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The doctoral programme is an educational programme put in place to earn the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D). A criterion for assessing the successful administration of doctoral degrees in universities is the timely completion of the programme.  Research indicates that several Ph.D. candidates at Nigerian universities fail to finish their programmes within the anticipated five-year timeframe. This research examined the determinants of efficient administration of PhD programmes in universities in southern Nigeria. A sample of 528 respondents (PhD students, supervisors and coordinators) was drawn from the University of Ibadan 305, Olabisi Onabanjo University 38, Ekiti State University 50 and the University of Lagos 135. Two questionnaires titled “Effective Management of Doctoral Programme Questionnaire” (EMDPQ r=0.83) and “Predictors of Effective Management of Ph.D Questionnaire” (PEMPQ r=0.82) were used to collect data. Multiple regression analysis was used to test two null hypotheses at the significance level of 0.05. The research found that the successful administration of PhD programs in institutions in southwest Nigeria was significantly influenced by student, supervisory, and institutional variables (F(3;461) =25.973, Adj. R2=0.13), accounting for 13% of its variance. It was also shown that institutional (? = 0.277, t = 2.892, p < 0.05) and student-related (? = 0.275, t = 2.425, p < 0.05) factors are more powerful predictors of effective management of doctoral programmes than supervisory variables. The findings indicated that to improve the effective management of doctoral programmes in universities in southwest Nigeria, stakeholders should prioritise collaboration on student, supervisory, and institutional factors.

The growth in the use of article-based theses, when compared to the traditional monograph-style thesis raises the question why students, supervisors and academic institutions are pursuing this particular route. This study explores the views of experienced supervisors involved in doctoral studies. The study aims to explore the advantages, disadvantages, caveats and various routes that doctoral students can take in completing their thesis. The study was exploratory in nature, employing a qualitative research design and made use of semi-structured interviews with nine doctoral supervisors from Canada. Data was collected from experienced doctoral supervisors from Canada, selected by means of a snowball sampling approach. Data was analysed by means of thematic content analysis. Findings show that supervisors preferred the sandwich-based thesis approach, as it allowed for more rapid time to completion. In addition, the main benefits for both institution and student included having a larger volume of published research output at the end of the doctoral supervision process, as well as more rapid career advancement owing to development of both research and soft skills. The finds hold value for universities who are considering an article-based thesis as an alternative to the traditional monograph style, as well as universities who have not used this option extensively. Findings also provide an impetus for supervisors and faculties in management education to adopt the article-based thesis approach more widely and rapidly owing to the multitude of benefits it holds.