Reform in European higher education with a focus on quality assurance and the changing nature of doctoral education

The last decade has been one of rapid change for European Higher Education as the continent seeks to remain competitive in the face of rapid global change. In addition to the core Bologna Process reforms, of which the development of quality assurance systems at European, national and institutional level constitutes an important part, most European higher education systems also had to contend with major policy changes. It is in this context that the European tradition of the Doctorate started to be increasingly questioned following the broad dissemination and discussion in the academic community of the so-called ‘Salzburg Principles’. The main elements of the Salzburg Principles were taken up by Ministers and included in the 2005 Bergen Communiqué. Since then, changes at Doctoral level across Europe have been most impressive in their depths and speed of implementation. This article draws on data collected for EUA’s TRENDS 2010 Report and on research done in preparation for a workshop in quality assurance in Doctoral education in 2009.