Quality assurance processes in third cycle (doctoral level) education

På svenska

On this page you can read about the Faculty’s quality assurance work and about European, national and internal regulations, policies and recommendations that regulate higher education institutions and that are the starting point for the Faculty’s quality assurance processes in third cycle (doctoral level) education.

The Faculty of Medicine is working systematically to maintain and develop quality in doctoral education. This quality assurance work offers an opportunity to provide advanced feedback about the quality of our education and to chart possible deficiencies that ought to be addressed. The Faculty of Medicine’s structure for following up the development of quality consists of the following central components.

Orpheus

Orpheus is a European network committed to developing and disseminating best practice in doctoral education in biomedicine and health sciences. The network conducts evaluations to ensure the quality of doctoral education. If the program meets the network's recommendations, the faculty can obtain accreditation. Since 2020, the Faculty of Medicine at Lund University is one of just over ten accredited European medical faculties.

The accreditation was carried out in two stages. In spring 2019, the faculty wrote a self-evaluation with answers to questions about the research environment, infrastructure, supervision, course content, examination, support and resources. The self-evaluation was approved by Orpheus in the fall of 2019. Step two was a site visit in January 2020 when four reviewers from Orpheus met representatives from the management, as well as representatives from the doctoral program.

Programme evaluations conducted by UKÄ (Swedish Higher Education Authority)

UKÄ, the Swedish Higher Education Authority, planned to conduct a programme evaluation at third cycle level in medicine and health beginning at the start of 2021. The purpose of the evaluation was to be to check the outcomes of study programmes, the doctoral students’ possibilities of reaching the qualitative targets and how this is secured by the higher education institution before examination as well as to contribute to our quality development at a general level. In September 2020 UKÄ decided to cancel this evaluation in the present quality assurance system in 2017–2022 and instead it will be starting in spring 2024 at the earliest.

The Faculty of Medicine has previously planned to carry out an internal evaluation of doctoral education in 2023-2024. This planning is currently on hold pending more information about an upcoming national evaluation led by UKÄ (see External evaluation).

Surveys

As part of the Faculty of Medicine's follow-up of doctoral education, surveys aimed at doctoral students are disseminated in connection with the doctoral students' halfway review to follow up the doctoral students' perceptions of the education.

The Education Strategy Support within the university’s central administration has developed a degree survey for doctoral education. The survey, which is sent out after the dissertation, is used to systematically follow up and develop the faculty's doctoral education.

In 2020, the Faculty of Medicine conducted a survey on the work situation for supervisors in doctoral education.

Course evaluation

The Faculty works continuously on the internal audit of our doctoral education courses in the form of course evaluations. The results make a continuous quality development of doctoral education possible.

As part of the Faculty of Medicine’s internal quality assurance work, annual quality dialogues are held between the the PhD Studies Office, doctoral students and Assistant Heads of Department responsible for the doctoral education at the respective department. The quality dialogues deal with education at doctoral level.

Contact

David Paulsson
Quality control coordinator
The Faculty of Medicine
David [dot] Paulsson [at] med [dot] lu [dot] se (David[dot]Paulsson[at]med[dot]lu[dot]se)