It has been suggested in the literature that the relationship with a doctoral supervisor is the predominant factor in student decisions to continue or withdraw from their candidatures. However, anecdotally it is not uncommon to hear heads of department, faculty deans and those in similar positions say that they know who the poorly-performing…

In this paper, we focus on professional development for senior academic staff, in particular, doctoral supervisors. Using an authentic case as an example of a long-term, comprehensive, and mandatory development program for senior staff, we analyse the challenges and benefits of such a program and identify issues for consideration. The main issues…

In this paper, it is argued that some doctoral candidates with successful professional careers prior to enrolling in the PhD may face particular challenges with learning to be a researcher. The paper draws on data from a modest study involving interviews with supervisors who had worked with such doctoral candidates. The research aims to identify,…

This study aimed to understand doctoral candidates' and supervisors' positive and negative experiences of undertaking a doctorate in a structured interdisciplinary research training environment. Interviews were held with 16 candidates and eight supervisors involved in an interdisciplinary research centre. Most candidates were undertaking a…

Existing literature suggests that a particular learning challenge for some doctoral candidates is coming to an understanding the concept of theory, that is the use of theory to frame research as well as theorising findings. The concept of theory has been identified as a Threshold Concept taking into account the characteristics of these concepts…

Most research into research supervision practice focuses on functional, collegial or problematic power-related experiences. Work developing the supervisory role concentrates on new supervisors, and on taught development and support programmes. Most literature on academics' professional learning concentrates on learning to be a university teacher…

The objective of this paper is to identify the impact of current national policies and emerging curricular practices on master's by coursework students in Australia. It is argued that the rate of top-down policy change, together with bottom-up innovation, is resulting in a high level of complexity that is challenging providers, staff and student…

Within the overall theme of this special issue of re-theorising doctoral education, this article examines the outcomes of a policy adjustment in a centralised higher education system, and its impact on research supervision practices. Using Australian doctoral programs as a case study, the focus here is the rethinking of research supervision, and…

One issue universities face is the need to demonstrate excellence in postgraduate research supervision at the individual, faculty and university level. While poor supervision might become obvious over time, with grievances, withdrawals and poor completion times and rates, this paper focuses specifically on identifying and demonstrating supervisory…

Most work on threshold concepts has hitherto related to discipline-specific undergraduate education, however, the idea of generic doctoral-level threshold concepts appeared to us to provide a strong and useful framework to support research learning and teaching at the graduate level. The early work regarding research-level threshold concepts is…

The use of external examiners in the doctoral assessment process is seen as a quality assurance process in most higher education systems. This article suggests that the selection of examiners is a critical aspect of that process. Interview analysis highlights the professional/academic considerations involved in selecting suitable examiners, as…