The role of peers in U.S. doctoral education is a topic that has been minimally researched and has received only passing attention. Yet peers are an important part of every doctoral learning community. One possible explanation for the lack of attention given to peers in doctoral education is that pedagogically, doctoral education is generally…

This paper unpacks how social science doctorate-holders come to evaluate overall excellence in their PhD training programs based on their domain-specific assessments of aspects of their programs. Latent class analysis reveals that social scientists 6-10 years beyond their PhD evaluate the quality of their doctoral program with one of two…

Theories of the "knowledge economy" view knowledge, and particularly new knowledge, as a critical resource to enhance a nation's economic growth. Governments around the world have invested in doctoral education expansion. Reforms in doctoral education are being shaped by the changing needs of society, of research modes, and of a changed…

This paper presents a workshop report that summarises the potentially far-reaching deliberations and results of a conference of experts in doctoral education from around the world. The conference was organised jointly by the U.S. Center for Innovation and Research in Graduate Education (CIRGE) at the University of Washington, Seattle and the…

Since the 1990s, globalization has become a central phenomenon for all of society, including graduate education and particularly doctoral education. Globalization takes place in a context where doctoral education and research capacity are unevenly distributed and where a few research universities, mainly in wealthy countries, have become powerful…

Doctoral education in the United States has in recent years received a number of criticisms. In response, several initiatives have been developed to address some of these criticisms. In addition, three major surveys have been undertaken to better understand the process, content, and outcome of doctoral education. This paper explores the criticisms…

Studies career paths of doctorates, examining the actual employment patterns of English PhDs 10 years after finishing their degrees. Discusses the many career paths of this cohort of English PhDs; characteristics of respondents; career paths within and outside of academe; satisfaction with current employment and value of the PhD; advice from PhDs;…

Institutional research at the University of California at Berkeley on graduate student attrition is discussed, focusing on when students in a given discipline are likely to leave a program and factors to which departments attribute attrition. Recommendations for increasing retention are offered, including institutional policies and strategies,…

This study examines actual employment patterns of Ph.D.s in an effort to provide a basis for policy responses to what is felt to be a continuing crisis in the academic job market for humanities Ph.D.s. The study involved almost 6,000 Ph.D. candidates from 61 doctoral-granting institutions across the United States. Six disciplines were chosen to…