Abstract
While a large group of students enroll in graduate studies in Canada every year, more than half do not reach degree completion (Elgar, 2003; Baird, 1990). This article highlights recent graduates’ experiences of their doctoral studies, including the dissertation process. A questionnaire was applied to 15 institutions of higher education, representing all regions of Canada. A total of 53 questionnaires were returned and analyzed. Findings indicated that doctoral students found several challenges to program completion including funding, interactions with faculty, and the writing of the dissertation. Participants also noted that the Canadian Academy provided them with quality experiences, if not at times, rocky ones. An overview is provided of structures and processes that supported and hindered students’ doctoral studies as outlined by Gardner’s (2009) conceptual framework of doctoral student identity development
Highlights
While a large group of students enroll in graduate studies in Canada every year, more than half do not reach degree completion (Elgar, 2003; Baird, 1990)
“more than 100,000 students enroll in masters and doctoral programs at over 40 universities across Canada” (Elgar, 2003, p. 1)
Gardner’s (2009) model of doctoral student identity development is divided into three phases; entry, integration, and candidacy
Summary
While a large group of students enroll in graduate studies in Canada every year, more than half do not reach degree completion (Elgar, 2003; Baird, 1990). This article highlights recent graduates’ experiences of their doctoral studies, including the dissertation process. An overview is provided of structures and processes that supported and hindered students’ doctoral studies as outlined by Gardner’s (2009) conceptual framework of doctoral student identity development. The purpose of this article was to highlight recent graduates’ first–hand experiences of their doctoral studies, including the writing and completing of their dissertations. Gardner’s framework was utilized to observe whether Canadian doctoral students had similar experiences as their American counterparts, as well as, to identify possible discrepancies in Gardner’s model of identity development of doctoral students
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