Doctoral employability: A systematic literature review and research agenda

Abstract

Doctoral education is facing a revolution: not a new fact. Likewise, the nature of employment post-PhD has dramatically changed as market-forces drive accommodating employability outcomes from contemporary doctoral programs. This systematic literature review examines the themes emerging from 20 articles identified through the PRISMA approach to systematic reviews. The themes were grouped into three high-level concepts: policy and economics, the student, and expectations of the student. These themes are discussed in-depth within this paper, drawing on the sample literature. Following, we postulate a position for the future. Rather than reinforce the literature’s approach of acknowledging the problems, and problematising the same issues of doctoral programs insufficiently preparing candidates, we propose an outlook oriented towards practically improving doctoral programs with a focus on innovative solutions that address the general themes of preparedness and the industry-academic gap.