This study analyzes the impact that publishing during the period of PhD study has on researchers' future knowledge production, impact, and co-authorship. The analysis is based on a representative sample of PhDs from all fields of science working in Portugal. For each researcher in the dataset, we compiled a lifetime publication record and respective meta-data retrieved from Thomson Reuters Web of Science. Our results extend the previous literature by showing that those who publish during their PhD have greater research production and productivity, and greater numbers of yearly citations and citations throughout their career compared to those who did not publish during their PhD. Moreover, it is found that those who publish during their PhD are more adept to publish singleauthored publications and engage in publications with peers based abroad, thus suggesting both higher levels of scientific autonomy and international collaboration dynamics.

Research agenda setting is a critical dimension in the creation of knowledge since it represents the starting point of a process that embeds individual researchers' (and the communities that they identify themselves with) interest for shedding light on topical unknowns, intrinsic and extrinsic factors underpinning that motivation, and the ambition and scope of what a research endeavor can bring. This article aims to better understand the setting of individual research agendas in the field of Higher Education. It does so by means of a recently developed framework on research agenda setting, that uses cluster analysis and linear modeling. The findings identify two main clusters defining in individual research agenda setting -cohesive and trailblazingeach with a different set of determining characteristics. Further analysis by cross-validation through means of sub-sampling shows that these clusters are consistent for both new and established researchers, and for frequent and "part-time" contributors to the field of Higher Education. Implications for the field of higher education research are discussed, including the relevance that each research agendas cluster has for the advancement of knowledge in the field.

This article contradicts recent arguments in Portugal that there are "too many PhDs" and argues that there is a need to understand better the changing nature of doctorates and doctorate holders. The article analyzes whether there is a surplus of doctorate holders in Portugal based on five critical dimensions, using data provided by supranational and national public organizations: stocks and flows; university academic staff qualifications; age structure; research output; and labor market for PhDs. The analysis shows that rather than a surplus, there is a shortage of doctorate holders in many sectors of activity, which is expected to be exacerbated in the next few decades. These findings underline the need to consider active public policies to attract and retain PhDs, as well as enhancing the degree of involvement of new doctorate holders in the modernization of higher education and in the internationalization of the economy. Intermediary institutions, public-private research partnerships and public administration may play a critical role in the process but require new economic actors and instruments with the capacity to invest in and employ doctorate holders.