Doctoral Student Satisfaction: An Examination of Disciplinary, Enrollment, and Institutional Differences

Abstract

Previous research suggests that it is the department, not the graduate school that bears the greatest responsibility for doctoral students' progress and success (Ehrenberg et al., Doctoral education and the faculty of the future (pp. 15-34). Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2009) dictating the need to examine and understand how doctoral students experience their education at the department level. In the present study, we analyzed the NAGPS' 2000 National Doctoral Program Survey (NDPS) data in an effort to understand the differences in the satisfaction levels of doctoral students (current, recent graduates, and former) across various academic disciplines (e.g. social sciences, humanities, engineering) and different institutional types (e.g. research extensive and research intensive). Employing both traditional (ANOVA) and item-level (Rasch Rating Scale Model) analyses we found that although overall satisfaction with doctoral experiences appears to be equivalent/similar across multiple disciplines, student satisfaction within disciplines varied significantly and consistently with respect to specific academic experiences.Keywords Doctoral students satisfaction Á 2000 National Doctoral Program Survey Á Rasch Rating Scale Model Á ANOVA Assessing the status and quality of graduate education in the United States has become a central concern for many entities-foundations, government agencies, businesses and industry, universities, accrediting agencies, and educational associations-over the last two decades. Nowhere is this concern more evident than in the increasing number of reports and national studies (Golde and Dore 2001; Lovitts 2001; National Association of Graduate-Professional Students 2001;Nettles and Millett 2006;Nyquist and Woodford 2000) designed both to (a) understand the various student experiences and outcomes of doctoral education and/or (b) suggest best practices to improve these experiences and outcomes.

Effects of appointment types on the availability of research infrastructure, work pressure, stress, and career attitudes of PhD candidates of a Dutch university

“…For example, Barnes and Randall (2012) studied satisfaction among PhD students in the United States across different disciplines. Although the overall satisfaction with their doctoral experience did not differ significantly, the authors did find differences in satisfaction with specific aspects, such as whether PhD students received sufficient financial support.…”

Doctoral Students’ Social Support Profiles and Their Relationship to Burnout, Drop-Out Intentions, and Time to Candidacy

“…Doctoral students' support experiences may differ from each other even within the same research group, doctoral program, or across different disciplines (Barnes & Randall, 2012;Kim & Otts, 2010). Accordingly, doctoral students' social resources for coping with the challenges provided by the doctoral journey are likely to vary among students, resulting in an increased or reduced risk of a negative doctoral experience.…”

Longitudinal perspectives of faculty and students on benefits and barriers to transdisciplinary graduate education: program assessment and institutional recommendations

“…Many of the well-documented challenges experienced by traditional students overlap with those identified in this study among TD students. For example, traditional students have concerns about being inadequately informed about the doctoral training process, unclear expectations of advisors, and time to degree completion (Barnes and Randall, 2012;Liechty et al, 2009). In the current study, TD students also talked about their frustrations with unclear expectations from their multiple advisors and departments.…”