The Pursuit of Doctoral Studies in an African Context

Abstract

This paper discusses the pursuit of doctoral studies in an African context. Doctoral studies are not a new development worldwide. It has been reported that the first conferred doctoral degree was at the University of Paris. This paper examines the situation of doctoral studies in Africa, the role of doctoral students, the role of supervisors, doctoral studies across the globe, and the challenges facing doctoral students in Africa. This paper reveals that the role of a doctoral student is planning research, scheduling meetings, searching for literature, carrying out the research, drafting the thesis preparation, proofreading the thesis, writing the final thesis, submitting the final thesis, defending the final thesis, publishing the final thesis, and communicating the findings in the form of publications. The situation of doctoral studies in Africa, the role of supervisors, doctoral studies across the globe, and the challenges facing doctoral students in Africa have been discussed. It is recommended that the research work should be collaborative to enhance sharing of ideas and knowledge, involvement in presentations at seminars, participating in conferences/workshops, commitment to a research plan, and if possible joining research associations or groups. In this article recommendations for the quality doctoral programs in Africa have been provided. The conclusion states that the effort and input of supervisors also play a critical role in the quality of doctoral students who are turned out at any point in time. So, the future of research in the African context needs special attention regarding the role of role of doctoral candidates, supervisors and the government itself.