In pursuing excellence, whether in golf or in research, the time invested in training and preparation is vital. So how long should a master's degree be? asks Don Olcott Jr
Both vice-chancellors and academics enjoyed healthy pay rises in 2008-09, although they may seem a distant memory to those now feeling the pinch. Using an exclusive analysis by Grant Thornton, John Morgan and Hannah Fearn look at who got what in the last year of plenty
Although vice-chancellors' pay packets rival those of top private-sector CEOs, they shoulder few of the same competitive burdens, Iain Pears notes, while doing great harm to UK academia
...or, why cars have speedometers. 'Persistent violator' Lou Marinoff on nirvana in the fast lane, governmental highway robbery and the dazzlingly effective absent-minded-professor defence
Many of the UK's 'accidental' administrators think that their work is not valued and that their US counterparts enjoy higher status. John Morgan considers what gives the professional edge
Lin Foxhall's rural childhood enabled her to see the significance of studying the lives of people traditionally overlooked by historians and archaeologists
The email conversations at the heart of 'Climategate' suggest a campaign to nobble journals, marginalise climate-change sceptics and withhold data from other researchers, says Andrew Montford
Lord Mandelson has wielded the axe on university spending, and whichever party wins the general election, further cuts are likely. Using an exclusive analysis of institutions' financial statements by Grant Thornton, Melanie Newman assesses the sector's fitness to ride out the tempest
American universities will soon have to be more open about tuition charges and student retention rates. Many fear that the push to provide consumer-oriented information will lead to even greater cuts in gover nment subsidies. Jon Marcus reports
Children have some odd ideas about university and what happens there, but they also have lofty ambitions in which they see higher education playing a key role, as Rebecca Attwood and Sarah Cunnane learn from visiting schools for the launch of our #loveHE campaign
British universities' inexorable loss of autonomy will soon reach the point of no return unless all institutions work together to win real public support for their sector, says Nigel Thrift
Harry Collins' research in the 1970s led him to realise that when scientists were trying to detect gravitational waves, there was no way of verifying that the detector itself was actually working...
Widening participation is a site of 'moral panic', marked by uncertainties over data and the efficacy of public funding. Despite all this, the academy is striving to deliver on its promise: greater equality. Rebecca Attwood writes
Socrates dreamt of a society of critical thinkers. Linda Elder explores how we can cultivate Socratic traits and methods to develop clear-headed and rational thought
Many scholars feel that their freedom to question is in danger of being eroded or even lost. Zoe Corbyn examines the threat in the UK, while Christoph Bode and David Gunkel consider the state of affairs in Europe and America
Mike Petterson's geological expertise has seen him travel the world, but perhaps his greatest eureka moments have come in Afghanistan, amid his efforts to help rebuild a shattered country
The University of Hong Kong has rebuilt its curriculum from the ground up to embrace 'experiential learning' and internationalism so as to produce 'global citizens'. Hannah Fearn reports
Peter Lennox keeps chickens, and they have taught him a great deal about behaviour, ethics, evolution and the psychopathic nature of modern 'efficiency'
Politicians and people profess to prize authenticity and integrity, but discerning the truthful person from the sincere but self-deceived and the dissembling is tricky. Simon Blackburn ponders questions of virtue
Ron Johnston's investigations into the impact of geography on democracy have revealed that people in the same class position tend to support different parties depending on where they live
When Bob Blaisdell was finally persuaded to use index cards for study, he became as obsessive about them as he was about the baseball cards of his youth
As universities agonise over greatly reduced funding from the state, David Greenaway reminds them that they were once much more financially self-reliant and would do well to rekindle the old spirit
Projects to boost staff wellbeing are all the rage, but some people wonder if the interest in workers' psychological health belies a rather less altruistic agenda. Melanie Newman reports
The universities that do well in Times Higher Education's Student Experience poll put students first, but as Rebecca Attwood learns, there is more than one way to do that
Many in the humanities feel that their disciplines and relevance are under attack. Matthew Reisz asks if 'the best that has been thought and said' still has a place in today's universities
Cheerless and drab but 'full of amazing stuff'. The British Library Newspapers collection at Colindale is moving and also becoming increasingly digitised. Huw Richards wonders if researchers will miss the feel of the paper beneath their fingers
For the young Robert Appelbaum, music was his guide, teaching him the language of life and leading him ever further away from the musicals of his parents to John Coltrane - and back
Bahram Bekhradnia discusses his experiences as an observer of Palestine's universities. Despite the manifold dangers posed by the Israeli occupation, they continue to succeed against the odds unbowed
A photography student's holiday snaps and a trip to the traffic-free streets of Mozambique led Caroline Knowles to embark on a project tracing the route to market of the common plastic flip-flop
The Copenhagen summit is in full force, and so too is the idea that man-made global warming is incontrovertible. But Martin Cohen argues that the consensus is less a triumph of science and rationality than of PR and fear-mongering
Sorcha Gunne and Zoë Brigley Thompson explain that they study rape and its narratives to understand and demythologise a difficult and unpleasant subject. But such is the taboo, it's tough to discuss their work openly
Goodbye, sweet Calliope, farewell Erato? In a consumerist world where speed and image rule, poetry's emotional meanings are being lost. Neil McBride muses, partly through verse, on the future of this embattled art
Bruno Cousin and Michèle Lamont say academics at France's public universities need to rethink their strategy after this year's protests alienated the public and had little impact on the Government
Some say mission groups help air vital issues collegially, but others think they selfishly expose the sector to divide-and-rule tactics. Melanie Newman looks at the group dynamics
Proof of the existence of extraterrestrial life may be closer than we think, thanks to a surge of research in astrobiology. Lewis Dartnell is determined to ascertain that we are not alone
Free, immediate and permanently available research results for all - that's what the open-access campaigners want. Unsurprisingly, the subscription publishers disagree. Zoë Corbyn weighs up the ramifications for journals, while Matthew Reisz asks how books will fare
