Almost universally, residential doctoral programs have reported attrition rates of up to 50% for face-to-face programs and 50-70% for online doctoral programs. The purpose of this critical review was to explore current literature for doctoral attrition and persistence to explore reasons and attributes for improved persistence to completion. We…

Published research on institutional characteristics associated with external research funding are reviewed. Principal points of agreement are that funding levels are related to previous funding levels; publications are related to funding; and funding is related to the existence of doctoral programs. No evidence of bias in federal funding was…

The recommendations of the National Institute of Mental Health task force on social work research are reviewed and discussed. It is proposed that as a means of forwarding reform and building an infrastructure for research, doctoral education in social work should be expanded and focused in selected institutions. (MSE)

Presented are trends and projections in social work doctoral education including: historical summary, review of existing studies, increasing productivity in next decade providing resources are not curtailed, and need for more emphasis on postdoctoral education. Central objectives in social work relate to social policy, teaching, and…

Characteristics of doctorate recipients in library science were compared with those in other disciplines to identify factors that may aid in the recruitment and retention of Ph.D. students. Factors explored include trends in annual production of doctoral degrees; characteristics of recipients, including gender, race, citizenship, undergraduate…