Program Overview

Course Overview

The course "Higher Education: Past Present Future" (PED8026) is a doctoral degree level course offered at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU). The course aims to address key perspectives on ideas and practices of higher education in past, present, and future.

Course Details

• Credits: 5
• Level: Doctoral degree level
• Course start: Autumn 2025
• Duration: 2 semesters
• Language of instruction: English
• Location: Trondheim
• Examination arrangement: Assignment

About the Course

The course explores the changes in academia and their impact on higher education research. It critically questions the consequences for organization, imagination, and implementation of teaching and learning practices, societal aims, and impact, as well as the underlying principles of higher education.

Course Content

The course content includes research perspectives that ask what the university is for and how to imagine a future for the university. It also addresses the actual practices of educating at universities, bringing in national and international scholars and their ongoing research.

Learning Outcome

Through this course, students will:

• Bring into exploration and critical reflection the kind of study practices they are a part of as doctoral researchers in higher education.
• Examine the ways in which the university forms and performs human knowledge and understanding in society.

Knowledge

The candidate will have read, listened to, and actively engaged with advanced knowledge of relevant issues and questions in the field of higher education research.

Skills

The candidate will have independently voiced their take on relevant research questions and discussed complex academic issues concerning higher education as a research field.

General Competence

The candidate will be able to address their research with scholarly integrity and curiosity and approach their own and others' research independently and critically.

Learning Methods and Activities

The course will be conducted over three days, including various study practices such as listening, thinking, reading, and discussing. It will be structured around the seminar format, including lectures and time for reflective reading and thinking.

Compulsory Assignments

• Compulsory participation at lectures
• Mandatory submission of a draft paper/blog before the seminar

Evaluation

• Mandatory Activities: Participation in the three-day seminar is mandatory.
• About Assessment: Mandatory submission of a draft paper (approximately 1000 words) before the seminar, outlining the theme and a main line of reasoning.
• Evaluation, Course Credits, and Participation: Face-to-face attendance for all three days is mandatory. Submission after the seminar of a final paper (max. 10 pages) within the realm of the course content, relating to the course literature and the student's own interest/project.

Required Previous Knowledge

To be admitted to this PhD course, students must have completed their master's degree or equivalent education. PhD students are prioritized for admission.

Subject Areas

• Education

Note

An identical version of the exam paper cannot be used directly in the PhD thesis as an article or a chapter. A revised version of the exam paper may be included in the thesis.