Rethinking the geography PhD in New Zealand: navigating through contexts, circumstances and challenges Richard Le Heron • Julie Trafford • Erena Le Heron • Robin Kearns Ó Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2014 Abstract We situate the contemporary PhD experi- ence in the New Zealand context of robust international networks and scholarship, but one in which aspiring doctoral candidates have, until recently, been encour- aged to study overseas. Of late, however, an increase in doctoral registrations can be linked to a series of drivers in place within the universities since the new millen- nium. With the impetus of the Performance-Based Research Fund, domestic scholarships, and the waiv- ing of fees for international students the PhD has changed from a largely open-ended individual pursuit to one embedded within, and potentially, contributing to a wider research culture. Questions remain, how- ever, about the experience of doctoral study itself, and we pose these with reference to the need for further consideration of the PhD’s role in academic identity, disciplinary reproduction and knowledge production. Keywords PhD Á New Zealand Á Internationalisation Á Research culture Introduction New Zealand geography has a strong university pre- sence, with longstanding connections into international geography and is a visible player in globalising geogra- phy and globalising higher education (Le Heron and Lewis 2007). This positioning and the ambitions that go with this profile influence and challenge any critical assessment of doctoral research and geography PhDs in New Zealand. Between 1990 and 2008 New Zealand geography departments graduated 1,180 masters and 126 PhD students. This output by geography translates into about 6–7 % of total masters and PhDs produced by the New Zealand system over this time (Table 1). In 2009 over 92 geography PhDs were enrolled across six New Zealand universities (Table 2). Importantly, New Zealand geography has only recently built up sizeable PhD numbers. How this was achieved, what this has meant for the experience of doctoral students and their supervisors and whether the momentum is likely to continue are obvious questions. Yet they belie what we believe is a widespread level of ignorance in the geographical community about geography’s PhD environment. The cessation of regular inter-depart- mental meetings after 2001 removed the traditional forum where developments across departments could be reviewed. Even the agenda of the joint NZGS and Heads of Geography Units meeting in 2009, convened by the NZGS, did not extend to in-depth discussion of trends in postgraduate numbers. We organise the paper to show where the rise in geography PhDs has come from by outlining changes in the New Zealand university system and individ- ual university level, highlight the development of R. Le Heron (&) Á J. Trafford Á E. Le Heron Á R. Kearns School of Environment, The University of Auckland, Private Bag 92019, Auckland, New Zealand e-mail: r.leheron@auckland.ac.nz 123 GeoJournal DOI 10.1007/s10708-014-9578-2