EUA Council for Doctoral Education

05 April 2022

Doctoral education in Europe: current developments and trends

Based on the results of the 2021 EUA-CDE survey

Alexander Hasgall, Ana-Maria Peneoasu

This publication provides an up-to-date overview of important developments in doctoral education in Europe. It serves as a follow-up publication to the previous large-scale study “Doctoral education in Europe today: approaches and institutional structures” (2017-2018).


With 138 responses from 28 European countries, the survey report outlines the strategic priorities and the main thematic areas in which European universities are engaging, in the field of doctoral education. The EUA-CDE survey, conducted between March and May 2021, gathered evidence on several important aspects in this field. This includes an overview of transversal skills training in Europe and how institutions assess the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on doctoral education.

This publication also provides insights into the current situation of postdoctoral researchers, namely questions about their number, the average duration of their employment, the nature of their work and the additional training they may receive while being part of a university.

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