The University of California, Berkeley sends more undergraduate students to economics PhD programs than any other public university. While this fact is surely a function of its size, there may be lessons from the Berkeley experience that others could adopt. To investigate why Berkeley generates so many economics PhD students, the author convened…

PhDs by publications are a relatively new model for doctoral research, especially in the context of the Humanities or Education. This paper describes two writers' experiences of conducting doctoral studies in this genre and in these faculties. Each discover alternative ways of employing a body of published research papers in development of an…

The road to a new degree program is rarely smooth. The author describes the lengthy and bumpy path to the successful creation of and approval for the first nontraditional doctorate offered at Georgetown University, the Doctor of Liberal Studies Degree (DLS). The new Doctor in Liberal Studies (DLS) required applicants to have a master's degree or…

Two diverse universities--one large public metropolitan and one small independent-- participate in the Carnegie Project on the Education Doctorate (CPED) the purpose of which is to clearly distinguish between the Ph. D. and the Ed. D. and their unique intended outcomes. These universities (re)designed and implemented the professional doctorate…

This paper suggests rethinking the doctoral examination process in Australia to enable a closer alignment with the aims of the learning programme. The doctoral examination processes generally aim to assess the candidate's research capability, the quality and originality of the candidate's contribution to knowledge, and to authenticate that the…

Doctoral education in the United States had been scrutinized because of high-attrition rates reported as an average of 50 percent. Emerging from Lovitts (2001), this research examined students' attendance at Mock Orals (MO) and its relationship to their academic and social integration, cognitive maps, goals, rates of attrition, and retention in a…

Despite the worldwide prestige of America's doctoral programs in the humanities, all is not well in this area of higher education and hasn't been for some time. The content of graduate programs has undergone major changes, while high rates of student attrition, long times to degree, and financial burdens prevail. In response, the Andrew W. Mellon…

This theoretical paper examines current practice in work-based studies where recognition of prior unaccredited work is normally limited to around 50% of the total programme. The basis of this limiting concept is challenged and consideration is given to a number of factors that have contributed to it. Comparison is made with the current practice of…

The University of Massachusetts-Amherst department of sociology offers a unique graduate program with faculty and students working together to produce mutually-authored articles, monographs, and books. Many doctoral dissertations are on applied topics in social policy and evaluation research. Graduates have been well placed in academia and other…

Results of a survey of industrial education doctoral programs were (1) there is little difference between Ph.D. and Ed.D. programs; (2) newer (post-1965) programs were modeled on existing ones; (3) students in either category had similar experiences, curriculum preferences, and employment patterns; and (4) chairpersons perceive today's students…

This survey examines actual and ideal content of doctoral nursing curricula. Most doctoral education appears to prepare graduates as researchers rather than practitioners, teachers, or administrators. (SK)

Aviation education institutions (75 of 105 surveyed) expressed their preferences for the elements of a Ph.D. program in aeronology (nonengineering aerospace/aeronautical sciences). A research/practitioner model, core curriculum, and second area of specialization were supported. (SK)

The University of California at Los Angeles sociology department stands out as a pluralistic community that fosters interaction, communication, and mutual understanding. Leading ethnographers and survey researchers work side by side; noted Marxists, functionalists, and phenomenologists participate in the same colloquia. The department has strong…

Discusses the opinions of graduate deans of Ph.D.-granting, accredited, American colleges and universities on: (1) the foreign language requirement for all Ph.D. recipients; (2) the nature, fulfillment, control, and administration of the requirements at their institution; and (3) the future of the requirements. (EKN)