The State of Doctoral Education in Social Sciences in Uganda: Experiences and Challenges of Doctoral Training at Mbarara University of Science and Technology 2003 - 2010
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Date
2015
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Publisher
Journal of Education and Practice
Abstract
This paper discusses the challenges and experiences which social science students in Africa undergo to complete
the PhD program. Focusing on Mbarara University of Science and Technology, the paper present that many
students who register on the PhD program in Africa, are unable to complete the program in the stipulated time.
The paper identifies that the challenges which students face can be divided into two categories; institutional and
individual students and the supervisors. At the institutional level it involves the nature and the context of the
program. This involves lack of resources to support an overall learning environment. At the individual level, the
challenges include student and supervisor challenges which they face at individual levels and how they affect
completion. To get to discuss these issues, I held one focus group discussion with 7 students enrolled for the PhD
program and 1 fresh graduate of PhD at the Faculty of development studies Mbarara University of science and
Technology, critical literature review and a review of some of the external supervisors reports for the PhD
students who have made an attempt to submit their final dissertations. Basing on the data from the sources
identified above, the paper concludes that for students to complete the PhD program, the above challenges need
to be addressed especially by establishing training programs in the region and creation of a better learning
environment for the PhD students. The issues discussed in this paper and solutions provided provides a basis for
improving the training programs in Universities. It is argued in this paper that solutions to completing PhD
programs especially in the social sciences will depend on strengthening foundational courses especially in
Methodology and theories and most importantly critical thinking.
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Keywords
Research, University, Post graduate Training, Research University
Citation
Muriisa, R. K., & Bergen, D. (2015). The State of Doctoral Education in Social Sciences in Uganda: Experiences and Challenges of Doctoral Training at Mbarara University of Science and Technology 2003-2010. Journal of Education and Practice