Authorbio:

RocíoAliaga-IslaholdstheInternationalPhDinEntrepreneurshipandBusinessManagementatBusinessEconomicsDepartmentatAutonomousUniversityofBarcelona.HerPhDresearchwasinthefieldofentrepreneurshipfocusingspeciallyonimmigrantentrepreneurswhoaresettledinSpain.PartofherresearchwasdevelopedattheInternationalResearchInstitute–IRIattheTedRogersSchoolofManagementinToronto.Otherresearchexplorestheimpactofthehumancapitalontheperceptionofentrepreneurialopportunities.Inadditionto

entrepreneurshipshealsoresearchesonhighereducationfocusingspeciallyinPhDeducationanditsevolutioninthelastyears.Theoutcomesofherresearchhavebeenpublishedinseveralacademicjournals,booksandchapterbooks.

Furthermore,RocioholdsaM.Sc.inSocialPolicyatUniversityofBrasiliainBrazil.HerthesisfocusedonthepreventionoftheHIV/Aidsamongyouthpeople.Then,theeducationandhealthpolicieswereconsideredinherwork.HerexperienceallowedhertoworkattheUNESCOinBrasiliaasaconsultant.Moreover,RocíohasworkedasResearchAnalystattheSEFORISprojectundertheFP7oftheEuropeanUnionResearch,specificallyfortheWP3.Currently,shetakesaMarieCurieCOFUNDtoresearchattheCentred'EconomieSocialeattheHECLiegeManagementSchoolattheLiegeUniversity.Dr.Aliaga-Islamaybecontactedatrociodelpilar.aliaga@e-campus.uab.cat

TheEvolutionofPhDEducationinSpain:AChronologicalReviewofSupra-nationalandNational

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RocíoAliaga-Isla

LiegeUniversity,Belgium

Abstract

PhDeducationinSpainhaschanged;thecurrentconceptionofthePhDisdifferentfromitsinitialconcept.PhDeducationpolicyinSpainhasexperiencedchangesinitsobjectivesandstructure.SinceitsmembershipintotheEuropeanCommunity,institutionalpoliciesatsupra-nationalandnationallevelhaveshapedandconditionedsuchchanges.Therefore,howhavePhDeducationpolicieschangedoveralongtimein

Spain?Toanswerthisquestion,achronologicalreviewhasbeenconductedunderthelightofinstitutionaltheory.Severallegaldocumentsenactedatsupra-nationallevelarereviewedtoframethechangesofPhDeducationpolicyatanationallevel.Moreover,nationallegaldocumentsarereviewedtofollowtheevolutionofPhDeducationinSpain.ThisstudyshowsthatPhDeducationinSpainhasexperiencedrapidchanges,whicharecongruenttosomeextentwiththesupra-nationalpoliciesthathaveemergedfromthesocialandeconomicchangeintheEuropeanUnion.

Keywords:PhDeducation,institutionalapproach,supra-nationalandnationaldocuments,policy,chronologicalreview

IntroductionInthelastdecades,PhDeducationpolicy(andtraining)hasbecomeanimportantpointinthepoliticalagendaintheEuropeanUnion.Currently,severalinstitutionalchangeshaveoccurredatseverallevelsinordertoimprovePhDeducationinEurope.TheBolognaDeclarationof1999–withtheaimtocreatetheEuropeanHigherEducationArea–andtheLisbonStrategyof2000–thatformulatedthecreationoftheEuropeanResearchandInnovationArea–haveguidedthechangesofPhDeducationinEurope(Kehm,2006).Themainobjectiveoftheseactionswastoharmonizethehighereducationwiththeaimtocreatethemostdynamicandcompetitiveknowledge-basedeconomyintheworldby2010(Capano&Piattoni,2011).Toaccomplishtheseobjectives,severalactionshavebeentakenbythehighereducationsupra-nationalinstitutionsinvolvedinthiscomplexprocess.ThisimpliesthedivisionoftasksandresponsibilitiesamongtheEuropeanUnionandthememberstates.Therefore,anewgovernancestructurebasedonapartnershipapproachbetweenthehighereducationinstitutionsintheEuropeanUnionandthememberstateswasputintoplace.TheSpanishhighereducationsystemingeneralhasexperiencedmajorchangesinrecentyears.Therearehistoricalfactsthathavetriggeredsuchchanges,suchasthemembershipofSpainintotheEuropeanCommunityin1986.ItisclearthatthemembershipofSpainintotheEuropeanareahaschangedseveralissuesregardingacommonpurpose,thedevelopmentoftheEurozone.Withinthiscontext,therefore,SpainasasignatorycountryoftheBolognaprocessisexperiencingseveralinstitutionalchangesinitsPhDeducationpolicy.Thereby,thedefinitionofPhDeducationisdifferentfromitsinitialconcept(Noble,1994;Clark,1995).Severalhighereducationguidelinesenactedatsupra-nationallevelhaveshapedPhDeducationatanationallevel.Therefore,theobjectivesandthestructureofPhDeducationinSpainhavechanged,beingconsistentwiththepurposesestablishedbythehighereducationinstitutionsatsupra-nationallevel(Canal-Domínguez&Muñiz-Pérez,2012).ThisstudyexaminesthechangesinPhDeducationpolicyinSpainunderthelightoftheinstitutionaltheory(Greenwood,Oliver,&Suddabi,2008).Thisframeworkisappropriatetoconductthereviewofchangesinpoliticalissues,suchinthecaseofPhDeducationpolicyinSpain.Therefore,theresearchgeneralquestionthatguidesthedevelopmentofthisstudyis:HowhasPhDeducationpolicychangedovertimeinSpain?Also,threesubquestionsareconsideredforthisstudy:Howhavesupra-nationalpoliciesoftheEuropeanUnionspecificallyinfluencedthechangesinPhDeducation

policyinSpain?WhatSpanishpolicieshavegovernedPhDeducationovertime?HowhasSpain’sPhD,inpractice,changedovertimeasaresultofthosepolicies?Toanswerthesequestions,thisstudyfirstreviewedseveralsupra-nationaldocumentsfromthevariousministerialmeetingstounderstandthechangesinamemberstate,Spain.ItwasfocusedontheSorbonneDeclaration,BolognaDeclaration,LisbonAgenda,PragueCommuniqué,BerlinCommuniqué,BergenCommuniqué,LondonCommuniqué,LouvainCommuniqué,Budapest-ViennaDeclarationandtheBucharestCommuniqué.Andsecond,atnationallevel,severalpoliciesarereviewed,focusingspecificallyonthreemainRoyalDecreesthathavegovernedPhDeducationinSpain.Figure1showsatimelineofthesupra-nationalandnationalpoliciesthathavebeenchronologicallyreviewed.

01/01/1980 31/12/2020

18/10/1986Spain into the

European Community

30/04/1998RD778/1998

29/10/2007RD 1393/2007

08/01/2011RD 99/2011

19/06/1999Bologna Declaration

21/12/2001OL 6/2001

23/11/2007OL 4/2007

19/09/2003Berlin Communiqué

19/05/2005Bergen Communiqué

25/05/1998Sorbonne Declaration

01/01/2000Lisboa Agenda

21/01/2005RD 56/2005

23/01/1985RD 185/1985

02/07/2010RD 861/2010

25/08/1983OL 11/1983

28/04/2009Louvain Communiqué

19/05/2001Prague Communiqué

12/03/2010Budapest-Viena Declaration

26/04/2012Bucharest Communiqué

18/05/2007London Communiqué

21/01/2005RD 55/2005

B o l o g n a P r o c e s s

05/09/2003RD 1125/2003

2000Lisbon Agenga

2005New start for Lisbon Strategy

Figure1.Timelineofsupra-nationalandnationalpolicies

Thefindingsshowedthatsupra-nationalpolicieshaveplayedaroleinthechangesofPhDeducationpolicyinSpain.Moreover,PhDeducationpolicyinSpainhaschangedinitsobjectives,aswellasinitsstructure.Forinstance,theobjectiveshighlightedintheRoyalDecrees185/1985and778/1998aresimilar.TheRD185/1985wasenactedoneyearbeforethemembershipofSpainintotheEuropeanCommunity.Therefore,theRD185/1985governedPhDeducation,consideringSpainasasinglecountry.Incontrast,theRD778/1998wasenactedinthealready-establishedEuropeanUnion,despitethehighereducationissuewasnotrelevant.ThismeansthattheobjectivespointedoutinthisRDaresimilartothepreviousRD185/1985.Nonetheless,clearlychangesarestatedwiththeRD99/2011,wheretheresearchactivityrecoversextremeimportancetodevelophighqualityscientificresearch.Thereby,PhDeducationshouldbedevelopedintheintersectionoftheEuropeanHigherEducationAreas(EHEA)andtheEuropeanResearchArea(ERA),whichwillbethepillarsoftheknowledgesocietyinEurope.Asaconsequence,thestructureofthePhDhaschangedaccordingstipulationsintherespectiveroyaldecrees.

Thisstudycontributesbymakingastate-of-the-artSpanishPhDeducationpolicytrajectorythatshowshowthesupra-nationalandnationalpolicieshaveguidedthispath.Therefore,tounderstand,thepoliciesthatguidetheimplementationhelpustowidervisualizethechangesinPhDeducationpolicyinSpainovertime.Also,thecontributionreliesontheclaimofsomeauthorsthathighlightedalackofstudiesaboutPhDeducationinSpain(Mora,Garcia-Montalvo,&Garcia-Aracil,2000;Moral&Vidal,2000;Sánchez,1996),sothisisagreatendeavortocontributetowardfillingthisgap.Theremainedofthepaperisorganizedasfollows.ThenextsectionisdedicatedtoframetheinstitutionaltheoryanditsimportancetounderstandingthechangesinPhDeducationpolicy.Thefollowingsectionpresentsthemethodology.Thenthepresentationofthefindingsfollowedbythediscussionandconclusion.TheoreticalapproachInstitutionalTheory:LookingattheSupra-nationalandNationalLevelsThereisaconsensusamongsocialscientiststhatinstitutionsmatterforunderstandingtheenvironmentalchangesovertimeandspace(DiMaggio&Powell,1983;March&Olsen,1996;North,1990;Powell&DiMaggio,1991).Moreover,thereareseveralbranchesofinstitutionaltheoriesindifferentfieldsofknowledge,suchaseconomic,sociologyandpoliticalscience(Scott,2008).Thereby,changesinhighereducation,specificallyinPhDeducationpolicyinSpain,arerelatedtoorganizations’opennesstotheirsocialandculturalenvironments(Scott,1992).Then,thesechangesarelegitimatedbytheenactmentofvariouslegaldocumentsandpolicies.Moreover,thepoliticalsystemcanbeinterpretedasfunctioningbasedonamixofprinciples(March&Olsen,2005).Forinstance,changesinPhDeducationpolicyarenotonlyrelatedtotheambitiousobjectivetoreachahighqualityofeducation,butitisalsointrinsicallyrelatedtotheeconomyofthecountry.Furthermore,asPhDeducationpolicyisextremelyrelatedtoresearch,thenresearchisalsorelatedtotheeconomy.Inthissense,theeducationpolicyenactedbysupra-nationalinstitutionsisresponsibleforthechangesinthenationalPhDeducation;thereby,itisrelatedtopoliticalinstitutionsthatareorganizationsthatcreate,enforceandapplylaws.Forinstance,theobjectiveofLisbonStrategyistofocusoneducationandresearchasameanstoreachasustainableeconomicgrowthinEurope(Gornitzka,2007).Institutionalchangeiscomplicated,becauseitdealswiththedeinstitutionalizationofexistingrules,normsandlawstoinstitutionalizeormodifynewones,leavingnewpracticesthatcouldbelegitimated(Olsen,2001).Thereby,politicalinstitutionsarerelatedtonormativerulesthatincludeprescriptive,evaluativeandobligatorydimensions.Moreover,therearevaluesandnormsembeddedinnormativesystems.AccordingtoScott(2008:55)howthingsshouldbedoneisspecifiedbynormsthatlegitimatemeanstohavevaluedends;atthesametime,desiresandpreferencesareincludedinvalues,whichusuallyarestatedinthelaw.Thus,theinstitutionalchangesofPhDeducationinSpaincouldbeunderstood,sincethenormativepillar(Scott,2008)consideringthepoliticalinstitutions(MarchandOlsen,1996)isinvolvedintheenactmentofthehighereducationpoliciesatnationalandsupra-nationallevels.

Inthissense,changesinPhDeducationinSpainarenotstraightforward.Itinvolvescomplexprocessesatdifferentlevels,aboveall,whenitisrelatedtoamemberstateoftheEuropeanUnion(EU),suchasthecaseofSpain.Thismeansthereareinstitutionsatsupra-nationallevelthatinterveneintheprocessofshapingPhDeducationpolicy.Forinstance,strictlyrelatedtoPhDeducationinSpainarethosetreatiesandarrangementsamongtheEUstatesenactedexactlybytheEuropeanCommission,thecouncilofMinistersandtheEuropeanParliament.ThesepoliticalinstitutionsareoutoftheSpanishbordersbutatthesametimewithintheEUborders.ThismeansthattheEUhassomebasicfeatures,suchasadomain,whichisrelatedtothespacious-temporalofitsjurisdiction;thescopeisrelatedtotheextentofitsdecision-makingpower,andtheproceduresarerelatedtotherulesthatdefineitsvariouslegislativeinstitutions(Pogge,1997).Inthisregard,thisapproachenablesustoexaminethetrajectoryofthehighereducationinEurope,guidedbytheBolognaprocessandtheLisbonStrategy,focusingspecificallyonPhDeducationpolicyinSpain.MethodologyThisstudyreviewstheSpanishPhDeducationpolicytrajectoryovertime.Thisreviewreliesontwomainparts.Thefirstisdevotedtoexamininghowsupra-nationalagreementsamongseveralinstitutionsinrelationtothehighereducationhaveguidedthistrajectory.ThelegaldocumentsincludedinthischronologicalreviewrangefromtheSorbonneDeclarationin1998totheBucharestCommuniquein2012.ThesecondexaminesseveralSpanishpoliciesinrelationtothehighereducation,focusingspecificallyonthethreemainRDsofPhDeducationpolicy,identifyingwhichSpanishpolicieshavegovernedPhDeducationovertimeandhowtheSpanishPhDeducationhaschangedovertimeasaresultofthosepolicies.Thelegaldocumentsincludedinthisexaminationrangefrom1983,withtheOrganicLaw11/1983,to2011,withtheRoyalDecree99/2011.Althoughseverallegaldocumentsarereviewed,thereviewiscenteredonthethreemainRoyalDecreesrelatedtotheSpanishPhDeducationpolicy–185/1985,778/1998and99/2011.Thistimespanwasconsidered,takingintoaccountthelastlegaldocumentofhighereducationinSpainbeforeitsmembershipintotheEuropeanUnion.ChronologicalReview:ThefindingsSupra-NationaldocumentsthatshapePhDeducationpolicyinSpainSupra-nationalinstitutionsaimedfortheexchangeamongcountriesinvolvedintheprocessofintegration,suchasthecaseoftheEuropeanUnion(SweetandSandholtz,1997).Europehasexperiencedatransformationofthehighereducationinthelastdecades.IthasbeeninfluencedbytwoEuropeanlevelpolicydevelopments:theBolognaProcessandtheLisbonStrategy.TheBolognaProcessisanintergovernmentalcommitmenttorestructuringthehighereducationsystems,andtheLisbonStrategyispartoftheUniontotreateconomicissues,linkingthemtothehighereducationsystems(Keeling,2006).Thissectionpresentstheexaminationofvariousministerialmeetingsandactionscelebratedsince1998.Thesemeetingshavebroadenedtheactionsandgivenmajorprecisiontothetoolsthathavebeendevelopedtoachievetheobjectives.Thesemeetingsareinternationalagreements,ledbysupra-nationalinstitutions,suchastheEuropeanCommission,theEuropeanParliamentandaboveall,theCouncilofMinisters(Balzer&Martens,2004).Supra-nationalinstitutionsareorganizationswitha

kindofformalpoweratahigherlevel,withtheaimofgoverningacommonspace(Tsebelis&Garrett,2001).SeveralunifiedpoliciesoftheEuropeanUnionhavebeenenacted,relatedtotheharmonizationofhighereducationinEurope.Thereby,asitwasmentionedbefore,althoughourinterestisonPhDeducationpolicy,treatiesandarrangementsthatshapedhighereducationinSpainarereviewedinordertocontextualize.Table1summarizesthemainlegaldocumentsthatarosefromtheseveralministerialmeetings,includingtheLisbonStrategy.Table1.Legaldocumentsenactedatsupra-nationallevel

Legal document Propose

Sorbonne Declaration (1998)

The main objective was to create a common frame of reference within the intended European Higher Education Area, where mobility should be promoted both for students and graduates, as well as for the teaching staff.

Bologna Declaration (1999)

The aims of the Sorbonne Declaration were confirmed in 1999, through the Bologna Declaration, where 29-30 countries expressed their willingness to commit to enhance the competitiveness of the European Higher Education Area, emphasizing the need to further the independence and autonomy of all Higher Education Institutions.

Lisbon Agenda/Strategy (2000) The main objective was to make the European Union the most competitive developing knowledge economy in the world by 2010.

Prague Communique (2001)

The number of member countries was enlarged to 33, and there has also taken place an expansion of the objectives, in terms of lifelong learning, involving students as active partners and enhancing the attractiveness and competitiveness of the European Higher Education Area.

Berlin Communique (2003) The objective was to promote the link between the European Higher Education Area with the European Research Area, as well as the promotion of quality assurance.

Bergen Communique (2005)

This legal document underlined the importance of partnerships, including stakeholders – students, Higher Education Institutions, academic staff and employers, together with the further enhancing of research, especially with regard to the third cycle – doctoral programs.

London Communique (2007)

The objective was evaluated the progress achieved by that time, concerning mobility, degree structure, recognition, qualifications frameworks (both overarching and national), lifelong learning, quality assurance, social dimension.

Louvain Communique (2009)

The main working areas for the next decade were set, with emphasis on: social dimension, lifelong learning, employability, student centered learning and the teaching mission of education, international openness, mobility, education, research and innovation.

Budapest-Vienna Declaration (2010) The EHEA has been expanded to 47 countries being admitted Kazakhstan.

Bucharest Communique (2012)

The Ministers agreed to focus on three main goals in the face of the economic crisis: to provide quality higher education to more students, to better equip students with employable skills, and to increase student mobility.

ThetopicofeducationwasnotofdirectinterestwhentheEuropeanCommunitywasestablishedin1957bytheTreatyofRome,1officiallyknownastheTreatyEstablishingtheEuropeanCommunity(TEEC)(Lindberg,1963).However,indirectly,thevocationaleducationandtrainingismentionedinsomearticlesoftheTreatyofParis,signedin1951andrelatedtotheEuropeanCoalandSteelCommunity(ECSC),theTreatiesofRomein1957,relatedtotheEuropeanEconomicCommunity(EEC)andtheEuropeanAtomicEnergyCommittee(Euratom)(Ertl,2006).ThefragileandrecentstructureoftheEuropeanCommunityhasmovedsomeimportantstepsaheadfromtheeconomicsystem,regardingtheeducationasameanstoreachaneconomicgrowth.Thereby,theinterestineducationbecameclearwiththeincreasingmeetingsoftheeducationministersandrectorsofEuropeanuniversities.Withthisaim,theSorbonneJointDeclarationwassignedin1998bytheeducationministersfromFrance,Germany,ItalyandtheUnitedKingdom(SorbonneJointDeclaration,1998).ThemainobjectiveofthismeetingwascommittingthemselvestoharmonizingthehighereducationsysteminEurope(Marçal-Grilo,2003).ThisharmonizationwasrelatedtothecreationofacommonframeofreferencewithintheEHEA.Thus,aftertheSorbonneJointDeclaration,theLisbonAgendawasdevisedin2000,withtheaimtomaketheEuropeanUnionthemostcompetitivedevelopingknowledgeeconomyintheworldby2010(Capano&Piattoni,2011;Gornitzka,2007).HighereducationwasnottheaimoftheLisbonAgendaof2000.AccordingtoHaskel(2009),highereducationwasatopicofinterestsomeyearsafter.Only,inFebruaryof2005,theCommissionenactedtheCommunication“NewStartfortheLisbonStrategy”(EuropeanCommission,2005a),andalsoinAprilofthesameyear,thisCommunicationmobilizedtheuniversitiesinsupportoftheLisbonStrategy(EuropeanCommission,2005b).Then,withthecelebrationofthisaction,theuniversitywasthefocusofattention,becomingthehighereducation,astrategicfactorintheprocessoftheEuropeanintegration(Capano&Piattoni,2011).Moreover,theeducationministersacrossEuropehavejoinedtheBolognaDeclarationin1999toaddressstructuralchangesinthehighereducationinEurope(BolognaDeclaration,1999).Consequently,theBolognaprocesscreatestheEuropeanHigherEducationArea(Keeling,2006;vanderWende,2000),throughwhichthemobilityofstudentstoconductanykindofacademicactivitywithintheEuropeanCommunityisfacilitated.Asaconsequence,severalministerialmeetingswereconductedinordertoreaffirmtheircommitmentandassesstheadvancementoftheprocess.Forinstance,aroundoneyearafterBologna,theeducationministersof32countriessignedthePragueCommuniqué(PragueCommuniqué,2001).TheobjectiveofthismeetingwastoreaffirmthecommitmentwiththesixobjectivesalreadyestablishedintheBolognaDeclaration,whichissummarizedasfollows:(1)adoptionofasystemofeasilyreadableandcomparabledegrees,(2)adoptionofasystemoftwomaincycles,undergraduateandgraduate,forhighereducation,(3)establishmentoftheEuropeancredit–ECTS,(4)overcomingobstaclestomobility,(5)promotingEuropeancooperationinqualityassuranceand(6)promotingEuropeandimensionsinhighereducationwithregardtocurriculumdevelopment,inter-institutionalcooperation,1AllEUtreatiesreferredtointhispapercanalsobefoundonEUR-LEX,theportaltoEuropeanUnionlaw:http://www.eu.int/eur-lex/en/treaties/index.htm

mobilityschemesandintegratedprogrammesofstudyandresearch(Cerych,2002).Moreover,inthismeeting,someobjectiveswereaddedinrelationtothelifelonglearning,involvingstudentsasactivepartnersandenhancingtheattractivenessandcompetitivenessoftheEHEA.Furthermore,therewasanecessitytoevaluatetheprogressandestablishnewobjectivestoacceleratetheconstructionoftheEHEA.ItisinthissensethattheeducationministersmetinaConferenceofBerlin(BerlinCommuniqué,2003).MinistersofeducationcommittedtoensurethelinkbetweentheEHEAandtheERAtostrengthenthebasesoftheEuropeanknowledge.TheEHEA,therefore,iscrucialtopreservetheEuropeanrichnessanddiversityoftheirculturalfeaturesbutalsoimportanttofostertheinnovationforthesocialandeconomicdevelopment.Consistentwiththat,ErasmusMundusMasterswerestructured,andtheCommissioninBergenlaunchedotherpilotstudies(BergenCommuniqué,2005).Theobjectiveofproposingnewstructuresinthehighereducationwasfacilitatingthemobilityandtherecognitionofdegreesamongthememberstates.Then,thisisintrinsic,relatedtothemobilityofresearchersandtheintroductionoffoundingthroughEuropeResearchCouncil(EuropeanCommission,2002).Itisinthisstagewheretheresearchistherebyvalued;itishighlightedascrucialintheEuropeanResearchpolicyandalsointheBolognaprocesses.Moreover,inthismeeting,theimportanceofpartnerships,includingthedifferentagentsinvolvedinhighereducationarea,aboveallinthedoctoralprogrammes,werepointedout.ModernizingandinvestinginthequalityofhighereducationwillbeaninvestmentforthefutureofEuropeancitizens(EuropeanCommission,2005b).Then,itisclearthattheresearchpolicyhasbeenaddedattheBolognareforms,althoughtheycomefromdifferentpolicyorigins.Inthisway,theEUresearchpolicybecameconsistentwiththeBolognaprocess,enhancingthepoliticalremarksoftheLisbonStrategyineducationandresearchinEurope.Consequently,theBolognaprocessbecameaguideforuniversitiesinthemembercountriesintheEU(Keeling,2006).Moreover,tostrengthenthehighereducationsystem,theministerscommittedthemselvestoelaboratingthenationalframeworkstomakethequalificationscompatiblewiththeoverarchingframeworksintheEHEA.ThediscussionabouttheelaborationofframeworksstartedwiththeBergenConference2005,butitwasreallystatedintheLondonMinister’smeetingin2007(LondonCommunique,2007).ThequalificationframeworkswerehighlightedasimportantinstrumentstoachievethecomparabilityandtransparencywithintheEHEA.ThemainobjectivewaspromotingthemobilityoflearnerswithintheEuropeanUnion.AlltheeffortsforharmonizingandmodernizingtheEuropeanuniversityarethereforeevaluatedtenyearsafter,inthemeetingofLouvain,in2009(LouvainCommunique,2009).Educationministersfrom46countriesconcludedthatobjectiveshighlightedintheBolognaprocesswerenotachievedatall(Karseth&Solbrekke,2010).Asaconsequence,asitwasremarkedinBolognaBeyond2010(2009),thepoliciesdevelopedintheBolognaprocessarestillvalidfortoday,althoughtheirapplicationattheEuropeanlevelwillneedamajorcommitmentgoingbeyond2010(Kehm,2010).ThenextMinisterialmeetingwasinBudapest,whereeducationministersmetwiththeobjectivetoreinforcetheEHEAandalsotowelcomeKazakhstanasanewparticipantofthechangesinthehighereducation(Budapest-ViennaDeclaration,2010).Moreover,inthisdeclaration,ministersalsoagreedthatmorecommitmentisneededtoreachthe

objectiveshighlightedintheBolognaprocess.Literally,theypointedout:“Wewillstepupoureffortstoaccomplishthereformsalreadyunderwaytoenablestudentsandstafftobemobile,toimproveteachingandlearninginhighereducationinstitutions,toenhancegraduateemployability,andtoprovidequalityhighereducationforall”(Budapest-ViennaDeclaration,2010:2).ItisseenthattheachievementsofBologna’objectivesarealsolinkedtotheemployabilityofgraduates.ThisworryismoreclearlyseenintheBucharestdeclaration,whereobjectivesnowarelinkedtotheEuropeaneconomicandfinancialcrisis(BucharestCommuniqué,2012).MinistriesofEducationareawareoftheeconomicsituationandputalltheireffortstowardimprovingthequalityofhighereducationtoovercomethecrisis.Inthissense,theircommitmentisdirectedtowardsecuringpublicfundingforhighereducationasaninvestmentforthefutureinordertoreducetheyouthunemployment.Thereby,threemaingoalsarehighlightedinthiscommuniqueinordertofacethecrisis:toprovidequalityhighereducationtomorestudents,tobetterequipstudentswithemployableskillsandtoincreasestudentmobility(BucharestCommunique,2012).Consideringthat,educationministerspointedoutnewtimesforachievingtheobjectives:“For2012-2015itisespeciallyconcentratedonfullysupportingourhighereducationinstitutionsandstakeholdersintheireffortstodelivermeaningfulchangesandtofurtherthecomprehensiveimplementationofallBolognaactionlines”(BucharestCommunique,2012:1).Furthermore,thetopicofresearchistouchedagainasexplicitpartofhighereducationintheBucharestdeclaration.Thereby,ministershighlightedthatresearchshouldunderpinteachingandlearning;thismeanslinkingtheEHEAwiththeERA(BucharestCommuniqué,2012).ItisinthisframeworkthatSpanishhighereducationisbeingshaped.PhDEducationPolicy:thecaseofSpainTheSpanishPhDeducationpolicyhasexperiencedchangesinthelastdecades,duetothetransformationofthehighereducationatsupra-nationallevel.ThereareparticularinstitutionalchangesandhistoriccircumstancesthathaveshapedPhDeducationpolicy.InSpain,thePoliticalConstitutionestablishesthecompetenceoftheStateintheregulationtoobtainacademicandprofessionaltitles,asitishighlightedintheArticle149.1.30(ConstituciónEspañola,1978).Therefore,asSpainispartoftheEuropeanUnion,thetransformationofthehighereducationatsupra-nationallevelhasinfluencedtheSpanishtrajectoryofPhDeducationpolicy.ThereareseveraldocumentsthatshowthechangesinPhDeducationpolicy,whichareexaminedinthissection,focusingspecificallyintheobjectivesandstructure.Table2summarizesthelegaldocumentsenactedatnationallevel.Table3summarizesthemainchangeshighlightedinthethreemainRoyalDecreesrelationofPhDEducationPolicyinSpain.Table 2. Legal documents enacted at national level

Legal documents Propose

Organic Law 11/1983

To approve the general guidelines of the curricula that allows the getting of the valid official titles in the Spanish territory. Focusing on the competencies of the Spanish Autonomous Communities and in the composition and functions of the Social Council and the professors’ regulation.

Royal Decree 185/1985 To regulate the Third Cycle of university studies, the expedition of the PhD title and other post graduate studies in Spain.

Royal Decree 778/1998 To regulate the Third Cycle studies, the expedition of doctoral degrees and other post graduate degrees in Spain.

Organic Law 6/2001

To promote the cohesion of the university system, to empower competences to the Autonomous Communities related to the teaching, increasing the autonomy of the Spanish university and establishing the link between university and society.

Royal Decree 1125/2003 To establish the European credit system to assess the grading in the Spanish university.

Royal Decree 55/2005 To establish the structure of the university teaching and regulated the official university degrees in Spain.

Royal Decree 56/2005 To offer a legal framework to harmonize the structure of the post graduate studies such as Second and Third Cycle.

Organic Law 4/2007 Highlight the bases to a deep modernization of the Spanish university.

Royal Decree 1393/2007 To develop the structure of the official university teaching being congruent with the general guidelines emanated from the EHEA.

Royal Decree 861/2010

Adjusted some necessary changes to guarantee the efficiency of the guidelines established in the previous RD 1393/2007 related to the structure of the university studies in Spain.

Royal Decree 99/2011 To regulated the PhD education in Spain. In this RD is defined what the PhD education is.

Table 3. Changes of the PhD Education in Spain

Doctoral characteristics Royal Decree 185/1985 Royal Decree 778/1998 Royal Decree 99/2011

PhD Definition

The Third Cycle … constitutes an essential condition to the scientific, social and economic progress of a community…

û

Doctoral education is the Third Cycle formation that lead to the acquisition of competences and abilities related to the scientific research of quality

Requirements to enter the PhD

Graduate title, Architect title or Engineer title

Graduate title, Architect title or Engineer title

Graduate title or Master

Structure of the PhD

32 credits before the thesis in 2 years – 12 of them could be seminars 5 credits in other seminars

20 credits in teaching 12 credit in research 5 credits in seminars

û

Curses and seminar period 2 years 2 years û Research sufficiency ü ü û

Doctoral characteristics Royal Decree 185/1985 Royal Decree 778/1998 Royal Decree 99/2011

Diploma DEA û ü û Publications û ü û Project of doctoral thesis ü ü ü

Doctoral thesis Original work Original work

Original work that allows the candidate to work with autonomy in R&D environment

Director of the thesis

Titular professor doctor Associate Professor doctor Visiting professor doctor Foreigner professor doctor

Doctor linked to a university as permanent of temporal contract

Doctor with accredited experience

Responsible of the quality of the thesis

û û Director of the thesis

Time to read the thesis 5 years û 3 years full time

5 years part time Renewable time to read the thesis 2 years more û 2 years for full time

3 years for part time Mobility û û ü Status during the PhD formation

Student Student Hired researcher

PhD title name Doctor Doctor International doctor

ThefirstlawthatconfiguredthestructureandgovernedthehighereducationinSpainwastheOrganicLaw11/1983ofAugust25,relatedtotheuniversityreform.ThislawapprovedthegeneralguidelinesofthecurriculathatallowgettingvalidofficialtitlesintheSpanishterritory(JefaturadelEstado,1983).ThislawfocusedonthecompetenciesoftheSpanishAutonomousCommunitiesandthecompositionandfunctionsoftheSocialCouncilandtheprofessors’regulation.ConsistentwiththeobjectiveshighlightedintheOrganicLaw11/1983,theregulationoftheThirdCycleofuniversitystudies,theexpeditionofPhDtitleandotherpostgraduatestudiesisstipulatedintheRoyalDecree185/1985ofJanuary23(EducationMinistry,1985).ThemainobjectiveoftheRoyalDecree185/1985istoregulatetheThirdCycleofuniversitystudies,theexpeditionofPhDtitleandotherpost-graduatestudiesinSpain.TheRDmentionedthatPhDeducationisimportantandessentialtothescientificprogressandfortheeconomicandsocialdevelopment.Inthissense,theformationofresearchersisfundamental.Therefore,PhDeducationisimportantfortheformationofnewuniversityprofessorsandresearchers.ThisRDaimedtoconstitutegroupsofresearchtofacechallengessuccessfullyand,aboveall,toboosttheformationofnewuniversityprofessors.RegardingthestructureofPhDeducation,theRD185/1985highlightsthatPhDeducationinSpainwasstructured,consideringaperiodofcoursesandseminars,alongtwoyears.Thesecoursesandseminarshavetobelinkedwithmethodologyandresearchtechniques.Duringthetwoyears,thestudenthastoreach32credits,fromwhich12canbeacquiredinseminarsandcoursesrelatedtothefieldofresearchandupfivecreditsfromotherfieldsofknowledge.Oncethestudentovercomesthecoursework,aresearch-sufficiencyisrequired.Thisresearch-sufficiencyisaglobalevaluationaboutalltheknowledgeacquireduntilthisstage.Moreover,adoctoralprojecthastobepresentedandsupportedbythesupervisor.Onlyafterthatcanthethesisbepresented.Thethesishastobeanoriginalresearchwork,whichhastobepresentedduringa

maximumtermoffiveyears.Ifitisnotpresentedinsuchaterm,thetermcanbeenlargedfortwomoreyears.Inthecasewherethestudent’sthesishasnotbeenapproved,he/shehastoleavetheuniversityandgotoanotheruniversitytocontinuewithPhDeducation.Bytheway,theRD778/1998stillfocusedSpainasasinglenationinpractice,althoughthecountryalreadywasamemberoftheEuropeanUnion.Inthiscontext,thestructureofPhDeducationwasdeveloped.PhDeducationstructurewasshapedbytheSpanishRoyalDecrees,inaccordancewiththeeconomyandsocialbehaviour.ThemainobjectiveoftheRD778/1998istoregulatetheThirdCyclestudies,theexpeditionofdoctoraldegreesandotherpostgraduatedegrees.ThisRDisconsistentwiththepreviousRD.Inthissense,italsoaimedtoformnewresearchers,groupsofresearchtofacethechallengefromnewsciencesandtechniques.Also,itmentionedtheformationofnewuniversityprofessorsasanimportantfactor.Moreover,inordertoreachtheseobjectives,thisRDhighlightedthatthepreviousexperienceacquiredalongthirteenyearsinchargeistakenintoaccounttoreachsuchobjectives.Inthissense,itispointedoutthatprogrammesofqualitymustbethepriority,aswellastheinter-universityprogrammes,interdisciplinaryandthemobilityofstudents.Inorderfortheseobjectivestobeeffective,aminimumnumberofstudentsbyprogrammeisproposed,anditisanestablishedmechanismtoplanandevaluatethequalityofsuchprogrammes,consideringtheuniversityautonomy(EducationMinistry,1998).Regardingthestructure,thisRDdeclaredthatthetotalquantityofcreditsoftheprogrammeisdividedintwomainperiods.Betweenbothperiods,thestudenthastohave32credits.Thefirstoneisdedicatedtotakingsomecoursestoobtain20credits.Fromthese,fifteencreditscanbeawarded,takingcoursesandseminarsinthesamefieldofknowledge,andfivecreditscanbejoinedfromcoursesorseminarsfromotherfieldsofknowledge.Afterthat,PhDstudentcanobtainadiplomawhenhe/shehasfinishedthefirstperiod,thenthisdiplomawillberecognizedinanySpanishuniversity.Thesecondperiodisforresearchingunderthesupervisionofaprofessordoctor.Inthisperiod,PhDstudenthastoobtaintwelvecredits,doingresearchworks,andinsomecases,doingpublications.ThissupervisionaimsforthespecializationofPhDstudentsinadeterminedscientificfield,empoweringPhDstudentswithskillsinresearchtechniquesandmethodologies.WhenPhDstudentpassesthesecondperiod,adiplomaofadvancedstudiesisobtained.ThisdiplomawillbevalidinanySpanishuniversity,indicatingthatthePhDstudenthaspassedthisperiod.Therefore,thepossessionofthisdiplomaallowsthePhDstudenttobeginwiththethesisinanySpanishuniversity.However,thestudentmustfirstpresentaresearchprojectthatwillbedevelopedalonghis/herdoctoralformation.Oncetheprojectisapproved,thestudentwillbeginwiththeresearch,takingintoconsiderationtheoriginalityofthetopicinaspecificfieldofknowledge.AprofessorthatholdsaPhDfromauniversitywillsupervisethisthesis.Oneortwosupervisorscansupervisethedevelopmentofthethesis(EducationMinistry,1998).Moreover,theRD778/1998,initsUniqueDerogatoryDisposition,highlightedthatinaccordancewiththementionedOrganicLaw11/1983ofAugust25,thefollowinglegaldocumentsarederogated:RD185/1985ofJanuary23,whichregulatedtheThirdCycleofuniversitystudiesandtheexpeditionofthePhDtitle;RD1561/1985ofAugust28,

whichmodifiedthefirstfinaldispositionoftheRD185/1985;theRD1397/1987ofNovember13,whichcompletedtheforesightoftheRD185/1985,relatedtothetermtopresentthePhDthesis;theRD537/1988ofMay27,whichmodifiedtheRD185/1985,andtheRD823/1989ofJuly7,whichaddedtotheRD185/1985anadditionaldispositionthatrecognizedthePhDtitleoftheEuropeanUniversityInstituteofFlorence.ThesepreviouslegaldocumentsdescribedPhDeducationinSpain,regardingtheirobjectivesandstructures.ItisseenthattheRoyalDecrees185/1985and778/1998aresimilarintheirobjectivesandalsointheirstructure.However,thepublicationofresearchismentionedslightlyinawayasapossibilityofdoingthat.Andalso,themobilityofstudentsishighlightedinadiscreetwayintheRD778/1998.BoththepublicationandthemobilityofstudentsarementionedthroughoutthisRDonlyonce.Ithasbeenconsideredthat,althoughtheRoyalDecree778/1998wasdevelopedinacontextofinstitutionalchangesinSpain,theeducationhasnotbeenchangedyet,despitethemembershipofSpainattheEuropeanCommunity,whichwassignedinJune12of1985andenteringintoforceon1January1986.WhilethefirstyearsofSpainmembershipintotheEuropeanCommunitycouldbringchangesattheeconomiclevel,theotherinstitutionaldimensions,suchastheeducation,latertookrelevanceinthepoliticalagendasoftheEuropeancountries.Asmentionedinsection3,aseriesofministerialmeetingsandagreementsamongEuropeancountriesoccurred,aimingtoensurethestandardsofqualityofhighereducation.Indeed,ithasseenmajorchangesintheRoyalDecree1125/2003ofSeptember5,whichestablishedtheEuropeancreditsystemtoassessthegradingintheSpanishuniversity(EducationMinistry,2003).ThedesignoftheEuropeanHigherEducationAreahasimpliedtheestablishmentoftheEuropeanCreditTransferandAccumulationSystem(ECTS),withtheaimtomakelearningandteachingmoretransparentacrossEurope.Moreover,theadoptionoftheEuropeancreditallowstherecognitionofallstudieswithintheEuropeanArea.Thereby,theECTSiscloselyrelatedtotheeffortofmodernizingthehighereducationinEuropetomakethenationalsystemsconverge.Inthiscontext,theRD55/2005ofJanuary21establishedthestructureoftheuniversityteachingandregulatedtheofficialuniversitydegreesinSpain.ThisregulationisconsistentwiththeguidelinesestablishedintheEuropeanHigherEducationAreaandwiththeOrganicLaw6/2001ofDecember21(JefaturadelEstado,2001).TogetherwiththeRD55/2005,thepost-graduatestudiesareregulatedbytheRD56/2005ofJanuary21.Theuniversitystructureismodified,consideringtheEuropeanHigherEducationAreawiththeaimtoreachaqualityintheEuropeansystem,makingattractivetheEuropeaneducationatinternationallevel.TheobjectiveoftheRD56/2005istoofferalegalframeworktoharmonizethestructureofthepost-graduatestudies,suchasSecondandThirdCycle,whichmeansmaster’sandPhD.Therefore,thisRDintroducedtheofficialmastertitleattheSpanishuniversitysystem,whichmeanstogiveanadvancededucationinresearchtechniques(EducationMinistry,2005b).Despitetheeffortsandtheinstitutionalchangeshighlightedinthelegaldocuments,therehasbeenprogressiveworkontheharmonizationoftheEuropeanHigherEducationAreainSpain.Indoingso,theSpanishgovernmentcompromisedtoadapttheSpanishuniversitysystemintothenewstructure,highlightedintheBolognadeclaration

until2010.Todothat,theOrganicLaw4/2007ofApril12reallystatedthebasisofadeepmodernizationoftheSpanishuniversity,modifyingthepreviousOrganicLaw6/2001ofDecember21.TheOL6/2001promotedthecohesionoftheuniversitysystem,toempowercompetencestotheAutonomousCommunitiesrelatedtotheteaching,increasingtheautonomyoftheSpanishuniversityandestablishingthelinkbetweenuniversityandsociety.DespitetheeffortsshowedinseverallegaldocumentstoalignthehighereducationtotheEuropeanguidelines,thecontentoftheOL4/2007remarkedactionswiththeaimtoharmonizetheSpanishhighereducation.TherapidsocialchangesandthepressureoftheothermembersoftheEuropeanUniontoconverttheEurozoneinaspaceofhighqualityresearchintheworldinfluencestheenactmentandestablishmentofthisOL(JefaturadelEstado,2007).Thislawhighlightedandemphasizedtherelevanceofresearchintheuniversity,theTitleIV,intheSections33and36;thearticles38and39arerelatedtoPhDeducation.Thesearticlespointedoutthat“scientificresearchistheessentialtoteachanditisaprimordialtoolforthesocialdevelopmentthroughthetransferofknowledge.”ItisclearthatthescientificresearchplayedaroleinthisOL.Moreover,itismentionedthatPhDeducationaimsfortheresearchformation,whichisthemilestoneforteachingattheuniversity(EducationMinistry,2007).Consistentwiththechangesalreadyhighlighted,theRD1393/2007ofOctober29hastheobjectivetodevelopthestructureoftheofficialuniversityteaching,beingcongruentwiththegeneralguidelinesemanatedfromtheEHEA(EducationMinistry,2007b).Chapter1,Article1highlightedthatthedevelopmentofthestructureoftheofficialteachinguniversitywillbeconsistentwiththeEuropeanHigherEducationAreaandwiththeOrganicLaw4/2007ofApril12.ThisRDfocusedonissuesrelatedtotherecognitionoftheEuropeancreditsintotheSpanishuniversityatthethreelevels–Degree,Master’sandPhD.TherelationshipbetweentheEuropeanHigherEducationAreaandtheEuropeanResearchAreaisestablishedasamainobjectiveintheorganizationoftheSpanishuniversity.InChapterII,Article11,issuesrelatedtothePhDinSpainarehighlighted.Forexample,theacquirementofcompetencesandabilitiestomakequalityresearchisthenewaimofPhDeducation.Furthermore,ChapterV,entitledPhDTeaching,includedtheArticle18PhDprogramme,Article19accesstoPhDTeaching,Article20admissiontoPhDteaching,Article21doctoralthesis,Article22EuropeanMentioninthePhDtitleandArticle23professorsintheteachingofPhD.AllofthemwerederogatedbytheRD99/2011.Evenmore,thisRDintheUniqueDerogatoryDispositionhighlightedthattheRoyalDecrees55/2005ofJanuary21and56/2005arederogated.Asitwasmentionedbefore,theRD55/2005hadasobjectivetheestablishmentoftheofficialuniversityteachingstructureinSpain(EducationMinistry,2005a).Moreover,theRD56/2005aimregulatedthepostgraduatestudies,whichmeansthesecondandthirdcycle.Inthischangingcontext,thestructureofuniversityteachinginSpainhighlightedintheRD1393/2007ofOctober29ismodifiedthroughtheRD861/2010ofJuly2.ThisRDadjustedsomenecessarychangestoguaranteetheefficiencyoftheguidelinesestablishedinthepreviousRD1393/2007,relatedtothestructureoftheuniversitystudiesinSpain.TheconstructionoftheEHEAandtheEARisaconstantwork;inthisregard,severalinstitutionaleffortshavebeenoriented.Therefore,PhDeducationwillplayaroleinthe

intersectionoftheEHEAandtheEAR,beingboththepillarsinaknowledgesociety.Likewise,itisnecessarytocontinuetoreshapeandpolishpiecesthatallowaspacebasedonknowledge,attractiveandopentotherestoftheworld,Europe.Inthiscontext,theRD99/2011regulatedPhDeducationinSpain.Article2definedwhatPhDeducationis.TheThirdCyclecorrespondstoPhDEducation,whichallowsPhDstudentstheacquisitionofskillsandabilitiestodevelopscientificresearchofquality.Article3pointedoutthattheorganizationofPhDprogrammeswillbeestablishedintheuniversitystatutes.PhDeducationlastsamaximumofthreeyearswhenthestudentisdedicatedfulltime.However,thedurationcouldbeuptofiveyearswhenthestudentisdedicatedpartialtime.Moreover,PhDprogrammesdonotrequireECTS,becausetheessentialactivityistoresearch.DuringthePhDperiod,thePhDstudentcouldtakesomecomplementaryformation.OncethePhDstudentisadmittedinthePhDprogramme,asupervisorisassigned.Theroleofthesupervisorisrelevantinthiscontext,sothesuccessofresearchandthedesignofthethesiswillremainonhis/herexpertisedoingresearch.AresearchprojectisrequiredinthefirstyearofPhDeducation;aresearchcommissionerwillevaluatethisproject.Iftheprojectisapproved,thePhDstudentcancontinuewiththePhD.Ifnothe/shehastomodifytheproject,anditwillbepresentedagainattheresearchcommittee.Atthistime,iftheprojectisapproved,thestudentcontinuesintheprogramme,andifnot,thestudenthastoleavethePhDprogramme(EducationMinistry,2011).Furthermore,theacademiccommissionwillevaluatethePhDstudentyearly.Andfinally,thethesiswillbepresented.Thisthesishastobeanoriginalresearchworkinanyfieldofknowledge.ThethesismustempowerthePhDstudenttoworkinanautonomouswayintheR&Denvironment.ThedefenceofthethesisgivestheoptiontorequesttheinternationalmentioninthePhDtitle.Toobtainsuchmention,thestudenthastostayinaresearchcentreorinaninstitutionofhighereducationoutsideSpainforatleastthreemonths.Also,partofthethesishastobewrittenandpresentedinadifferentlanguagethanSpanish.ThethesishastobereviewedatminimumbytwoexpertsfromaninstitutionoutsideofSpain.And,amemberofthetribunalofdefencewillbefromaninstitutionofhighereducationfromoutsideSpain.ThisRDiswidelyclear,highlightingseveraldimensionsrelatedwiththeconstructionoftheEuropeaneducationarea,tryingtoharmonizeandconvergeincommonobjectives.Furthermore,itisseenthattheEuropeanpolicyofresearchhighlightedthenecessitytopromotetheR&DinallsocialsectorsthroughthecollaborationofindustryandbusinessPhDeducation.Thisstrategywillfosterinnovationofindustry,thereforereinforcingtheeconomyofthecountry(Cano,LindonandRebollar,2011).DiscussionandconclusionThisarticlereviewschronologicallyseveraldocumentsenactedatsupra-nationalandnationalleveltoexamineandexplorethechangesinPhDeducationinSpain.Thereviewwasconductedunderthelightoftheinstitutionaltheoryandpivotedaroundtwomainparts:Thefirstwasdevotedtoexaminehowthesupra-nationalagreementsamongseveralinstitutionshaveguidedPhDeducationpolicychangesinSpain.Second,theSpanishhighereducationpoliciesareexamined,focusingonthethreemainRoyal

DecreesrelatedtoPhDeducationpolicyinSpain.TheRDsreviewedwerethe185/1985,778/1998and99/2011.However,otherlegaldocumentsoftheSpanishhighereducationwereexaminedtocontextualizethechangesinPhDeducationpolicyinSpain.Thereviewofsupra-nationaldocumentsenactedbyhighereducationinstitutionsshowshowtheseveralministerialsummitshaveestablishedtheguidelinesthateachmemberoftheEuropeanUnionhastofollow.AcrucialdimensionofoverallEuropeanhighereducationpolicyisPhDeducation,whichisthemaximumlevelinthehighereducationstructurethatcoversextremeimportance,duetoitslinkingwiththeresearchactivity.AlltheseeffortsareconsistentwiththeBolognaprocessandtheLisbonStrategythatconstitutesacomprehensivebasisfortheEuropeanUnionactioninhighereducation.Therefore,thehighereducationguidelinesatsupra-nationallevelhavebeenappliedatnationallevel;suchisthecaseofSpain.ThereviewoftheSpanishRoyalDecrees185/1985,778/1998and99/2011showsthetrajectoryofthechangesexperiencedbyPhDeducationpolicy.Forinstance,theobjectivesandthestructurehighlightedintheRD185/1985focusedonSpainasasinglenation.EvenintheRD778/1998,Spainisstillconsideredortreatedasasinglenation.ThismeansthattheseRDsstillwerenotconsistentwiththeguidelinesstipulatedbythehighereducationinstitutionsintheEuropeanUnion.TheRD185/1985wasenactedbeforethemembershipofSpainintotheEuropeanCommunity,sotheobjectivesstipulatedinthisRDareconsequentwiththerealityofSpainassinglenation.Byotherway,theRD778/1998slightlyshowssomechangesinrespecttothepreviousRD.Forinstance,thepublicationandthemobilityofstudentsarefoundonlyonceinthisRD,andthestructurehadnotchangedatall.ThedivisionofthePhDintotwoperiods–theteachingandtheresearch–ishighlighted.Asaconsequence,adiplomaisdeliveredwhenfinishingtheteachingperiodandotherwhencompletedtheresearchperiod.However,theRD99/2011clearlyhighlightsmajorchangesintheobjectivesandstructureofPhDeducationinSpain.Forinstance,thethreecyclesofhighereducationareclearlyhighlightedinthisRD.Asitwasmentionedbefore,theRD56/2005modifiesthestructureofthehighereducation,consideringtheEHEAandtheERA.Thereby,itisunderthisRDthatthesecondandthirdcyclesareclearlydividedasindependentlevels(EducationMinistry,2005b).Therefore,theRD99/2011pointedouttheresearchactivityasamainobjectiveofPhDeducation,wherePhDstudentshavetoacquirecapabilitiestodealwithintheinternationalscientificcommunity.Then,aMaster’swillbearequirementtodoaPhD,sotheperiodofPhDdoesnothavecreditsorteachingperiod,butonecantakesomeseminarsascomplementaryformation.ThemobilityofPhDstudentsispointedoutasvitalfortheirformationaswellastostrengthentherelationshipamonginternationalresearchers.ItisinthiscontextwheretheinternationalPhDtitleisgiven.Therefore,again,PhDeducationreinforcestherelationshipbetweentheEHEAandtheEAR,buildingapillarofknowledgesocietyintheEuropeanUnion.Moreover,therelationshipofPhDeducationwiththeeconomicgrowthofEuropeisanintrinsicobjective,highlightedthroughouttheRD99/2011.ThesearethecurrentchangesrelatedtotheobjectivesandstructureofPhDeducationidentifiedinthethreeRDs.However,itisacknowledgeablethatthesystemischanging,anditwillbechanginginthefutureuntilitreachesaquasi-completeharmonizationofthehighereducationin

Europe.ThisharmonizationisimportantnotonlyforPhDeducationbutforallthelevelswithinthehighereducationintheEuropeanUnioningeneralandinSpaininparticular.ChangesinPhDeducationareimportantbecauseitwillfacilitatethemobilityofEuropeancitizens,therewillnotfrontiersforthosetoholdarecognizedPhDtitleunEurope.AllthismeansanimpactintheeconomyandinthedevelopmentoftheresearchinEuropeandinSpain.However,thesechangesalsobringchallengesforuniversityadministrationbecausetheyhavetoadapttoallthechangesnotonlyinthestructureofPhDeducationbutalsoinwaystoguidePhDstudentstodevelopahighqualityresearch.

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ThisfeaturearticlewasacceptedforpublicationintheInternationalHETLReview(IHR)afteradouble-blindpeerreviewinvolvingthreeindependentmembersoftheIHRBoardofReviewersandtworevisioncycles.Acceptingeditor:CharlynnMiller

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Aliaga-Isla,R.(2017).TheEvolutionofPhDEducationinSpain:AChronologicalReviewofSupra-nationalandNationalActions.InternationalHETLReview,Volume7,Article1,URL:https://www.hetl.org/the-evolution-of-phd-education-in-spain-a-chronological-review-of-supra-national-and-national-actions

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