Blackwell Reference Online

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Graduate study, including the master's degree but more specifically the pursuit of a PhD, is an extremely focused educational experience that is designed to produce a professional trained in the research, creation, and critique of knowledge within a given field. Graduate study is an essential part of the modern knowledge economy. The processes of graduate study create scholars, research, and academic criticism through an increasingly technological, yet staunchly traditional study, apprenticeship, and sponsorship model. The nineteenth-century ideal of uniting advanced study and research training with the work of individual scholars engaged in scientific research was heavily based on the German model popular at that time. Over time and across national systems graduate education has shifted away from this model. Today, the form and content of graduate education is heavily influenced by the US model of prescribed curriculum, coupled with more formalized research training, culminating in a largely independent research project and the thesis or dissertation that demonstrates an original empirical or theoretical contribution to one's field. Due to the particular constraints of national systems and cultures, the extent to which this model is observed in its purest form varies considerably from country to country. The idea and development of the research university first began in Germany ... log in or subscribe to read full text