The study in the journal Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education was based on 136 questionnaires and 21 in-depth interviews with past students from one university in New Zealand and two universities in the United States. The students were drawn from science, humanities and social science. The study aimed to explore the extent to which PhD graduates from a range of disciplines in two different countries believed they developed a holistic set of graduate attributes that they felt prepared them for the workplace.

The survey was based on a pre-existing questionnaire produced by the US Council of Graduate Schools PhD Career Pathways project. This survey probes the background qualifications of alumni, their current employment and demographic characteristics. The survey was adapted to include reflection on the skills and attributes fostered during PhD study. The interviews were semi-structured, lasted about an hour, and asked questions about career pathways and preparedness, the skills and attributes respondents acquired or enhanced during doctoral study, and how they used these in their workplace.

The development of attributes during the PhD programmes was reported as being very hit and miss. Those research skills that were perceived as being best developed were: analytical skills, academic rigour, willingness to learn, written communication, problem-solving and independent judgment. It is clear that all of these skills reflect traditional academic values and are what would be expected to be reported by successful PhD students.

The areas where students felt underprepared for the demands of the workplace were: teamwork, communication, project management, networking and career development. Interestingly, there appeared to be little appreciation of possible career pathways outside academia.

As one student puts it:

I was strongly encouraged by my mentors to pursue an academic pathway from undergraduate onward. This was implied to be the only career pathway and/or career pathway for those with the best skills… No one ever discussed any other possibilities.

To conclude, the authors provide a sort of checklist that could perhaps function as a discussion document for faculty about the goals for their doctoral education. This list is divided up into the following sections: Knowledge, Research, Communication, Interpersonal skills Higher order thinking skills, Personal resourcefulness and Global citizenship.

Comment: The study I chose to focus on this time examines the views of PhD students in New Zealand and the US. It was encouraging to see that the students in the study were all happy with their development as researchers—it was the development of so-called “soft skills” that the students felt was lacking.

We know that the organisation of doctoral education in other countries is very different than here in Sweden. Our PhD students have a set number of course credits included as part of their education. Annex 2 of the Swedish Higher Education Ordinance details a range of learning outcomes for doctoral education—and many of these cover the issues raised by the students in the study. Moreover, these learning outcomes are included in all our general syllabuses (allmän studieplan) for our PhD programmes. So surely the situation should be much better here in Sweden?

Well, actually no…

In a recent study “Fokus Forskarutbildning” carried out at Uppsala university, 40 percent of PhD students claimed they had never seen the learning outcomes from The Swedish Higher Education Ordinance—this despite the fact that these learning outcomes are included in the general syllabus for their education! Of the PhD supervisors surveyed, 10 percent did not recognize the qualitative learning outcomes. Unsurprisingly perhaps, the proportion of overseas students and supervisors in these groups was significantly higher than the mean.

Study “Fokus Forskarutbildning” (Summary and discussion in English from page 63)

For those of you who might be reading this and wondering whether you have missed something, a handy summary of the prescribed doctoral learning outcomes—along with suggestions for how they might be met—has been put together by Karolinska Institutet.

KI's Outcomes for doctoral education according to the Higher Education Ordinance

And for those of you with overseas students who may be unsure about the education system here in Sweden I would recommend the book "A Beginner’s Guide to Swedish Academia" put together by Sveriges Unga Akademi.

“A Beginner’s Guide to Swedish Academia”

Finally, I would like to take the opportunity to once again remind the reader that we offer a number of four-day PhD supervision courses in both English and Swedish for staff from both SU and beyond.

In these courses, one of the many things we discuss are the formal requirements for PhDs in Sweden.

Text: John Airey, Department of Teaching and Learning

The study
Spronken-Smith, R., Brown, K. & Cameron, C. (2024) Perceptions of graduate attribute development and application in PhD graduates from US and NZ universities. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 49:1, 86-101, DOI: 10.1080/02602938.2023.2182873

Keywords: PhD supervision, transferrable skills, Swedish Higher Education Ordinance, advice for supervisors, advice for PhD students