Diversity in medical PhD curricula: a call for harmonisation

Globalisation has increased human movements around the world, spurring greater connectiveness and opportunities to collaborate. In an increasingly connected world, quality assurance among professionals is paramount, particularly in medical research where PhD (Doctor of Philosophy) degree holders are expected to be at the peak of their field and play advanced-level research, education and leadership roles. While some regional efforts have been made to ensure comparability in the standards of advanced degree training, no previous study has compared these standards for a PhD in medicine across the globe.

To explore the structural diversity of medical PhD degrees and identify which aspects benefit from greater harmonisation.

In 2021, the 10 best-ranked universities from each of the top five Western countries, and the top Asian country, were identified based on Quacquarelli Symonds World University Ranking. Data were collected for each university based on individual website information regarding the level of degree required to gain entry into a PhD programme in medicine and requirements for completion of coursework, journal publication and oral defence.

Significant variations exist in the requirements for medical PhDs across the world in terms of prerequisite degree and inclusion of coursework. Oral defence is near universal, but a mandatory requirement for publication is largely absent.

Harmonisation of medical PhD degrees through international standards should be considered to encourage quality improvement and benchmarking between institutions, as well as to facilitate greater ease of movement within the medical research community, improving international collaboration and individual career opportunities accordingly.