The process of persisting successfully in completing an online Ph.D. program for adult learners was the focus of this qualitative research study. There is a significant gap in the literature about the process involved for adult learners pursuing their Ph.D. online. Charmaz's constructivist grounded theory (CGT) approach was used to explore the…

Policy interventions have created tighter controls over the duration of individual doctoral candidatures. In response, institutional regulations in UK universities typically require that a doctoral researcher's progress is carefully monitored through progress review procedures to maximise the chances of timely completion. Despite the ubiquity of…

PhD students come to work in academic environments that are characterized by long working hours and work done on non-standard hours due to increasing job demands and metric evaluation systems. Yet their long working hours and work at non-standard hours are often seen as a logical consequence of their intellectual quest and academic calling and may…

A dissertation research proposal is more than just a document that represents the foundation of a doctoral candidate's research journey. It is essential to communicate the study's intent to be undertaken and to gain approval from an academic committee. The present analysis provides a systematic approach to writing a dissertation proposal, offering…

The convenience and flexibility of online doctoral programs make them popular with working adults. However, online degree programs may lack relationship-building features, making students feel disconnected and isolated. These feelings are more pronounced as students enter their program's dissertation portion as they become responsible for setting…

This study was conducted as a descriptive correlational research with the purpose of examining the mediator role of life satisfaction in the relationship between time management and communication skills of graduate students attending to master's and PhD programs in higher education. The study sample included 591 students (348 males and 243…

It is no longer sufficient for higher education providers to solely focus on fostering academic research communication skills in their doctoral candidates, as a broader skillset is needed to communicate research effectively to diverse audiences. Such knowledge mobilisation facilitates research impact beyond academia and is linked to funding…

Following the worldwide shift, partially or fully, to virtual education during the COVID-19 pandemic, online education has received renewed attention. Bal et al. (2020) noted the issues faced by higher degree students during that period in which they struggled with time management, access to resources, and balancing work and personal life. Over…

This article reconsiders narratives of the doctoral journey. It aims to contribute to a small but growing body of work which offers an irruption to widely accepted notions of learning as a linear pathway with a fixed end-point. The article engages two of Deleuze and Guattari's many generative concepts: rhizome and becoming. In doing so, it…

Revisiting his dissertation journal, the author undertook an autoethnographic study of that period in his life. As a full-time student within a U.S. research university, he had funded his studies by teaching international teaching assistants and undergraduates learning French and Arabic. In this study, he used inductive analysis to explore his…

A sense of community is central to student engagement and satisfaction. However, many students struggle with developing connections in online programs. Drawing on interviews with 13 instructors, this paper explores the strategies that they use to help students develop a sense of community in synchronous virtual classrooms. Four strategies for…

Doctoral education is inherently stressful for students. While the implications of stress on employees has been heavily investigated within the management literature, what we know about stress has not yet been applied to doctoral education. We take initial steps toward using the stress literature to examine stress in doctoral education by applying…

We explore how physical science doctoral students navigate their role identities throughout their graduate programme. Physical science doctoral students take on many academic roles in addition to the role of scientist, including researcher, educator, and student. When social expectations of roles become internalized, they become role identities.…

An important aspect of pursuing a doctoral degree is committing to developing a portfolio of academic scholarship that will showcase your research interests and demonstrate your capability as a writer. Although many doctoral students may not consider writing time outside of classes to be a priority during their program, it is vital that they…

This research study explores the doctoral socialization and transnational experiences of sub-Saharan African doctoral students whose education is sponsored by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). This study is designed to explore the convergence of the international student experience, doctoral student socialization, and the…