Strengthening the design and management of PhD programmes in African universities: a case study of three RUFORUM Regional PhD Programmes

This document presents highlights of a study commissioned by the Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture (RUFORUM) as part of its effort to improve the level and quality of Doctoral training in Africa. It involved interactions with several people, including university leadership, graduate students, national research and extension service providers and policy makers. The study looked into how three target regional PhD Programmes under the RUFORUM Network arrangements are run and sought to identify areas for improvement. The target case study programmes were the PhD in Plant Breeding and Biotechnology at Makerere University (Uganda) and the two PhD programmes in Malawi at the Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (LUANAR): the PhD in Aquaculture and Fisheries Science2 and the PhD in Agricultural Resource Economics. One aspect of this study investigated implementation modalities in place at host universities, which underpin their competitiveness, such as quality assurance of the programmes. The second aspect assessed the outcomes of these investments at the institutional level and in the broader agricultural sector of the region and country.