Counselling for professionalization: Increasing the success of non-traditional graduates in finishing a PhD thesis

The number of graduates from universities of applied sciences (German: “Fachhochschulen”) is increasing across Germany; at the same time, the conditions for obtaining a PhD or doctorate are changing from an open-ended to a more structured process. On both the individual and the institutional levels, the need for structured counseling is increasing. This need goes beyond counseling individual PhD students; it also seeks to develop and implement cooperative strategies and agreements between the two types of universities (WR 2010). Providing counseling for non-traditional university graduates is just as crucial when they are deciding whether or not to pursue a PhD degree as it is during the process of completing such a degree. The current article points out that it is essential that all participants take counseling in dissertation processes seriously.

30.03.2012 | Jutta Wergen (Duisburg)