PhD Studies in Latvia: Motivations, Opportunities, and Challenges
ALEXANDER TARVID
ALEXANDER TARVID
BACKGROUND
BACKGROUND
THE WORLD IS CHANGING…
•
2012: 13
th
lowest
popularity of PhD studies in Europe
•
2006-12: 12
th
fastest
annual growth in number of PhD students
…EVEN IN LATVIA
•
2005-2012: number of students
↑77%
, exceeded
2,500
•
Share of PhD students from all tertiary students
↑2.5
times
•
Demographic trough coming
tough competition in
< 5
years
WHAT’S GOOD IN A PHD?
•
Driver of competitiveness
•
Key in EU innovation strategy
•
Necessary component of “Europe of Knowledge”
•
Major role in creating highly trained labour force
•
Produces professionals competent in extremely complex,
knowledge-intensive environments
•
Key to economic success
WHY TO GO FOR PHD?
•
Thirst for knowledge
•
Higher-paid and more
satisfying jobs
•
Successful careers
•
Prestige marker
PURPOSE
•
Analyse the motivation of
Analyse the motivation of
graduates in Latvia to
graduates in Latvia to
continue studies at
continue studies at
doctoral level
doctoral level
•
Compare it across fields of
Compare it across fields of
study
study
–
Technical and related to
Technical and related to
natural science
natural science
•
IT, mechanics, biology,
IT, mechanics, biology,
chemistry, physics, …
chemistry, physics, …
–
Non-technical fields
Non-technical fields
•
Economics, management,
Economics, management,
law, political science, …
law, political science, …
WHERE TO STUDY FOR PHD?
•
Choose one of
21
HEIs in Latvia
–
More than
20
different fields of study
–
Management – the most widely available field
–
Exclusively provided fields
•
Choose one of foreign HEIs
FINANCING PHD STUDIES
•
State-funded places
–
Quite few
–
State scholarship possible (
€115
per month)
•
European Social Fund scholarship
–
Year 1 & 2 students:
1.5 x avg. wage
–
Year 3 students / candidates:
2.5 x avg. wage
–
Quite few
–
Tough competition
•
Grants by private companies
–
Scarce
•
Full tuition fees (
€1,700 – €9,100
per year,
3-4
years)
MARKETING PHD STUDIES
•
Internal marketing
•
Sources of information
–
University’s website
–
Contact person of the study programme
–
Potential doctoral thesis supervisor
METHODOLOGY
METHODOLOGY
METHODOLOGY
•
Survey method:
online survey
•
Distributed in:
14
largest uni’s in Latvia
•
Questionnaire:
33
questions
–
Current PhD studies
–
Goals respondents pursued
–
Factors affecting the choice of university
–
Previous studies
–
Last job and household income
–
Basic background (sex, age, family status)
•
Question types:
closed & open-ended
RESULTS & ANALYSIS
RESULTS & ANALYSIS
BASIC INFO ABOUT SAMPLE
•
Number of responses
–
Overall
306
–
Fully completed
207
–
Study abroad
11
•
Composition by status
–
PhD students
78%
–
PhD candidates
22%
GOALS PURSUED WHEN GOING FOR PHD STUDIES
•
Most important goals: new achievement, learning/research
experience, career, and contribution to science & global dev.
GROUPS OF GOALS
PERSONAL
PERSONAL
Desire
Desire
Achievement
Achievement
Status
Status
LABOUR MARKET
LABOUR MARKET
Competition
Competition
Employers
Employers
Salary
Salary
Scholarship
Scholarship
Career
Career
Experience
Experience
Contribution
Contribution
OPEN-ENDED QUESTIONS ON GOALS
•
“
P
l
e
a
s
e
p
r
o
v
i
d
e
a
s
h
o
r
t
d
e
s
c
r
i
p
t
i
o
n
o
f
a
n
o
c
c
u
r
r
e
n
c
e
,
o
b
s
e
r
v
a
t
i
o
n
e
t
c
.
t
h
a
t
m
a
d
e
y
o
u
b
e
l
i
e
v
e
t
h
a
t
a
P
h
D
d
e
g
r
e
e
w
o
u
l
d
h
e
l
p
y
o
u
i
n
a
c
h
i
e
v
i
n
g
y
o
u
r
m
a
i
n
g
o
a
l
”
COMMENTS ON LABOUR-MARKET GOALS
•
Work/desire to work where PhD is really required
•
Observation of success of a PhD graduate
–
Frequently invited as expert / Prestigious job
–
Not being fired when everyone else is
•
Desire to differentiate on labour market
–
High concentration of bachelors and masters
•
Desire for
more weight of own opinion
•
PhD graduate
has deeper knowledge on problems and
knows how to solve them
COMMENTS ON PERSONAL GOALS
•
Family tradition
Family tradition
•
PhD studies open students to
PhD studies open students to
new social networks,
new social networks,
knowledge, skills, experience
knowledge, skills, experience
–
Perceived as possibility for new achievements
Perceived as possibility for new achievements
–
Positive “back to school” emotions
Positive “back to school” emotions
•
Desire to contribute to understudied areas of knowledge
Desire to contribute to understudied areas of knowledge
•
Hobby, alternative to boredom in work/family life
Hobby, alternative to boredom in work/family life
•
Desire for recognition
Desire for recognition
–
Gold medal of education
Gold medal of education
–
Entrance ticket to the elite, the best, those having maximum
Entrance ticket to the elite, the best, those having maximum
available knowledge in the given field
available knowledge in the given field
–
A PhD is not just a way to be more respected. It is a way to
A PhD is not just a way to be more respected. It is a way to
be respected for a very good reason.
be respected for a very good reason.
TYPES OF GOALS
GOALS PURSUED WHEN GOING FOR PHD STUDIES
•
>60%
have a personal goal as main goal
(exc.: agric./bio/chem./geo)
•
This holds for both non-technical and technical fields
•
Mostly labour-market goals more popular in technical fields
ECONOMETRIC ANALYSIS
•
Three groups of fields of study
–
Group 1
—
base group
•
Arts & humanities
•
Economics
•
Education & psychology
–
Group 2
—
stronger oriented at labour-market
goals
•
Biology, agriculture, environment & geoscience
•
Physics, maths & chemistry
•
Law, social & political science
•
Management
–
Group 3
—
pursue primarily personal goals but keep a labour-market
goal as a second-order goal
•
Computing & engineering
ECONOMETRIC ANALYSIS
•
Changing the field of study
–
Twice
pursue mostly
personal
goals
•
Labour-market experience shapes motivation
–
Started studies after
30
pursue
labour-market
goals
–
Non-teaching professionals more likely to pursue mostly
personal
goals
than managers
•
Family affects motivation
–
Family influenced decision / Married woman / Long desire
pursue
mostly
personal
goals
CHOOSING THE UNIVERSITY FOR PHD STUDIES
•
Irrespective of goal type, choice is based on content, quality
of academic staff, and financial aid
•
Prestige is in Top 4 if pursue mostly/primarily personal goals
IS AID REALLY MORE IMPORTANT THAN FEES?
•
ESF scholarships available for first-year students
financial
aid becomes
>>
important than tuition fees
USEFUL INFORMATION SOURCES ON PHD STUDIES
•
Most important: professors at master’s uni, PhD students &
graduates at target uni, target uni’s official info sources
•
Co-workers’/Boss’s opinion if pursuing mostly labour-market goals
CONCLUSIONS
WHY TO GO FOR A PHD?
•
Most important goals
–
Achieving something new
–
Continuing learning/research experience
–
Better career prospects
–
Contributing to science & global development
•
Three groups of fields of study – different types of goals
•
Changing field of study twice – pursue mostly personal goals
•
Older respondents – labour-market goals
•
Family-influenced and married women – personal goals
WHERE TO GO FOR A PHD?
•
Most important reasons of choosing university
Most important reasons of choosing university
–
Content of programme
Content of programme
–
Reputation of professors
Reputation of professors
–
Financial aid
Financial aid
–
Prestige – if pursue personal goals
Prestige – if pursue personal goals
•
Most important sources of information
Most important sources of information
–
Professors at master’s university
Professors at master’s university
–
Target university’s students & graduates
Target university’s students & graduates
–
University’s official online sources
University’s official online sources
–
Co-workers/Boss – if pursue labour-market goals
Co-workers/Boss – if pursue labour-market goals
Delve into the world of PhD studies in Latvia through an in-depth analysis of graduate motivations, study fields, funding options, and potential institutions. Discover the driving factors behind pursuing a PhD, the wide array of study fields available, financial considerations, and where to find relevant information to kickstart your research journey.
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Presentation Transcript
THE WORLD IS CHANGING 2012: 13th lowest popularity of PhD studies in Europe 2006-12: 12th fastest annual growth in number of PhD students
EVEN IN LATVIA 2005-2012: number of students 77%, exceeded 2,500 Share of PhD students from all tertiary students 2.5 times Demographic trough coming tough competition in < 5 years
WHATS GOOD IN A PHD? Driver of competitiveness Key in EU innovation strategy Necessary component of Europe of Knowledge Major role in creating highly trained labour force Produces professionals competent in extremely complex, knowledge-intensive environments Key to economic success
WHY TO GO FOR PHD? Thirst for knowledge Higher-paid and more satisfying jobs Successful careers Prestige marker
PURPOSE Analyse the motivation of graduates in Latvia to continue studies at doctoral level Compare it across fields of study Technical and related to natural science IT, mechanics, biology, chemistry, physics, Non-technical fields Economics, management, law, political science,
WHERE TO STUDY FOR PHD? Choose one of 21 HEIs in Latvia More than 20 different fields of study Management the most widely available field Exclusively provided fields Choose one of foreign HEIs
FINANCING PHD STUDIES State-funded places Quite few State scholarship possible ( 115 per month) European Social Fund scholarship Year 1 & 2 students: Year 3 students / candidates: 2.5 x avg. wage Quite few Tough competition Grants by private companies Scarce Full tuition fees ( 1,700 9,100 per year, 3-4 years) 1.5 x avg. wage
MARKETING PHD STUDIES Internal marketing Sources of information University s website Contact person of the study programme Potential doctoral thesis supervisor
METHODOLOGY Survey method: Distributed in: Questionnaire: Current PhD studies Goals respondents pursued Factors affecting the choice of university Previous studies Last job and household income Basic background (sex, age, family status) Question types: online survey 14 largest uni s in Latvia 33 questions closed & open-ended
BASIC INFO ABOUT SAMPLE Number of responses Overall Fully completed 207 Study abroad Composition by status PhD students PhD candidates 22% 306 78% 11
GOALS PURSUED WHEN GOING FOR PHD STUDIES Most important goals: new achievement, learning/research experience, career, and contribution to science & global dev.
GROUPS OF GOALS Desire Experience PERSONAL Contribution Status Achievement Employers Competition Career Scholarship Salary LABOUR MARKET
OPEN-ENDED QUESTIONS ON GOALS Please provide a short description of an occurrence, observation etc. that made you believe that a PhD degree would help you in achieving your main goal
COMMENTS ON LABOUR-MARKET GOALS Work/desire to work where PhD is really required Observation of success of a PhD graduate Frequently invited as expert / Prestigious job Not being fired when everyone else is Desire to differentiate on labour market High concentration of bachelors and masters Desire for more weight of own opinion PhD graduate has deeper knowledge on problems and knows how to solve them
COMMENTS ON PERSONAL GOALS Family tradition PhD studies open students to new social networks, knowledge, skills, experience Perceived as possibility for new achievements Positive back to school emotions Desire to contribute to understudied areas of knowledge Hobby, alternative to boredom in work/family life Desire for recognition Gold medal of education Entrance ticket to the elite, the best, those having maximum available knowledge in the given field A PhD is not just a way to be more respected. It is a way to be respected for a very good reason.
TYPES OF GOALS SECOND MAIN GOAL PERSONAL LABOUR MARKET Primarily Personal PERSONAL Mostly Personal MAIN GOAL LABOUR MARKET Primarily Labour Market Mostly Labour Market
GOALS PURSUED WHEN GOING FOR PHD STUDIES >60% have a personal goal as main goal (exc.: agric./bio/chem./geo) This holds for both non-technical and technical fields Mostly labour-market goals more popular in technical fields
ECONOMETRIC ANALYSIS Three groups of fields of study Group 1 base group Arts & humanities Economics Education & psychology Group 2 stronger oriented at labour-marketgoals Biology, agriculture, environment & geoscience Physics, maths & chemistry Law, social & political science Management Group 3 pursue primarily personal goals but keep a labour-market goal as a second-order goal Computing & engineering
ECONOMETRIC ANALYSIS Changing the field of study Twice pursue mostly personal goals Labour-market experience shapes motivation Started studies after 30 Non-teaching professionals more likely to pursue mostly personal goals than managers Family affects motivation Family influenced decision / Married woman / Long desire mostly personal goals pursue labour-market goals pursue
CHOOSING THE UNIVERSITY FOR PHD STUDIES Irrespective of goal type, choice is based on content, quality of academic staff, and financial aid Prestige is in Top 4 if pursue mostly/primarily personal goals
IS AID REALLY MORE IMPORTANT THAN FEES? ESF scholarships available for first-year students aid becomes >> important than tuition fees financial
USEFUL INFORMATION SOURCES ON PHD STUDIES Most important: professors at master s uni, PhD students & graduates at target uni, target uni s official info sources Co-workers /Boss s opinion if pursuing mostly labour-market goals
WHY TO GO FOR A PHD? Most important goals Achieving something new Continuing learning/research experience Better career prospects Contributing to science & global development Three groups of fields of study different types of goals Changing field of study twice pursue mostly personal goals Older respondents labour-market goals Family-influenced and married women personal goals
WHERE TO GO FOR A PHD? Most important reasons of choosing university Content of programme Reputation of professors Financial aid Prestige if pursue personal goals Most important sources of information Professors at master s university Target university s students & graduates University s official online sources Co-workers/Boss if pursue labour-market goals
