Hatam Faraji Dehsorkhi; Hamidreza Arasteh; R Bghdadchi
Abstract
The present paper aims to investigate thedifferences and similarities of the PhDadmissions systems in Iran and the leading universities in terms of objectives,desired qualities as well as entry requirements. In doing so,descriptive-comparative method was applied. Consulting with the ShanghaiRanking, ...
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The present paper aims to investigate thedifferences and similarities of the PhDadmissions systems in Iran and the leading universities in terms of objectives,desired qualities as well as entry requirements. In doing so,descriptive-comparative method was applied. Consulting with the ShanghaiRanking, the graduate admissions systems of the top three universities, i.e.Harvard University, Stanford University, and the University of Cambridge alongwith the Iranian PhD admission system were examined. To gather data,documentations and universities’ websites were examined. In addition, wecorresponded with the graduate admission office of each university. Beredy’smethod or framework was used to analyze data. Findings show: All graduateadmissions systems look for highly qualified applicants. Additionally, the IranianPhD system pursues other objectives as well. With regard to desired qualities,all graduate admissions systems look for a wide range of academic andnon-academic qualities in the applicants. The Iranian PhD admissions system,however, seems to take less account of non-cognitive qualities. With regard toentry requirements, all graduate admissions systems utilize a variety ofmeasurements to screen out applicants, but the entry requirements used in theIranian PhD admissions system are flawed in terms of reliability, validity andrelevance. Finally, some implications are offered.
