Commencing an Australian Ph.D.

While there is substantial research related to doctoral education, the audiences for this research are generally candidates and supervisors. This chapter, however, examines issues in doctoral education that also need to be addressed by university administrative and managerial staff. For example, one question posed is: what are the institutional issues that need to be confronted in light of the changing nature of the entry qualifications of doctoral candidates? Another issue addressed in this chapter is the impact of the demographic shifts in doctoral candidates with increased enrollment, in large part due to international candidates coming with a variety of backgrounds and experiences. Additionally, issues such as the changes in the age of PhD students and their enrollment status (part-time or full-time) provide challenges for administrators and are addressed below