INTRODUCTION: The phenomenon of international joint doctoral degrees where two (or more)
higher education institutions across national borders assume joint responsibility for
the offering, examination and award of a doctoral qualification, is a relatively recent
trend in higher education worldwide. Little research has been done on this form
of doctoral education, and virtually none in South Africa where universities started
exploring the offering of joint degrees about 10 years ago. For the purpose of this
chapter we examined this new form of doctoral education at Stellenbosch University
in South Africa – a medium-sized research-intensive university with approximately
35% postgraduate students. Our investigation was guided by the following research
question: What is the rationale for engaging in joint doctorates and what are the
challenges and benefits associated with this new form of doctoral education as
experienced at Stellenbosch University?