Analysis of the dispersion of fields and admission conditions of those admitted to the doctoral program in higher education in Iran

Iranian universities have accepted a number of students with different majors in previous courses since the beginning of the definition of the doctoral program in higher education. The purpose of this study is to analyze the current situation of higher education in Iran in terms of the number of applicants to different universities and also to analyze the dispersion of the field of previous admissions to higher education. Suggestions are also offered as a prerequisite or admission requirements for a doctoral degree in higher education based on international experience. The research has been compiled using descriptive-analytical method and collection of library information, using qualitative content analysis method by themes analysis method and spatial accumulation through document mining and using non-experimental research design. The statistical population of the study was all those admitted to the national universities of higher education from 90 to 98. The comparative study research method was used to suggest preconditions or admission conditions in the doctoral program of higher education. According to the research results, the number of those admitted to the doctoral program in higher education has been increasing from 1990 to 1994, and since 1995, its increasing trend has stopped and remained almost constant. Shahid Beheshti University and Allameh Tabatabai University (46% of the total admissions) had the highest and the University of Isfahan had the lowest share (2%) in the admission of PhD students. The departments of educational sciences and teaching, foreign languages, engineering, medical sciences and management, and economic sciences have the most and the fields of social sciences, psychology, arts and education also have the lowest share in the field of previous admissions. Definition of the research field related to the specialized field of previous admissions, 3 to 5 years of experience in professional, research, teaching, evaluation or management in the field of higher education, recommendations from faculty members, etc. were suggested as conditions and prerequisites for admission to the doctoral program.