Abstract
This study examines the experiences of four Ph.D. drop-out students in Geography programs in Turkey. Phone interviews were used to collect data. Narrative inquiry was used as a research design. Snowball sampling was used to reach the participants of the study. The study participants were two men and two women who started their Ph.D. programs in different universities in Turkey. The main reason that the participants had started their Ph.D. degrees was for getting academic jobs. The participants reported that they had positive experiences such as learning new skills and expanding knowledge but also negative experiences during their Ph.D. programs. All participants dropped out of their Ph.D. programs while they were writing their dissertations. Participants reported several personal (e.g., lack of skills) and circumstantial (e.g., social responsibilities, commuting) factors as reasons for quitting their Ph.D. programs. For educators, administrators, and policymakers, we recommended that setting higher criteria for Ph.D. students should be considered to attract and accept the best candidates for doctoral programs. During the doctorate, students should be able to select their supervisors or change their supervisors. In addition, doctoral students should be offered opportunities to socialize, share information, and learn from each other and should be encouraged to cooperate.
Highlights
Doctoral studies have many hardships for many students
This study aims to examine the experiences of students who dropped out from Geography Ph.D. programs in Turkey
In her study with Australian geography doctoral students, Dufty‐Jones (2018) supports this finding and adds that these students are pessimistic about the prospect of finding academic jobs and that it is important that Ph.D. students are provided enough care and guidance once enrolled in Geography Ph.D. programs
Summary
Doctoral studies have many hardships for many students. It is so difficult that they choose to drop out. The attrition rate for Ph.D. ranges from 33% to 70% (Jones, 2013). Regulations in doctoral programs vary across countries, institutions, and disciplines. Even though some Ph.D. programs provide students flexibility in terms of their research and study topics and completion time requirements, there still is the problem of high attrition rates (Martinsuo and Turkulainen, 2011). Like many other Ph.D. programs, Geography Ph.D. programs are challenged with delays in degree completion and high attrition rates (Adams, 2015; Monk and Solem, 2015; Ramutsindela, 2015; Roberts, 2015)
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