This article investigates whether experiences of the PhD trajectory during the first year of enrolment predict dropout during a later stage. More specifically, we studied how supervisor support, time pressure and passion for research relate to dropout among PhD students and assessed the role of discipline in this process. We used longitudinal data…

High dropout rates, delay, and dissatisfaction among PhD students are common problems in doctoral education. Research shows that many different factors are associated with doctoral success, but these factors have not often been studied simultaneously. Moreover, characteristics of the PhD project are mostly neglected. In this study, we investigate…

In the twenty-first century, the politics of higher education in Australia and around the globe have become dominated by neoliberal agendas of efficiency, profitability and managerialism. This has fundamentally altered the 'timescapes' of higher education. In the case of doctoral education, doctoral candidates and supervisors are subjected to…

This study investigated PhD students' computer activities in their daily research practice. Software that tracks computer usage (Manic Time) was installed on the computers of nine PhD students, who were at their early, mid and final stage in doing their doctoral research in four different discipline areas (Commerce, Humanities, Health Sciences and…

Case studies about issues arising from education policy were written between 2003 and 2011 by doctoral candidates in Curriculum and Instruction who were career K-12 educators. Literary analysis was employed in grouping 57 case studies, which described primarily situations that occurred in school districts in one large metropolitan area, by topic…

A study investigated predictors of time required to complete degree requirements for 395 master's and 79 doctoral students at York University (Ontario). Demographic (sex, age, marital status, student status, citizenship), academic (undergraduate/graduate grades, discipline, program type), and financial support variables (funding from…

This article describes a book by William Bowen and Neil Rudenstine titled "In Pursuit of the Ph.D.," which analyzes Ph.D. completion rates and time-to-degree. The book recommends improvements in program design and management, better-focused financial aid, and more structure.(DB)

The project described in this report was designed to render an in-depth analysis of what has happened to doctorate completion times since 1967, to provide a time-series data base for the period 1967-1986, and to develop a model that explains some of the factors that have caused an elongation to occur. Chapter 1 begins with an examination of how…

Background: Online learning community based education is still new. As institutions implement new programs they can encounter learner satisfaction issues. Purpose: To investigate learner unhappiness during the second semester of a new online doctoral program and develop a substantive grounded theory concerning its cause(s). Setting: The Doctorado…

Research co-sponsored by the Conference of Deans of Southern Graduate Schools and the Southern Regional Education Board on the duration of doctoral study is reported in this book. Over 1,900 recipients of a doctoral degree (representing over l20 graduate departments) cooperated along with the graduate deans and selected faculty representatives.…