This study explored the career outcomes for Latinx doctoral students and the contextual factors of their educational experience influencing these outcomes. A casestudy approach is taken to examine the cases of doctoral students at the University of Michigan. These students were tracked each year, for 10 years post-graduation. Furthermore, an analysis of programmatic efforts to develop doctoral students and prepare them for the marketplace is also described as institutional structures that support career success. Resumen Exploró los resultados de las carreras de estudiantes de doctorado latina/os y los factores contextuales de sus experiencias educacionales que influencían dichos resultados. Se examinaron casos de estudiantes doctorales de la universidad de Michigan a travéz de un estudio de caso. Estos estudiantes fueron seguidos anualmente por diez años después de su graduación. Aún más, se describe un análisis de esfuerzos programáticos para desarrollar estudiantes doctorales y prepararlos para el mercado como estructuras institucionales que apoyan el éxito profesional.
PurposeThe purpose of this study is to examine whether there are differences in beginning doctoral students’ perceptions of the disciplinary knowledge required to be successful in doctoral education and identify pre-doctoral characteristics and experiences that explain these differences.Design/methodology/approachThis study relied on survey data of first-year PhD students enrolled at a large, research-intensive university. Survey responses were matched to institutional information, missing data were imputed and responses were weighted to account for groups’ differential probabilities of being included in the analytical sample. The authors used regression analysis to examine the relationship between students’ background characteristics, anticipatory socialization experiences, academic performance and perceived levels of disciplinary knowledge.FindingsThe study findings indicated significant differences in doctoral students’ perceived levels of disciplinary knowledge. Students who identify as female or URM had significantly lower levels of perceived disciplinary knowledge than students who identify as male or non-URM. Moreover, several anticipatory socialization experiences were significantly and positively related to perceived disciplinary knowledge.Originality/valueWhile there is evidence that doctoral students start graduate school with varying identities and experiences, little is known about how students perceive their abilities and knowledge. This study reported that students differ in their self-assessment of disciplinary knowledge as they embark on doctoral work with implications for academic identity development and student success.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.