking of World Universities) but typically these…

One of the specificities of French higher education is that there is no single higher education system but two compartmentalised and hierarchical higher education systems comprising (1) universities and (2) "grande école" higher education institutions. Competing for a place in the latter requires that students have succeeded in…

Student performance in general subjects such as language and mathematical skills is poor in secondary vocational education. A professional culture of teaching--including recruitment of well qualified teachers, effective teacher collaboration and effective teaching practice--could be the key to success. To what extent is there a professional…

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…

Distance higher education plays a critical role in the promotion of regional equality in China by contributing to the availability of higher education. However, unbalanced regional development of distance higher education can lead to a widening of educational inequity. The study on which this article reports sheds light on the issue of unbalanced…

In recent decades, higher education has experienced a massive expansion worldwide, which has often been linked to increasing higher education diversification. New sectors and new types of institutions emerged with this massification process to offer more diversified types of advanced training. At the same time, this expansion was often embedded in…

This study examines how the rise in the share of higher education graduates leads to over-qualification, by focusing on the demand-side drivers. We propose that the benefits of investments in higher education depend on the levels of innovation and economic growth in each national economy. We use a configurational method (Fuzzy Set Qualitative…

The massification of higher education has been an important development across education systems in Europe over the second half of the 20th century. Nurtured by political, economic and social goals, including the improvement of social justice in education and beyond, massification has been associated with inclusion as a goal of higher education…