In the past 20 years, doctoral programmes have become the focus of policy initiatives. This has led to considerable changes in their structures and consequently student experience. In this essay, the author explores some of the changes by situating an examination of doctoral education-past, present, future-within the broader context of academic life, and the nature and role of research in developed economies. This analysis provides the context in which to draw out some implications for the future study of doctoral education.,The essay draws on a synthesis of the research on doctoral education, early career researcher trajectories, research structures and academic work environment.,The analysis suggests the following: doctoral education reform is being driven largely by policy concerns, rather than by evidence or disciplinary intention; and academic work environment is becoming less and less attractive due to increasing demands for productivity and accountability.,The author concludes with a call to action: unless we, as academics, take action on several fronts, we may find that the PhD becomes purely a policy instrument, and that in the long-term, life of an academic will no longer be attractive to PhD graduates.

中文翻译：

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建立在成功之上？全球博士教育的未来挑战

在过去的20年中，博士学位课程已成为政策计划的重点。这导致他们的结构发生了很大的变化，从而导致了学生的经历。在本文中，作者通过对博士教育的考察-过去，现在，未来-在更广泛的学术生活中以及研究在发达经济体中的性质和作用进行了探讨，探索了一些变化。该分析为博士后教育的未来研究提供了背景。本文对博士后教育，职业生涯早期轨迹，研究结构和学术工作环境进行了综合研究。下列情况：博士教育改革主要是由政策问题驱动的，而不是由证据或学科意图驱动的；