Change and Continuity in Australian Doctoral Education: PhD Completion Rates and Times (2005-2018).

Australia is following a global trend in doctoral education policy to improve PhD completion times and rates. It is widely believed that accurate data on PhD completion are needed to assess the success of reforms and drive changes in doctoral education. In this article, new national completion data (2005-2018) provided by the Australian Department of Education and Training (DEE) have been employed to examine changes and continuities in the Australian doctoral education system. The findings demonstrate that Australian completion rates and times have changed only slightly over time, exceed normative expectations and systematically differ by student characteristics, disciplines and institutions. The article suggests that better completions data are needed to guide detailed research into the structural conditions that determine completion. This knowledge would help to base future reforms on evidence rather than normative expectations and to realign expected with actual completion times and rates.