Doctoral Formation in South Africa
Rethinking Academic Preparation
Abstract
South Africa produces nearly half of sub-Saharan Africa’s PhDs, yet its doctoral model remains
narrowly research-centered. Despite rapid expansion in enrollment and output, doctoral and
postdoctoral training offer limited preparation for teaching, supervision, and institutional
leadership. This article argues that scale has not been matched by transformation in academic
formation and calls for reimagining doctoral education as comprehensive academic socialization
that integrates pedagogy, mentorship, and institutional engagement.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 International Higher Education
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
- Authors will be required to sign our standard License Ageement before publication.
A Word document containing the License Agreement is available for download here.
