• Samuel G Grace and van ZundertAndré A JAAJ0000-0002-1836-6831Department of Anaesthesia and Perioperative Medicine, The University of Queensland and Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia..
• Department of Anaesthesia, Cairns Hospital, Cairns, Queensland, Australia.
• Intern Med J. 2023 Oct 1; 53 (10): 180618121806-1812.

BackgroundGlobalisation has increased human movements around the world, spurring greater connectiveness and opportunities to collaborate. In an increasingly connected world, quality assurance among professionals is paramount, particularly in medical research where PhD (Doctor of Philosophy) degree holders are expected to be at the peak of their field and play advanced-level research, education and leadership roles. While some regional efforts have been made to ensure comparability in the standards of advanced degree training, no previous study has compared these standards for a PhD in medicine across the globe.AimsTo explore the structural diversity of medical PhD degrees and identify which aspects benefit from greater harmonisation.MethodsIn 2021, the 10 best-ranked universities from each of the top five Western countries, and the top Asian country, were identified based on Quacquarelli Symonds World University Ranking. Data were collected for each university based on individual website information regarding the level of degree required to gain entry into a PhD programme in medicine and requirements for completion of coursework, journal publication and oral defence.ResultsSignificant variations exist in the requirements for medical PhDs across the world in terms of prerequisite degree and inclusion of coursework. Oral defence is near universal, but a mandatory requirement for publication is largely absent.ConclusionsHarmonisation of medical PhD degrees through international standards should be considered to encourage quality improvement and benchmarking between institutions, as well as to facilitate greater ease of movement within the medical research community, improving international collaboration and individual career opportunities accordingly.© 2022 The Authors. Internal Medicine Journal published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of Royal Australasian College of Physicians.

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