PH.D. TRAINING PROGRAMS IN THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF GERMANY

Abstract

The paper considers the types of Ph.D. training programs in the Federal Republic of Germany: individual doctoral programs, which provide for earning the degree in industrial companies, universities, non-university research institutions (institutions of Fraunhofer, Helmholtz, Leibniz, Max Planck Societies), and structured doctoral programs that involve working on research in groups of doctoral students formed in research, postgraduate, doctoral schools. The research studies the general principles of developing structured doctoral training programs: the availability of the critical mass of students who earn the degree in this program (at least 30 people); clear formalization of the training system (transparency of the admission procedures; system for assessing a doctoral student's achievements, which is clear and acceptable to the scientific community; regulated rules of interaction of a doctoral student, his or her supervisor, the university, etc.), and suchlike. The advantages of each type of Ph.D. training have been determined. The biggest advantages of individual doctoral programs include the possibility to freely choose the research topic, to study under the supervision of a certain professor; those of structured doctoral study programs are short-term training, funding, being supervised by several professors, teamwork, which provides an opportunity to share views with other team members, supervisors. Among the disadvantages of individual Ph.D. training programs, the following issues have been identified: the long period of study, highly specialized subject of study, independent study of the material. For structured doctoral programs, these are multilevel admission procedures, compliance of the Ph.D. dissertation topic with the doctoral program, overloaded curriculum.
 Keywords: Federal Republic of Germany; higher education; individual doctoral studies; structured doctoral studies; PhD degree; research institutions.