The historical evolution of the doctorate is presented chronologically below in two main periods: the medieval and reformation Europe (12th to 18th centuries) and the modern
research university (19th century to present).
2.2.2.1 Medieval and Reformation Europe (12th to 18th centuries)
The history of the doctorate can be traced back to medieval universities in the 12th century
when it was a licence to teach at university. The doctoral degree has a European origin, with the first doctorate awarded in Paris in 1150 (Noble, 1994). At the time, a doctoral degree was “a means of accrediting teachers” (Taylor, 2012, p. 118). Traditionally, a doctoral degree was pursued to obtain membership of the academic community (Becher, 1989). The primary subject areas for doctorates were theology, law and medicine. Then the examination was oral and the teacher wrote the thesis, which the student had to defend or oppose. Later, in Europe during the Reformation, the purpose of doctoral education was to train priests in theology and church administrators in law, and examination was by a board of professors (Bernstein et al., 2014).
In the Middle Ages, possession of a doctoral degree denoted membership of a special, elite academic club of the most learned scholars in the field (Clark, 2006). In Germany, the “old academic and professional elites became more powerful and influential groups in society” (Enders, 2002, p. 496). Clark (2006) shared some “interesting” academic privileges enjoyed by doctoral degree holders in the late Middle Ages:
To be able to silence the players of silly games interrupting their studies To be able to stop buildingsthat would block the light in their studies To be able to stop buildings that would block the light in their lecture halls To have their sons preferred for academic positions
To be able to sit in the presence of magistrates To be able to give a legal deposition at home
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To be able, along with their wives, to wear the same clothing as nobles To have rights of social precedence over knights
After twenty years, to be held as the equal of counts To receive the benefit of doubt in any suspicion of crime To be free from being either manacled or detained in prison And, happily, doctors could not be tortured (p. 187).
In the tradition of Plato and Socrates, doctoral education was described as “oral combat” (Clark, 2006, p. 203), whereby students argued in public in order to demonstrate their scholarly knowledge and skills. Later, academia was transformed from an oral into a written culture.
Doctoral education commenced in parts of Europe in the 1870s. In the 1800s, the doctoral degree acquired its contemporary status as the highest academic honour, “principally to develop members of an elite group of scholars employed mainly in universities or allied research institutes” (Evans, 2001, p. 276). Historically, the thesis or dissertation was
confirmation of authoritative knowledge transmitted in modern universities (Pechar, Ates, & Andres, 2012). The thesis included research of significant original knowledge and was
presented by PhD candidates for examination at the end of their candidature (Park, 2005). According to the University of Melbourne (cited in Park, 2005) a successful thesis “is a careful, rigorous and sustained piece of work demonstrating that a research
‘apprenticeship’ is completed and the holder is admitted to the community of scholars in the discipline” (p. 196). In other words, the thesis is an academic document that defines the transition from PhD candidate to scholar. The ability to design, carry out and defend an original piece of research or thesis was widely held to be adequate preparation for the professoriate (LaPidus, 1995). During that period, the aim of doctoral education was to create new knowledge and train future professors in philosophy, natural sciences and humanities, and examination was a written thesis by the student (Bernstein et al., 2014). Until around the middle of the 18th century, aspiring academics were expected to “perform
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their knowledge against opponents who presented unorthodox arguments , thereby securing their right to occupy the position of academic and the authority of a scholar (Clark, 2006).
2.2.2.2 Modern Research University (19th century to present)
The PhD degree evolved from the early 19th century through the work of Wilhelm von
Humboldt, the Prussian (modern-day German) philosopher, then Minister of Education. Humboldt established the research university, where creation of knowledge was as important as teaching (Noble, 1994; Pearson, 2005). He reformed both the role of the university and the PhD into an academic and research degree to prepare scholars and
scientists in Germany during the early 1800s. The reform was “in response to major political, economic and social changes” (Pearson, 2005, p. 121). Friedrich Wilhelm University in Berlin was the first university to award a research PhD, becoming the world’s first research
university (Taylor, 2012; Taylor & Beasley, 2005) focused on national development. At the outset of the doctorate in the 19th century, philosophy was the main subject of
scholarly learning, but over time this shifted to a pursuit of scientific knowledge (Backhouse, 2009). The 1950s and 1960s saw research rise to the top of the political agenda as key to both economic growth and defence capability, and as a result, PhD programs in western European countries experienced rapid growth (Taylor, 2012). Doctoral education was
primarily about research training for developing independent researchers to produce worthy contributions to knowledge. At the time, the typical perception of a doctoral student in Europe was as a white, young, middle-class male (Bendix Petersen, 2014).
In the middle of the 19th century, the USA adopted the European form of advanced learning,
and in 1861, the PhD was conferred at Yale University, subsequently spreading to Canada in the 1900. By the beginning of the 20th century, Veysey reported that the PhD degree had
become almost a mandatory qualification for academic appointments at leading universities in the USA (as cited in Noble, 1994).
In the UK, the PhD was first introduced at Oxford University in 1917 (Park, 2007), and later in 1927, it was awarded in New Zealand (Noble, 1994). The PhD was conferred at the
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University of Melbourne in Australia in 1948 (Pearson, 2005). Noble (1994) argued that the PhD degree was brought to the UK and Australia for “political nationalism” (p. 20). Much later, in the 1990s, the PhD reached South Africa (Backhouse, 2009) and elsewhere. In its long history, doctoral degrees have proliferated in mode and number, but the PhD is still the most widely preferred degree (Noble, 1994).
In European countries, doctoral education gained impetus in the 1990s (Karner & Puura, 2008). Since then, it has shifted from a master-apprenticeship model, and the product (thesis) has moved to a process of learning, including skills development and formal education at university (Kehm, 2006; Park, 2005). Today, doctoral training emphasises the development of competencies for doctoral graduates to become knowledge workers in response to the knowledge economy and a global market (Park, 2005). In his later work, Park (2007) attributed the change in emphasis from product to process to the influence of
globalisation and development of knowledge economies. Today, doctoral education has become a labour market qualification (Park, 2007).
In the 20th century, the elite university system gave way to a higher education system that
was increasingly massified (Henkel, 2000). The term “massification” connotes substantial expansion of student numbers with differing characteristics (Moreau & Leathwood, 2006). Noble (1994) identified three significant changes to the PhD since its emergence in Paris and establishment in Berlin: a) the requirement of a written thesis rather than a verbal public disputation; b) the degree no longer signifies the holder’s competence in philosophy; and c) the holder possesses academic abilities to conduct independent research rather than merely a licence to teach. Disney, Harrowell, Mulhall, and Ronayne (2013) argued: “the change in focus of the research degree from an academic apprenticeship to a process-based
qualification has highlighted the significance of the development of a wider and more transferable skill set during the research degree” (p. 14).
Over time, doctoral education has undergone significant transformation. Taylor (2012) identified twelve major developments; eight in 2009 and four in 2012. These are: “massification; internationalisation; diversification; commodification; McDonaldisation;
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regulation; proliferation; capitalisation; casualization; dislocation; augmentation and cross- fertilisation” (p. 118). He argued that these developments altered the role of doctoral supervisors to one of researcher developers; hence, supervisors must enhance their “professionality” (p. 123) in order to support new, diverse early career researchers. A paradigm shift was advocated for the PhD to encompass training rather than being a purely academic pursuit. Park (2005) promoted this view of the PhD as a process of research training and development of skills and expertise. The process or training view was also supported by Neumann (2007) who identified other pathways for obtaining PhDs, such as publication of a book of refereed articles instead of submission of a thesis.
In most countries, the traditional view of the PhD as commencement of an academic career prevails, and implies having the ability to carry out independent and original research
embodied in a thesis. However, the PhD has increasingly become regarded as a “labour force qualification” (Chiang, 2003, p. 6). This utilitarian view looks upon PhD as professional, high- level education, and research as part of the broader training (Melin & Janson, 2006).
Cuthbert and Molla (2015b) contended the PhD had a new political prominence as it was being reconceptualised to serve primarily the economic and innovation agenda.
While the doctorate has evolved over the years, the concept still stems from authority and command of the subject discipline. Historically, the main purpose of the PhD was to develop elite scholars destined for academia in universities and research institutes (Evans, 2001), with the goal of meeting perceived needs in research and research training, particularly in the sciences (Pearson, 2005). The PhD is no longer merely a pathway into a career in academia; it has become a qualification for work in diverse settings (H. Green, 2005).