Higher education: Not what it used to be. ON THE face of it, American higher education is still in rude health.
In worldwide rankings more than half of the top 100 universities, and eight of the top ten, are American. The scientific output of American institutions is unparalleled. Education: The PhD factory. Doctoral degrees: The disposable academic. ON THE evening before All Saints' Day in 1517, Martin Luther nailed 95 theses to the door of a church in Wittenberg.
In those days a thesis was simply a position one wanted to argue. Luther, an Augustinian friar, asserted that Christians could not buy their way to heaven. Reform the PhD system or close it down. Reform the PhD system or close it down. Education: The PhD factory. What is a PhD really worth? : Nature. Fix the PhD : Nature.