Understanding systemic, personal and linguistic challenges in the internationalisation of doctoral studies

Doctoral students are expected to develop internationally transferable qualities and skills alongside acquiring the disciplinary content of their thesis. However, how universities support the development of these qualities and skills through international experience can run into barriers that affect participation, experiences, and outcomes. This chapter focuses on those barriers that can be viewed as systemic, personal, and linguistic, specifically in relation
to the models and cases studies presented in Section One of this volume. These challenges include the legal and administrative routes to consensus, the variation in notions of doctorateness and the examination of the dissertation, the balancing of economic and environmental costs against cultural, democratic, and linguistic sustainability. This chapter highlights aspects to be considered on the route to consensus to minimise friction between academics, students, and universities, and to improve the doctoral student international experience.