Reductions to doctoral thesis requirements at?Finland¡¯s leading university have sparked concern among some PhD?candidates, who fear the move could ¡°devalue¡± the degree.
Previous criteria at the University of Helsinki held that article-based PhD?theses should typically contain three to?five publications. Now ¡°two or?three¡± articles, either published or?awaiting publication, may comprise ¡°sufficient academic contribution for a?doctoral degree¡±, while a?single publication may suffice if?the work is?considered ¡°particularly outstanding¡±.
A second decision reduced the study credits required to?graduate from 40 to?30.
Theodora Helim?ki, a Helsinki doctoral candidate in political science awaiting examination, told Times Higher Education that she had submitted her thesis under the old requirements, with five articles published in international journals. ¡°People aren¡¯t so?much angry that they could have gotten off easier,¡± she said. ¡°It¡¯s more like the image of the doctoral dissertation is?diminishing.
¡°A PhD is not just something you complete. It¡¯s a major step to distinguish yourself in an academic sense,¡± she said, sharing concerns that the new rules could ¡°devalue the?PhD¡±.
Reduced credit requirements, she added, could prevent candidates from taking courses in non-core subjects such as ¡°university pedagogy, public outreach, open science ¨C which you need in order to be taken seriously for the next levels of an academic career¡±.
The revised requirements come in the wake of recommendations from a working group of the Council of Rectors of Finnish Universities (Unifi), published to encourage institutions to ¡°improve the attractiveness and quality of research training, improve the employment of PhDs, and enhance graduation times and competitiveness¡±.
Earlier this year, the Finnish government launched a three-year, €255?million (?215?million) pilot programme aimed at ¡°increas[ing] the number of doctorates in Finland¡± in order to ensure a sufficient ¡°supply of?expertise¡±. The programme will fund 1,000 PhD candidates across the country¡¯s universities.
Janika Luukinen, Unifi¡¯s research policy adviser, said other leading Finnish institutions had implemented changes based on the working group¡¯s recommendations.
¡°At Finnish universities, getting a doctoral degree tends to take a bit longer than the average in Europe,¡± Ms?Luukinen said. Candidates who do?not complete within three to four years of full-time study, she said, ¡°may pose universities a challenge in providing resources, like high-quality supervision, for a longer amount of time¡±. For students, she continued, protracted PhD programmes could ¡°delay them entering the next stage of their career¡±.
By changing PhD requirements, Ms?Luukinen said, Unifi and its member universities hoped to establish ¡°a clear and predictable educational path¡± and ¡°equal treatment and comparability¡± between institutions. Doctoral degrees, she said, ¡°are still about your personal path, and the most important part of the degree is still the independent production of knowledge¡±.
Minna Palander-Collin, director of Helsinki¡¯s doctoral school, said the thesis requirements had been revised to ¡°make the path of doctoral research smoother¡±. Requiring fewer publications for article-based theses, she said, would prevent sometimes lengthy publication processes from ¡°eating up all your time as a doctoral candidate¡±.
¡°I think the quality of the work is much more important than the number of articles,¡± she said, adding that the old publication requirements could incentivise candidates to ¡°slice [their] research into smaller bits¡± rather than publishing fewer but ¡°more substantial pieces of research¡±.
Noting that the Finnish government uses completed PhD numbers as one of several metrics when assigning funding to universities, Professor Palander-Collin said universities ¡°have to play the game¡± by ensuring the timely completion of doctorates. ¡°If we lose money, we can¡¯t operate to such a high level. There are realities to take into consideration,¡± she said.
¡°But ultimately, I?think the changes that we are making are for the benefit of the doctoral candidate: a?good education in a?reasonable time frame.¡±
