By: Tim Rogers

While the rest of the world worries about the financial crisis and which bank will be the next to collapse, universities and grad schools in countries as different as Australia, Denmark and New Zealand are watching in hope as more students apply for their PhD or Doctoral programmes. Once seen as the pinnacle of academic and intellectual achievement, the interest in PhD programs has picked up at the same time as the economic downturn has ended more than a decade of unprecedented global growth.

Much of the reason for this is that now may be the perfect time to return to higher education, to the relative safety of a university environment for a qualification that lasts between three and five years, depending on the country system in which you study.  While employment and career prospects are somewhat uncertain in the current climate, universities are reporting significant renewed interest in their graduate programs, with a particular focus on PhD study, as candidates consider retraining or adding new skills to their resumes that will benefit them as the economic situation improves.  

And in such an increasingly volatile economic climate, perhaps it is the best time to really consider the genuine benefits of gaining the highest degree qualification available.  While there is no doubt that the intellectual rigour of a PhD will make you more attractive to future employers across a range of industry sectors, what are the chances of being able to combine study with better career opportunities?  According to Sandy Dobbie, chairman of Chemical Sciences Scotland (CSS), a body that brings together industry, universities and government, the opportunities are very good: "We are a mature sector; chemical sciences underpin so many things, from electronics through to the energy sector and we are keen to promote the opportunities people may have with us.  We already have 31 PhD students in Scottish universities who are working on projects for Scottish chemical sciences companies and depending on funding, we are keen to extend these to more students."

Peter MacDonald, Director of the QS World Grad School Tour, confirms that the interest in PhD study has steadily increased over the last three years.  More students than ever before are interested in applying for an international PhD program, with a higher number of prospective PhD students registering for the QS World Grad School Tour in 2008 than in the previous two years put together: "From Latin America, throughout Europe to Asia, students are making their interest in the PhD degree very clear indeed.  While masters degrees are still very popular, there is no doubt that students are seeking the advanced skills a PhD confers on the candidate, particularly in areas such as science, technology and engineering."

One country that has recently benefited from an increase in PhD applications is Australia.  With 9,163 international PhD students currently studying in the country, universities are making preparations to receive more students at this level than ever before, with increased interest from Indian, Chinese and Malaysian students in particular.  One innovation in the Australian context is the recent rise in popularity of coursework PhD programs, allowing students to concentrate on a more structured syllabus in a range of applied areas, such as business and technology, many of which have a directly vocational benefit for the student after graduation.

While it is too early to say what the likely outcomes of the renewed interest in PhD study are, prospective international candidates can be assured that many employers across a diverse range of industry sectors view the degree very positively.  University College London (UCL) in the UK runs an annual PhD careers event for its own doctoral students that attracts more than 30 international companies and businesses, including Barclays Capital, Laing O'Rourke, Pfizer, Roland Berger and Ultra Electronics, many of whom seek specialized graduates to join them in either research or executive positions. 

When push comes to shove, international students focusing on a PhD program often do so with the hope that the qualification will result in a higher salary on graduation than those achieved by students with a lower degree.  Depending on the sector and the entry-level position, there is certainly some evidence to support this.  Professor Mark Western, from Australia's University of Queensland, confirms that on completion of a PhD from one of the eight leading Australian universities, students attracted an average salary of US$56,000 in an online survey conducted in 2008: "The majority of PhD graduates were satisfied with their jobs and were earning salaries that they were happy with and although there was an average salary band, there were graduates earning double that figure depending on the areas they were employed in and the specific responsibilities of their roles."

Perhaps an additional reason for seeking the opportunity to study at the highest level is the mobility that such a qualification allows the holder.  Whilst countries around the world are tightening up their immigration procedures and only giving international students the opportunity to work in the country they have studied in for short periods of time after graduation, at the PhD level, the opportunity for long-term migration is greatly increased.  Skill shortages dominate many of the key developed economies with the result that highly skilled PhD graduates are both attractive and increasingly in demand by countries whose workforce lacks the expertise in key areas.  In Canada alone, close to 16,000 foreign PhD holders have been given permanent resident status since 2001, with more than 7,600 coming from Asia, 4,200 from Europe, 1,000 from the USA and 1,700 from Africa.  PhD holders born in China (3,070), India (1,200), the USA (1,010) and Iran (910) dominate the nationalities of these immigrants, many of whom gained permanent migration status directly as a result of their academic qualification.

A PhD may be your ticket to a new career challenge, a higher salary or the opportunity to move country but irrespective of your motivations for embarking on this level of study, in the current climate you can be certain that you will be one amongst an increasingly large and diverse population considering international grad studies at the highest level.