Doctoral Student Satisfaction

A recent article, entitled "Doctoral Student Satisfaction: An Examination of Disciplinary, Enrollment, and Institutional Differences", published in the journal, Research in Higher Education, examines data from the 2000 National Doctoral Program Survey (NDPS) to gain insight into the differences in satisfaction levels of doctoral students across academic disciplines and institutional types. Interestingly, no significant differences were found in the overall satisfaction of students across disciplines or institutional types (research extensive and intensive universities). Students were less satisfied with the support they received to pursue careers outside of academia, as well as the amount of information (or lack thereof) they received at the start of their program on time-to-degree and post-graduation placement assistance. Education and humanities students in particular were less satisfied than expected with regards to issues related to financial resources, support, and information; students at research intensive universities were less satisfied than expected with training preparation or guidance for academic careers. Not surprisingly, former students were generally less satisfied with their advisor and doctoral experience; students who had been formerly enrolled in humanities, physical science, social sciences, and life sciences programs were even more dissatisfied.

The findings of this study emphasizes the importance of institutional and departmental support for doctoral students, the need for graduate program assessments, further research into the factors that contribute to doctoral student attrition, and the experiences of students enrolled at less prestigious institutions.