This paper details a proposed doctoral student connections program that is based on sociocultural theory. It is designed to assist new students with starting their educational journey. This program is designed to leverage social interactions, peer mentorship, personal reflection, purposeful planning, and existing resources to assist students in…

In recent years, doctoral programs in education leadership have been subject to notable criticism and proposals for reform. Starting with a synthesis of this criticism, this article focuses on the two primary constituencies--university faculty members who teach in such programs, and school superintendents, who are the leading practitioners such…

Doctoral training in the molecular biosciences often fails to prepare students for academic and alternate careers. Several studies of doctoral training have reported a need to improve doctoral education; outlining specific criticisms related to the need to broaden the scope of the doctoral degree in order to prepare students for careers. The…

The doctoral experience unfolds many complexities and challenges for students, faculty, and institutions that contribute toward degree completion. The purpose of this study is to investigate the students' and alumni's experiences afforded by the Ed.D. in Educational Leadership and Administration at the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP). The…

This article explores the role of group supervision within doctoral education, offering an exploration of the experience of group supervision processes through a small-scale study evaluating both student and staff experience across three cohorts of one professional doctorate programme. There has been very little research to date exploring…

Atlanta University launched its doctor of arts in humanities (DAH) programs almost 40 years ago, and, since the 1988 merger with Clark College, Clark Atlanta University has continued to award the degrees. This fall, for the first time, its students will be able to earn Ph.D.s in humanities instead. In DAH programs around the country, there's been…

This article examines the development and growth of professional doctorates in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia. It provides an overview of the development of the doctoral degree from its establishment at the universities of Paris and Bologna, and highlights the emergence of new forms of doctorates that have challenged the…

This article outlines an exploration into the development of visual perception through analysing the process of taking photographs of the mundane as small-scale research. A preoccupation with social construction of the visual lies at the heart of the investigation by correlating the perceptive process to Mitchell's (2002) counter thesis for visual…

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…

Use of the Australian research assessment exercise, Excellence in Research for Australia (ERA) to influence the policy and practice of research education in Australia will undoubtedly have many consequences, some of them unintended and potentially deleterious. ERA is a retrospective measure of research quality; research education is prospective.…

Pursuing a doctoral degree represents a major life change for students, is incredibly demanding, and the process is complex. Although surviving the PhD process is difficult, it can be done. The authors are both recent graduates of a social work doctoral program and have compiled a brief list of inter- and intra-personal tips that they believe…

Andrea, a doctoral student in education, has a demanding schedule. She has a young child, a job, a house on the market, and a spouse who travels so much that she can only see him on certain weekends. To cope with these unavoidable distractions to her research, she found the writing center and was paired with a fellow graduate student, Charisse.…

Through a self-study methodology, six doctoral students and a professor examine how our semester long doctoral level class became a transformative space for all participants. We investigate how each individual was able to participate in the construction of a powerful and meaningful learning community, which led to a re-visioning of ourselves as…

The Post-9/11 GI Bill took effect on August 1, 2009, increasing the education benefits available to military service members who served after September 10, 2001. A previous National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) study used national data collected in 2007-08 to profile military undergraduate and graduate students who received benefits…

People are self-learning on the Internet and the various eLearning freeware tools of the 21st century diffuses a whole new pedagogy; yet, generational trends from organizations, corporations, and academic institutions minimally show implementation of various blended learning approaches online into their organizational culture and climate. The…