The program covers global and international developments, the national political, social and economic contexts of higher education, and the universities and colleges as organisations and institutions, from the central leadership and faculty levels to the study programme/curriculum level. In addition, the programme has a strong interest in teaching and student learning, including the impact of digital technologies on these.
The target group for this programme consists of highly qualified candidates involved in or aspiring to become involved in higher education, be it as higher education researchers, institutional administrators, policy-makers, curriculum managers, consultants, or otherwise. Students are recruited internationally and will be educated for national and international as well as global professional careers.
Upon completing the programme, the students should be able to:
Knowledge
- demonstrate a thorough understanding of the main traditions, academic literature and dominant disciplinary perspectives in the field of higher education studies.
- examine and interpret the basic nature of higher education and research, its systems, institutions, organisations, programmes and curricula
- analyse and describe how changes in policies, functions, and operations of higher education are related at all relevant levels
- demonstrate an understanding of how knowledge is produced, interpreted and disseminated in various higher education and professional contexts
- understand the nature and importance of the relationships between higher education and society
Skills
- demonstrate a capacity to make individual contributions to the knowledge on and understanding of higher education studies as an academic field
- apply the main theories, concepts, disciplinary perspectives and methods used in the field of higher education research to the practice of higher education
- master academic writing
- conduct under supervision an independent, well-defined research project in line with current research ethical practices
Competences
- document analytical competencies in various specialisation areas of higher education studies
- apply their knowledge and skills in new areas for conducting advanced tasks and projects
- communicate and discuss research-based knowledge with higher education professionals and lay people
- initiate and contribute in constructive and critical ways to further development of the field of higher education studies