What is the purpose of Doctoral Education?

When considering the first principles of graduate, especially doctoral, education, it is reasonable to ask, “What is the purpose of doctoral education?”  One answer is, “It is to prepare the next generation of disciplinary leaders, or stewards.”  The graduate faculty believes that this idea of stewardship of a discipline lies at the core of scholarly pursuits, and that a disciplinary steward has developed both the habits of mind and the technical ability to tackle three related areas:  the generation, conservation, and transformation of knowledge.

Knowledge Generation.  The doctoral degree is, at its heart, a research degree.  Demonstrating one’s ability to conduct research and scholarship that makes unique and independent contributions, and that meets standards of credibility and verifiability, is the culminating experience of the Ph.D.  One skilled at knowledge generation is able to ask and frame important questions, and is able to assess, critique, and defend knowledge claims.

Knowledge Conservation.  Another facet of disciplinary leadership and stewardship is an understanding of the history and foundational ideas of the discipline.  Disciplines evolve continuously, and stewards have responsibility for maintaining continuity, stability, and vitality of the discipline.  A Ph.D. recipient should understand the foundations of the field – which ideas to keep, which ideas to reject.  Moreover, a steward should understand how their discipline fits into a broader intellectual landscape, have a respectful understanding of the questions and paradigms of other fields, and understand how their discipline can speak to important questions.

Knowledge Transformation.  A third facet, transformation, speaks of the importance of representing and communicating ideas effectively and clearly.  Transformation implies teaching in the broadest sense.  Whether working in a university research laboratory, classroom, non-profit or governmental organization, industry, or policy arena, a disciplinary steward must be able to convey the information and value of their knowledge and skills to a multitude of audiences.  Transformation also implies application.  Knowledge is used in a variety of settings, and a steward must understand the range of uses to which knowledge can be applied.  Such communication calls upon skills that ought to be developed during the apprenticeship period.  This implies the ability to communicate in both oral and written forms to technical and lay audiences.  It also suggests that stewards must understand how to appreciate and communicate across traditional disciplinary boundaries. 

The use of the term “steward” is deliberately intended to convey a role that transcends a mere collection of accomplishments and skills.  A steward is a person entrusted with care of the discipline by those in the discipline on behalf of those in and beyond the discipline.  There are conservative aspects to the term, implying the preservation of the past.  A steward thinks about the continuing health of the discipline, and how to preserve the best of the past, the heart and essence of the field, for those who will follow.  But there are also important forward-looking meanings; stewardship does not imply stasis.  A steward is a caretaker who trains a critical eye toward the future and must be willing to take risks and move the discipline forward.  Ultimately, stewards consider how to prepare and initiate the next generation of leaders.

Finally, in all their work, disciplinary stewards act with responsibility and according to the highest ethical standards.

(Adapted from the “Invitation for Participation” in the Carnegie Initiative on the Doctorate)

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