國家教育研究院

　　在傳統德國高等教育領域中，應用科學大學／大學的辦學特色分屬兩極之不同類型學校，前者教授的職責聚焦於應用導向之教學、培育高級應用型人才，而學術研究僅隸屬於後者教授的任務，並著重於學術型人才之培育。而後，二者的發展在某種程度上彼此趨近，原本分工明確的不同類型學校間之界限越來越模糊，但博士學位授予權依然由大學與部分學院所壟斷，應用科學大學僅能仰賴大學、透過「合作式博士生培育程序」授予博士學位；因此很多人將該權限視為大學防守應用科學大學逐步進逼的「最後碉堡」。未料2013 年起，有些邦陸續提出擬賦予應用科學大學博士授予權，因而在德國社會頓成為熱門爭議話題。本文即探究此爭議的背景與相關論點，並提出問題解決之建議。

　　Germany’s traditional system of tertiary education consists of two very different types of institutions: Regular universities and universities of applied sciences (UAS). The former emphasizes academic education and research, and the latter focuses on training in specialized technical skills. Originally the difference was quite distinct, but over time these two types of schools have developed in such a way that it’s now often difficult to see the difference. Nonetheless, only universities and certain colleges (Hochschule) have the right to award doctorates; UASs can only offer doctoral degrees in cooperation with a regular university. Many see this monopoly on the conferral of doctoral degrees as the universities’ final bastion for stemming the advance of UASs into their territory. When in 2013 several German states, one after another, unexpectedly proposed to extend to UASs the right to independently award doctoral degrees, this set off a heated controversy throughout German society. In this paper I present the background of this controversy, discuss related issues, and offer a suggestion for resolving the problem.