POSTGRADUATE STUDIES IN GERMANY

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POSTGRADUATE STUDIES IN GERMANY

• How Much Structure is Enough?

• JUN.-PROF. DR. HEINKE RÖBKEN
• UNIVERSITY OF OLDENBURG
• GERMANY
• h.roebken_at_uni-oldenburg.de24 OCTOBER 2007

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STRUCTURE OF THE PRESENTATION

• Historical Development of Doctoral Education in
  Germany
• Doctoral Education in Germany at Crossroads
• Bologna and its Impact on Doctoral Studies
• Graduate Schools A Way out of the Wilderness?
• How Much Structure is Enough?
• Conclusion

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500 YEARS GERMAN DOCTORAL EDUCATION IN A NUTSHELL
The Medieval University
The Humboldt Reform
Today

• The candidate needed
• A baccalaureate or other exam
• Participate in a Disputatio
• A good reputation and high moral standards
• He must not be physically abnormal.
• He must not be born to an unmarried mother.
• He must not have behaved disrespectful to a
  teacher.
• He must be ambitious.

• The candidate needed
• Abitur
• At least three years of study
• write a piece of original research
• No more doctoral feasts
• no more fees for the supervisors
• no more dissertations in absentia
• Print their thesis

Apprenticeship, Submarrine
Graduate Colleges
1990
1800
time
1500
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THE WILD WEST OF DOCTORAL EDUCATION IN GERMANY

• The Apprenticeship-Model
• Student works at a university or external
  research institute
• Student is not formally enrolled in a program
• Student finishes the thesis after approx. 5 years
• The Submarine-Model
• Dissertation in absentia
• The Graduate College-Model
• Student applies at a graduate college
• Student participates in courses and networks
• Student usually receives a scholarship

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WHAT DOES MORE STRUCTURE MEAN?
Minimal Structure
Maximal Structure
Selection
Preparation
Conduction of Research
Writing
Certification
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COMMON CONCERNS

• Graduates are too old.
• Doctoral qualification takes too long.
• No clear selection process.
• Graduates are not properly qualified for the
  labour market.
• Dependence on personal supervisor.
• Lack of proper supervision.
• Internal recruiting fosters provincialism and
  cliques.

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GOALS OF THE BOLOGNA FOLLOW-UP CONFERENCE IN
BERLIN 2003

• Increase mobility among PhDs
• Enhance employability of PhD graduates
• Improve quality of PhD supervision
• Increase networking among young researchers
• Adapt to needs of knowledge society

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DOES MORE STRUCTURE HELP TO MEET THE GOALS OF THE
BOLOGNA PROCESS?
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DOES MORE STRUCTURE LEAD TO BETTER RESEARCH?
-

• Students may be more likely to chose a low risk
  research topic
• Reduces variation
• Reduces self-guided exploration

• Better craftmanship (e.g. methods)
• More structure can lead to more efficiency
• More informal knowledge through network contacts

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CONCLUSION

• Germany is currently on the threshold of the
  biggest reform in postgraduate education since
  Humboldt.
• There needs to be a balance between structure and
  openness.
• At the moment, measurable quality criteria
  dominate non-visible quality aspects.
• Structure is useful for some phases of doctoral
  education.
• Structure is helpful to define the bottom line
  it does not help to produce extraordinary
  research.
• The link between research and PhD esteem is a
  central orientation.