Lynn McAlpine is Emeritus Professor of Higher Education and Development. She is internationally recognized for her research, conducted in the UK, Europe and Canada, into PhD and post-PhD career trajectories both in and outside the academy.

Lynn receives frequent international invitations to do workshops and keynotes that explore the implications of the research both from pedagogical and policy perspectives.

Research interests: Lynn’s research interest in PhD careers has evolved over time.  Her early research in this area followed scientists and social scientists for up to seven years as they navigated their careers and personal lives during and after finishing the PhD. Given how many did not remain in the academy led her to studying post-PhD careers outside the academy. Most recently, she has been exploring how national policy regimes and institutional affordances and constraints during and after their PhDs influence how they experience and navigate their lives and careers.

Recent publications
  • McAlpine, L., Bengtsen, S., & Gibson, A. (in press). Graduate school leadership: How Danish humanities research education leaders constitute their roles. Studies in Graduate and Postgraduate Education.
  • McAlpine, L. (in press). Is the notion of ‘mid-career academic ‘fit-for-purpose’? Evidence for a new framing of (academic) careers. Trends in Higher Education.
  • McAlpine, L. (2024). What can we collectively learn from the research on student learning? Journal of Adult Learning, Knowledge and Innovation. https://doi.org/10.1556/2059.2024.00108.
  • McAlpine, L., Bengtsen, S., Gibson, A, & Delaquil, T. (2024). Valuing humanities: Rethinking the humanities-impact landscape in Denmark. Arts and Humanities in Higher Education. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/14740222241261034.
  • McAlpine, L. (2024). Towards a richer representation of academic language publication choices: Integrating biography, work and home. Studies in Continuing Education. https://doi.org/10.1080/0158037X.2024.2358009
  • Pleschova, G., & McAlpine, L. (2024). What exactly is peer learning? An exploratory analysis. Journal of University Teaching & Learning Practice, 21(7). https://doi.org/10.53761/2y2n6g17.
  • McAlpine, L., & Castelló. M. (2024). What do PhD graduates in non-academic careers actually do? Interaction between organization type, job specifications and graduate experience. Learning and Teaching: The International Journal of Higher Education in the Social Sciences, 17, 1, 77-106.
  • McAlpine, L., & Boz, C. (2023). Developing as a writer: PhD researchers’ evolving perspectives within a writing program. Innovations in Education and Teaching International. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14703297.2023.2230190

Funded Research Projects

  • Research (f)or impact? Integrating research and societal impact in the humanities PhD
    2020-2023
  • Early career researcher identity development: research within and beyond academia
    2020-2023
  • Global State of Young Scientists: Latin America and Caribbean Project Proposal. Germany: Global Young Academy.
    2019-2020
  • Researcher Identity Development: Strengthening Science in Society Strategies (RID-SSISS) (Castelló, M., et al.)
    2017-2019
  • Extending and reinforcing good practice in teacher development (Pleschova, G. et al.)
    2016-2019
  • Doctoral Supervisor Training - A Hub for Collaboration and Internationalization (Nieminen, J. et al.)
    2016-2018
  • Global State of Young Scientists in Africa’ (GloSYS Africa) (Coussens, A. et al.)
    2015-2018