The PhD programme is often seen as the pinnacle of academic achievement, recognised across the world as the key qualification for researchers. Yet how often do we pause to ask: where did this qualification come from? And how does its history reflect how universities themselves have evolved?
From Theology to Research
The world’s oldest continuously operating universities—Oxford (1096) and Cambridge (1209)—originated as institutions primarily offering theological and legal education. Over time, European universities began to award doctoral qualifications, but these early doctorates were teaching qualifications rather than research qualifications as we know them today (Pilkington 2022a, 2022b). They often recognised long careers of scholarly engagement but were not focussed exclusively on research production.
The modern research doctorate—the PhD as we now recognise it—emerged in the early nineteenth century, originating in Germany. It emphasised original research and independent inquiry. From Germany, the model spread to the USA (notably Harvard and Yale) in the 1860s, and to the UK by 1919 (Grant et al. 2022; Middleton 2001; Dickson 2020; Bogle 2018).
Introducing the PhD to Aotearoa
Universities in Aotearoa New Zealand were established soon after the country’s colonial foundation, beginning with the University of Otago in 1869. A federal University of New Zealand was formed shortly afterwards in 1870, encompassing Otago (reluctantly), and subsequently expanding with the founding of university colleges of Canterbury (1873), Auckland (1883), Victoria Wellington (1897), and the agricultural colleges of Lincoln (1875) and Massey (1925). Following the dissolution of the federal structure in 1962, these colleges became independent universities. Subsequently the University of Waikato was established in 1964, and AUT (originally a technical school founded in 1895) became a university in 2000. This brings us to the present day when Aotearoa has eight universities awarding doctoral degrees.
In 2025 AUT celebrates both 135 years of teaching on the city campus and 25 years as a university! As of the time of writing (May 2025), AUT has had 1490 PhD graduates in 22 years. AUT is the only university in Aotearoa whose first PhD graduate was a woman: embryologist Debbie Blake in 2003.[2]
Discussions about introducing the PhD to Aotearoa began as early as 1906, but the qualification wasn’t adopted until 1921, with the first cohort of students enrolling from 1922. In 1925, two students submitted their theses. The first to graduate, on 25 May 1925, was 25-year-old botanist John Stuart Yeates (1900–1986). Yeates’ thesis, completed with few amendments, earned him the distinction of becoming Aotearoa’s first PhD graduate. He would later undertake a second PhD at the University of Cambridge before returning to lead Agricultural Botany at Massey and develop Aotearoa’s first horticulture programme (Pilkington 2025a, 2025b).
A Short-Lived Start
Despite the historical milestone of Yeates’ graduation, the early PhD programme in Aotearoa was not long-lived. At the time, the country’s population was largely rural and geographically dispersed. The PhD’s requirement for full-time, on-campus study created significant barriers to access—especially when other degree programmes did not have such constraints.
Additionally, university leaders showed little enthusiasm for maintaining the programme. Only 13 PhDs were awarded between 1925 and the programme’s closure in 1932.[1] Minutes of Senate and Examination Board meetings from the era (examined in Archives New Zealand, Wellington) reflect recurring concerns about thesis layout, examination procedures, and the difficulty of maintaining uniform standards (Pilkington 2025a, 2025b).
Interestingly, even a century later, these processes feel familiar. Admission criteria do not change much, and processes are reasonably stable, while the examination processes are always gently changing, maintaining best practice, and ensuring a high-quality experience for students and supervisors.
Reintroduction & Growth
The PhD programme was reintroduced in 1944 as the country prepared for the post-Second World War era. The reintroduction aligned with two aims: revitalising scientific research in Aotearoa and expanding education opportunities for the many New Zealanders returning from wartime service.
Since then, the PhD in Aotearoa has gone from strength to strength. The diversity of graduates has expanded steadily, with the following first graduates from an Aotearoa PhD programme:
- The first woman was literature scholar Joan Elizabeth Gries at Auckland University College in 1952
- The first Māori graduate was geologist Martin Theodore Te Punga (Te Ātiawa) from Victoria University College Wellington in 1955
- The first Pacific graduate was educationalist and later politician Senipisi Langi Kavaliku, The Hon. Hu’akavameiliku from Victoria University of Wellington in 1966
- The first openly Takatāpui/Queer graduate was psychologist and interdisciplinary scholar Emeritus Professor Ngahuia Te Awekotuku (Te Arawa, Tūhoe, Waikato) from University of Waikato in 1981
A More Flexible Qualification
Today, the PhD in Aotearoa is more flexible and inclusive than ever before. Students can undertake research in diverse forms—including traditional theses, portfolios of publications, or creative practice-based research (an area in which AUT is a world leader; see Hamilton 2011; Ings 2014).
Doctoral theses can also be completed in multiple languages. While English and Te Reo Māori are most common, the University of Auckland celebrated the world’s second ever PhD completed in Samoan in 2023.
Modes of study have diversified too: part-time, full-time, on-campus, off-campus, and distance-based options are all available. These developments make the PhD more accessible and adaptable to the varied circumstances of modern researchers.
Supervision has also undergone a dramatic transformation. In 1925, supervision was sparse and informal, with a mentor-apprentice model being the norm. Today, doctoral candidates often have a co-supervisory team and access to structured development programmes that place students at the centre of their research journey (Grant et al. 2022; Grant and McKinley 2011; McKinley et al. 2011; Middleton and McKinley 2010; Ings 2014).
Why this History Matters to Today’s PhD Students
Understanding the history of the PhD in Aotearoa helps to illuminate why our current systems and structures exist as they do. It shows us that many of the processes we engage with—admission requirements, examination policies, supervisory practices—have deep roots. They have evolved through deliberate reflection and reform, often shaped by the social, cultural, and economic conditions of the times.
It also highlights how much progress we’ve made. The PhD has become vastly more accessible, inclusive, and supportive over the past century. And it continues to evolve: just as our predecessors adjusted the programme to meet the needs of their time, we too are shaping what the PhD will look like for future generations.
Notes
[1] These were all to Pākehā men, and – regardless of discipline – nearly all were on agricultural topics. This is discussed and elaborated on in (hopefully) much more interesting detail in my forthcoming publications (Pilkington 2025a, 2025b), which will be linked here when available.
[2] These early firsts are open for debate. As outlined in Pilkington and Eklund (2025), university data is often incomplete and inaccessible. Information presented here is a mixture of primary source data (i.e.: archives), secondary sources (i.e.: literature review), and intuition (mixture of experience and informed conjecture).
References
Bogle, David. 2018. “100 Years of the PhD in the UK.” In Vitae Researcher Development International Conferenc. Birmingham, UK.
Dickson, Neil K. 2020. ‘Degrees of Degrees’, Transactions of the Burgon Society, 19: 183-203.
Grant, Barbara, and Elizabeth McKinley. 2011. ‘Colouring the pedagogy of doctoral supervision: considering supervisor, student and knowledge through the lens of indigeneity’, Innovations in Education and Teaching International, 48: 377-86.
Grant, Barbara, Maresi Nerad, Corina Balaban, Rosemary Deem, Martin Grund, Chaya Herman, Aleksandra Kanjuo Mrčela, Susan Porter, Janet Rutledge, and Richard Strugnell. 2022. ‘The doctoral-education context in the 21st century: change at every level.’ in Maresi Nerad, David Bogle, Ulrike Kohl, Conor O’Carroll, Christian Peters and Beate Scholz (eds.), Towards a Global Core Value System in Doctoral Education (UCL Press: London, UK).
Hamilton, Jillian. 2011. ‘The voices of the exegesis.’ in L. Justice and K. Friedman (eds.), Pre-Conference Proceedings of Practice, Knowledge, Vision: Doctoral Education in Design Conference (The Hong Kong Polytechnic University: Hong Kong).
Ings, Welby. 2014. ‘Uncommon territory: declaration, and the supervision of queer design theses’, Teaching in Higher Education, 19: 194-207.
McKinley, Elizabeth, Barbara Grant, Sue Middleton, Kathie Irwin, and Les R. Tumoana Williams. 2011. ‘Working at the Interface: Indigenous Students’ Experience of Undertaking Doctoral Studies in Aotearoa New Zealand’, Equity & Excellence in Education, 44: 115-32.
Middleton, Sue. 2001. Educating Researchers: New Zealand Education PhDs 1948-1998 (New Zealand Association for Research in Education (NZARE) Te Hung Rangahau Mātauranga o Aotearoa: Hamilton, NZ).
Middleton, Sue, and Elizabeth McKinley. 2010. ‘The gown and the korowai: Māori doctoral students and the spatial organisation of academic knowledge’, Higher Education Research & Development, 29: 229-43.
Pilkington, Scott. 2022a. ‘History and Development of University Doctoral Dress in Aotearoa (New Zealand)’, Transactions of the Burgon Society, 21: 140-63.
———. 2022b. ‘Putting the ‘dress’ in ‘academic dress’: Synthesising 800 years of tradition and new garments in 21st Century Aotearoa New Zealand’, Context Dress/fashion/textiles, 42: 3-12.
Pilkington, Scott, and Tof Eklund. 2025. ‘Can Universities Be Considered Queer Institutions?’, New Zealand Sociology, 40: 21-36.
———. [submitted 2025]. ‘The PhD at 100, insights from Aotearoa New Zealand’. History of Education Review.
———. [in press 2025]. ‘A century of the PhD (dress) in Aotearoa New Zealand’. Transactions of the Burgon Society.
