This study was designed to obtain the judgment of doctoral students about the quality and character of their experiences in graduate study, and to identify stress stages in the degree process. An analysis was made of over 2,300 responses to a survey questionnaire and 100 interviews with doctoral students at the University of California at Berkeley. The 2 most commonly expressed reasons for pursuing the doctoral degree were the desire to be on a college or university staff and an interest in the intellectual life. An average of 83% of the students were more satisfied than dissatisfied with their overall doctoral experiences. About nine-tenths of the interviewees emphasized the need for more personal orientation and integration into the academic bloodstream of the university, and more interaction with their professors. They also felt that the rationale on which some university requirements are predicted, and the appropriateness of these requirements to specific fields of knowledge, should be reevaluated. Interviewees questioned the value of the foreign language requirement as a scholarly activity, a tool for research, a means of expanding one's knowledge in his field, or an opportunity for exposure to another culture. The oral qualifying examination was considered as the most stressful experience in the doctoral program. The report also contains recommendations for graduate schools. (WM)