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Chris Golde

The US higher education system is often said to be the envy of the world. And while many doctoral students say they are generally satisfied with the quality of their doctoral preparation, a recent survey shows that the doctoral education could be improved in a number of ways.

But students and programs need not be at cross-purposes, according to UW-Madison education professor Chris M. Golde. Changing current practices will involve the collective efforts of students, faculty, and administrators.

Employment. The number of tenure-track academic positions has been decreasing. That trend has been amply documented and discussed by the media, professional associations, and graduate student activists. No more than half of the doctoral students in the fields studied (which exclude such professional fields as engineering and education) will be hired into full-time tenure-track faculty positions. Of those faculty positions, only a small proportion will be in research universities. Yet this is the career students want. Nationally, nearly half of all faculty are part-time employees, and most faculty hold positions in comprehensive and community colleges.

Ethics. Survey data also indicate that the ethical dimension of faculty and professional life—how to act responsibly and in the best interests of the profession—is not, as is often assumed, part of graduate training. Although most respondents understand policies and practices regarding appropriate relations with undergraduates, using copyrighted materials, and generating and using research data, only 20% to 30 % reported they are clear about customary practices involving patent policies, proper use of research funds, allocating authorship for papers, and avoiding conflicts of interest.

Teaching. Teaching and, to a lesser extent, governance and service, are the central activities in the lives of most working faculty members. Although doctoral students are reasonably well prepared to conduct research, survey results show that prospective faculty members don’t report being as well prepared by their programs to teach or be academic citizens.

Diversity. There are too few faculty of color in all disciplines and too few women in many fields. One solution would be to both encourage more underrepresented students to consider faculty careers and to provide the additional supports and changes to make the profession more attractive.

Preparation for doctoral study. Students reported that they decided to enter a doctoral program without having a good idea of the time, money, clarity of purpose, and perseverance that doctoral education demands. Many seem to have entered the pursuit of the doctorate blindly. Survey responses reveal that students often enroll in a PhD program at the encouragement of a favorite undergraduate professor, without considering a full range of alternatives, and without developing a clear understanding of why they are doing so. Many students cautioned against enrolling simply because earning a PhD seems interesting or the next logical step.

A surprising proportion of the students would make changes, were they to start their programs again. Nearly half of respondents report that they would or might select a different university. Additionally, 39% answered yes or maybe to whether they might select a different advisor and 42% said they would or might select a different dissertation topic.

Once enrolled, many students appear to receive little guidance about how to navigate the process. As students progress through their programs, many of the details of the day-to-day processes are unnecessarily ambiguous, hindering students’ ability to make the most of their doctoral education. More than half the survey respondents report that they do not know where the funding for their doctoral study or research will come from, how much time they can expect to spend with their advisor, or what criteria will be used to determine when they can graduate.

Unformed expectations

In sum, respondent comments reveal that many students came to graduate school with unformed or unrealistic expectations. They did not know about the constrained academic job market, nor did they have an idea of how to get the most out of the experience.