Qualitative study of PhD student scholarship systems in developing and developed countries

Background: From two centuries ago scholarship systems in many countries have supported postgraduate students to continue their studies abroad Nonetheless due to the fundamental revolution in the concepts of scientific development in last decades scholarship systems have modified their missions particularly in developed countries Objective : To express some practical guidelines to improve the scholarship system in Iran this study compared scholarship systems in developed and developing countries in terms of their rules and regulations The main questions were about the objectives of scholarship systems the selection methods of eligible students and how they encourage students to come back their home countries Methods : This was a qualitative study data were collected by exploring written documents websites and interviewing ۴۰ PhD students from ۱۶ countries who were studying in UK universities Results : Obtaining certificate to get higher academic position was the main objective of developing country students however scholarship systems in developed countries were aimed to push students to understand others cultures and scientific styles and address research questions during their studies In addition there were well established collaborations between developed countries and their organization in supporting students These types of collaborations were not seen developing countries Conclusion : By looking at the advantages of scholarship systems in developed countries it is suggested that we need to amend the objectives of scholarship system in Iran and formulate a new plan to optimize the method in selecting students decreasing brain drain and activating private section and NGOs

کلیدواژه ها:

PhD students ، higher education ، scholarship system ، brain drain ، Development