phd dropout rate us

Who drops out of the Ph.D.?

Aside from the fact that doing a Ph.D. seems to put you at a greater risk of being anxious or depressed than other occupations, some students may also face the question: will I ever finish my thesis at all ? This post digs into research about doctoral attrition and completion, and what factors seem to make dropping out more likely. Do not give up!… unless you really want to.

Image by Siggy Nowak from Pixabay

About 10 years ago, when I left my job in the telecom industry to pursue an academic Ph.D., I started pursuing my other secret dream: being a psychologist. I enrolled in an online masters program on Psychology research. However, several months into the program, it was clear that this was not going to be a piece of cake. I was behind on the readings, some of the concepts in the courses were incomprehensible to me (not surprising, since my background was in Engineering), and I had some unpleasant online interactions with my peers when seeking help about these issues. My morale started to falter, and I started wondering: should I cut my losses and focus on my other main project (the doctoral degree that I had started in parallel)? Or was it better to drop out of the Ph.D. and pursue the shorter, maybe more manageable masters degree?

Dropping out of the PhD: the problem of attrition

If you ever faced this kind of thoughts, you are not alone. Not at all . In the research literature about students dropping out of doctoral programs (or “attrition”, as they call it), very often the ballpark of 40–60% attrition rate is mentioned 1 . Imagine you are in a classroom with your peer Ph.D. students. Look to the person on your left. Look to the person on your right. According to the statistics, only one or two of you will ever finish the Ph.D.

That’s a hard pill to swallow.

Of course, this is just a general approximation. The numbers vary quite a bit from university to university, and across the different disciplines: in one study, students in science and technology were 50% more likely to complete their Ph.D.’s than health sciences ones, and more than twice as likely compared to doctoral students in the humanities and social sciences 2 . This is probably due to many social, economic and cultural factors that are quite different in each discipline (rather than the inherent difficulty of the subject). Furthermore, even getting to these numbers is quite hard, since very often the researchers running these studies (and the doctoral programs themselves) don’t have a good way to know if a student has actually dropped out, or is just unusually quiet.

There is also the issue of when will you drop out. Several studies mention that dropping out of a Ph.D. is more probable in the first two years 1 , 2 . This is probably due to the students coming to the doctorate with a certain image or expectation of what doing research looks like, and academic research life not living up to those expectations – leading to disillusionment and dropout. To avoid this, in certain areas like biomedical research, students spend some time at the beginning of the doctorate rotating around different labs to get a better sense of what working in research looks like… only sometimes this also backfires, when labs start competing fiercely for the best students, so that some labs show a “friendly façade” during rotation, and a much harsher reality once the student incorporates to the lab for real 3 .

So, it is clear now: if about half of the doctoral students actually drop out of the Ph.D., probably many more have at least considered quitting. Indeed, I’d wager that you are quite lucky if you have not thought of abandoning the Ph.D. so far.

Factors for attrition

Now that we know this is a quite common problem, what are the factors related to greater chances of dropping out (or persisting until completion)? Looking into the research on this issue, I found five factors that appear quite often 4 :

• Kind of funding : Where you get the money from to do your Ph.D. is one of the most studied variables in relation to doctoral students dropping out. While the details vary from country to country and from one discipline to another (which determines what options are available to you), in general having no funding is associated with the highest rates of dropout (between 2.5 and six times more likely to drop out than the other options) 2 . Scholarships or research assistantships seem associated with lower dropouts 5 . While details differ across studies, it seems that the more your money source is aligned with your Ph.D., the better (e.g., if you have a scholarship that lets you freely choose your research topic, or your salary comes from a research project fully aligned with that topic). Conversely, if you are doing your Ph.D. part-time (because you took a completely unrelated job to pay your bills, or if you took a part-time lectureship at the university), you might be setting yourself up to have a harder time finishing your doctorate 6 .
• Marital status : Interestingly, married doctoral students (or those in a long-term relationship) are much less likely to drop out of a Ph.D. 5 . For example, in one study in Belgium, researchers found that married students were about four times less likely to drop out than unmarried ones 2 . As we saw when looking at depression and anxiety , it seems that this kind of close social (and, maybe, economic) support is very helpful to persist in the long journey of the doctorate.
• Career prospects . Quite logically, if you think that you will easily find a job once you have the doctorate under your belt, you will be more likely to persist until completion 5 . And vice-versa: once you stop believing that you have good career opportunities after finishing the Ph.D, dropping out seems much more likely 1 .
• Relationship with the supervisor . Rivers of ink have been poured trying to explain the influence of supervisors, and their relationship with students, in doctoral attrition. The issue appears in most qualitative accounts of doctoral student dropouts, but so far it has been quite difficult to quantify (e.g., well-advised students also drop out sometimes 3 ). Reviews of this area indicate that a positive student-supervisor relationship is associated with completing the Ph.D. 1 . But what makes a relationship positive? that’s harder to say… the advisors being “available”, having frequent interactions, having a sense of cooperation, understanding, and trust. Others also mention a non-hierarchical relationship, with clear expectations, or the advisor not being over-involved in their own research agenda 5 . Being an advisor myself, I find some of this advice wonderfully vague, but I will dig deeper into the topic of supervision styles, in a later post.
• Candidate “preparedness” is another factor that pops-up quite frequently, both in the sense of prior academic achievement (e.g., whether you passed your masters with very high grades), but also in terms of other personal characteristics of the doctoral student. For instance, in one study researchers found that students that passed the masters with very high distinction were two to eight times more likely to complete the Ph.D. than students that had their masters with lower grades 2 . However, not every review agrees that academic achievement is a critical factor in Ph.D. attrition 3 . Other reviews also mention students’ personal characteristics, such as their motivation to do the Ph.D. (if the motivation is high, and is about learning or personal improvement, chances of completion seem to be higher), students’ time on task, not having negative personal issues, etc. 5

OK, so far things seem logical. If we are alone, we are not academic over-achievers, or we have to get an unrelated job to make ends meet, we will generally have a harder time during the dissertation – and more chances of being faced with the dilemma of abandoning it.

But… what is the right answer?

A contrarian view of Ph.D. dropout

Most of the research I’ve seen around this topic describes dropping out as a big problem, a waste of time and resources for everyone involved (students, supervisors, universities, society). And, don’t get me wrong, I totally see how it is a problem that should not be dismissed lightly. However, I cannot help but think that we are seeing only one side of the coin: that of the institutional success, and the student as a human resource . We could also be a bit more empathetic and look at students as a human beings , and their experience: what if dropping out is the better option for this particular student, as a person, at this point in time? In one paper, a doctoral student explains:

‘‘I discussed withdrawing with family and my significant other; they just wanted me to be happy and, given the treatment that I received [from my advisor] for months, it seemed like the clear choice’’ 3

The quote reads like a really well thought-out, meditated decision, after enduring a toxic situation – regardless of the resources “wasted”.

Plus, are they really wasted? We may be forgetting that, even if you do not have a paper calling you “Ph.D.”, it is quite probable that you learned a few useful things during this journey, however incomplete: you learned to read scientific papers, you learned how your kind of research is really made, you learned to write and to argue a bit better, and probably you also practiced your critical thinking (which seems in short supply these days). I wouldn’t call that a total waste.

So yes, you should consider carefully before starting a Ph.D. (or accepting to supervise one). But, if the decision was made in good faith, forget about the funding, forget about the time “wasted”… they are sunk costs 7 . Rather, ask yourself: am I (or is this person) going to be an effective, convinced, purposeful researcher, if I continue my doctoral training under these conditions and in this place? If the answer is no, then maybe quitting isn’t a such bad idea. Heck, there is even research that suggests that, if you are at the point where you could decide by tossing a coin, you would be better off making the change right away! 8

If you are facing this conundrum, evaluate your environment and your daily experience carefully, and talk about it with family and close friends. But the decision is only yours. Yet, I can give you a general rule of thumb, from what I’ve seen in the academic world so far: if you think you are not “smart enough”, or you have any other argument for why you will never succeed at this that smells even remotely of impostor syndrome , I’d say you can make it (believe me, I’ve seen some really un-smart people get doctorates). If, on the other hand, your lab environment is toxic, your economic or social situation is really bad, or you feel deeply unhappy every day you do research, maybe it is time for a re-evaluation.

You can do it, if you want to endure (or -gasp!- enjoy) the process.

Coming back to my own personal case, I did drop out of the Psychology masters, to focus on my Ph.D. And I don’t regret it one bit. Indeed, even after focusing my attention on the Ph.D., a researcher could have told me that my chances were still not terribly optimistic: I was single, I was completely self-funded, my masters grades were not exactly glowing, and I had no idea whether the doctorate would bring me incredible job opportunities.

Oddly enough, not only I managed to finish my Ph.D.; I actually consider that year one of the happiest, most fulfilling of my life.

Am I an outlier? Maybe yes. Was I extremely lucky? Probably so. However, in some of the latest readings I did for this post, I found an alternative, reasonable explanation. But this post has gotten quite long already. You can find out more about this other strand of doctoral education research, in the next post of the series on doctoral dropout .

Have you ever considered dropping out of your Ph.D.? can you think of other factors that made you stay (or abandon it)? Do you think there is a right moment to quit the doctorate? Let me know in the comments section below!

New to the blog? Read more about…

Common problems and challenges in doing the PhD, from mental health (e.g., depression or anxiety) or productivity challenges , to writing or dropping out of your PhD .

Mental health and wellbeing tips and advice : common mental health symptoms in the PhD , tips to avoid dropping out of the doctorate , the importance of sleep , holidays or advice from positive psychology to keep yourself motivated during the PhD.

PhD productivity tips and advice : from the classic Pomodoro technique , to avoiding to-do list overwhelm , dealing with multiple projects and priorities , staying productive and motivated , how I manage my daily tasks or how I do my weekly reviews .

PhD-specific tools , like the CQOCE diagram to conceptualize your PhD, the NABC method to structure your research presentations, or the process I use to write scientific papers or make big career decisions .

Supervision tips and advice , about giving feedback on student papers , or supporting a sense of progress in your doctoral students .

See, for example, Bair, C. R., & Haworth, J. G. (2004). Doctoral student attrition and persistence: A meta-synthesis of research. In Higher education: Handbook of theory and research (pp. 481–534). Springer. ↩︎

Wollast, R., Boudrenghien, G., Van der Linden, N., Galand, B., Roland, N., Devos, C., … Frenay, M. (2018). Who Are the Doctoral Students Who Drop Out? Factors Associated with the Rate of Doctoral Degree Completion in Universities. International Journal of Higher Education , 7 (4), 143–156. ↩︎

Maher, M. A., Wofford, A. M., Roksa, J., & Feldon, D. F. (2017). Exploring Early Exits: Doctoral Attrition in the Biomedical Sciences. Journal of College Student Retention: Research, Theory & Practice . https://doi.org/10.1177/1521025117736871 ↩︎

Please be aware that most of this evidence is from correlational studies, so it is hard to know if these factors are the causes of the dropout, or (more probably) symptoms of a different underlying cause (or causes). ↩︎

Rigler Jr, K. L., Bowlin, L. K., Sweat, K., Watts, S., & Throne, R. (2017). Agency, Socialization, and Support: A Critical Review of Doctoral Student Attrition. Paper Presented at the 3rd International Conference on Doctoral Education . Presented at the University of Central Florida. Retrieved from https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED580853.pdf ↩︎

Gardner, S. K., & Gopaul, B. (2012). The part-time doctoral student experience. International Journal of Doctoral Studies , 7 (12), 63–78. Retrieved from http://informingscience.com/ijds/Volume7/IJDSv7p063-078Gardner352.pdf ↩︎

Arkes, H. R., & Blumer, C. (1985). The psychology of sunk cost. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes , 35 (1), 124–140. ↩︎

Levitt, S. D. (2016). Heads or tails: The impact of a coin toss on major life decisions and subsequent happiness (Working Paper No. 22487). Retrieved from National Bureau of Economic Research website: https://www.nber.org/papers/w22487 ↩︎

Luis P. Prieto

Luis P. is a Ramón y Cajal research fellow at the University of Valladolid (Spain), investigating learning technologies, especially learning analytics. He is also an avid learner about doctoral education and supervision, and he's the main author at the A Happy PhD blog.

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01 Sep Graduate Student Graduation and Completion Rates – Long Overdue

We don’t have graduate student graduation and completion metrics

Why you ask? Great question! The data simply are not collected at a national level. And to be fair – states, higher education organizations, and some institutions know A LOT of information about their graduate students. They track them, run analyses on them — all with the aim of increasing graduate student completion, improving the graduate student experience, and becoming more efficient and effective.

But what about IPEDS?

They collect a ton of information. Indeed – IPEDS is my go-to resource for a lot of benchmarking (and I’m not just saying that because I’ve been an IPEDS Educator for over 10 years). IPEDS is THE most comprehensive national higher education data system in the world. (Yep – lots of institutions in other countries ask to participate – voluntarily.)

IPEDS has 13 integrated (that’s what the I stands for in IPEDS) surveys. [Survey sounds voluntary – so I call them reports because they are required if one wants access to Title IV funding and some other federal benefits.] Of the 13 IPEDS reports (list below), only one of the reports collects information about graduate student completion – the Completions survey. There are three IPEDS surveys that focus on undergraduate graduation rates (Graduation Rates, Graduation Rates 200 and Outcome Measures). Yet, none include graduate student graduation rates.

IPEDS Completions Survey

The IPEDS Completions survey collects data on the number of students that complete a degree in a 12-month period. Luckily – at the graduate level, the data are disaggregated by:

• Master’s degree
• Research/scholarship
• Professional practice
• Postbaccalaureate
• Post master’s

Additionally, the data are also disaggregated by:

• Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) code
• Race/Ethnicity

(Of course, undergraduate completions are also collected, but since that’s not our focus in this article, we are just listing out the graduate information. You can find more details about the entire IPEDS completions survey in the IPEDS instructions .)

Here is a sample of what the collection screen looks like. This may give you a better of idea of the data collected. Note the column headers (CIP Code, Award Level, Gender, and Race/Ethnicity). IPEDS also collects information whether or not the program is a distance education program (bonus!)

Are there other Graduate Student Graduation and Completion Rates options?

NCES Sample Surveys

The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) conducts a series of surveys by gathering information from a sample of students (aka ‘sample-surveys’). These surveys are sophisticated – ensuring a representative sample of students in the country . Because students are the focus of the surveys (not institutions), a small percentage of institutions are part of the collection. Again – the focus is on the students.

The collection of information is quite thorough:

• Data from the colleges and universities the student attended
• Data from financial aid records (if available)
• Phone or email questionnaire to the students

The downside to the thoroughness is that these surveys cannot be conducted on an annual basis. And – because most of them are longitudinal surveys, tracking students over upwards of a decade, the data take quite a while to collect. Some argue that information about a cohort of students that is six or 10 years old isn’t relevant to today’s decision makers.

Below is a list of NCES Sample Surveys that are focused on postsecondary education (aka – higher education). Of the five sample surveys, one (Baccalaureate and Beyond) had a graduate student focus with a 1993 cohort of bachelor’s students. The study tracked these students through 2003 – 19 years ago. And a few things have changed since then.

Just in case you want to know a bit about the findings on graduate students from that survey, Nevill and Chen (2007) wrote an article using the data. They found that: “Rates of persistence and completion were higher among students who entered graduate school immediately after earning a bachelor’s degree, who attended full time and enrolled continuously, and who enrolled in multiple graduate degree programs.”

But – unfortunately, the data are not structured in a way to tell us about specific institutions. So – good to have some information, but usability for decision-making diminishes when applied to an individual institution.

It is worth mentioning the National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS), Graduate Survey – because that sure looks graduate focused – and it is. However, it isn’t focused on graduate student graduation and completion rates. Rather – you guessed it – the NPSAS survey focused on student aid. Below is a screenshot of the data categories (left hand side) that are available for the NPSAS, Graduate survey. Sadly, there are no graduate student graduation and completion rates information. [Sidenote – You too can explore any of the sample survey data in NCES’ awesome Datalab via Powerstats. I sooo wish this existed back in my dissertation days . Instead, I had to wait to gain access to the restricted components of the Beginning Postsecondary Study data, which elongated my dissertation time.]

Individual Institution Websites

However, absent a common standard, this means that institutions report in different ways, use different definitions, disaggregate differently, etc. In short, it is hard to compare graduate student graduation and completion rates from one institution to another. And – let’s assume that all institutions use IPEDS definitions for calculating undergraduate outcomes and simply apply them to graduate student cohorts – and then post the information on their websites.

One will need to painstakingly scour each institution’s website for the information – because each will house it in a different spot on their website. Then after finding it, a researcher/interested person would need to extract the information from the website or PDF and put it into a spreadsheet (or something that lends itself for analysis). The likelihood of someone doing this for over 2,000 graduate colleges and universities is 0 percent. [Yep – there are nearly over 2,000 colleges and universities that offer one or more graduate programs – so this impacts A LOT of institutions.]

This brings us full circle to our third and final option – and the teaser in the first line of this article.

National Student Clearinghouse (NSC)

The NSC is one of THE most well respected organizations when it comes to student level data. And why shouldn’t they be? They have been perfecting their work for nearly 30 years (started in 1993). The overwhelming majority of institutions report enrollment data to NSC because their system “talks to” the federal government’s financial aid reporting system (National Student Loan Data System – NSLDS). Once an institution provides their data for NSLDS to NSC, they get access to a lot of other NSC services. This data maven’s FAVORITE is StudentTracker . “StudentTracker® is the only nationwide source of college enrollment and degree data. Nearly 3,600 colleges and universities — enrolling over 99 percent of all students in public and private U.S. institutions — regularly provide enrollment and graduation data to the Clearinghouse.”

That’s just what we needed – right?

Yes – the institution collects graduate student outcomes data. But, the dataset is protected information because it is at the student level. (NSC takes the protection of student information VERY seriously).

So – the good news is, the data exist. In fact, the NSC has looked as some graduate student data in 2017. Further suggesting, NSC data can answer some very important questions about graduate student graduation and completion rates (more on that in a few paragraphs).

The bad news is that institutions can only query the NSC StudentTracker databases for their own students (and since the institution provided the data on completion – there is no point in asking NSC StudentTracker who graduated at one’s institution when your institutional research office has that info and reports it to IPEDS). This means that individual institutions can’t benchmark to other institutions without entering into a data/information sharing agreement with other institutions (a very long process).

Back to the good news — the data exist and institutions have been reporting these data to NSC for decades. Even better news – NO, zero, zip, zilch, nada – colleges and universities need additional reporting to answer important questions about graduate student success. Which has significant implications on ALL of higher education and our communities.

What questions can we answer with these data?

I’m glad you asked. I’m a classically trained researcher with a practical-based approach. So, while I do my due diligence in the research and statistics space, it also has to make practical sense too. That’s the lens that I use when attempting to answer the BIG question…

So what? So what if we know graduate student graduation and completion rates? What practical value does this add?

Here are just a few potential questions that we could answer with the data. Note – all of these can – and should – be sliced and diced by institutional type, size, student characteristics, etc. I come at this question from three different perspectives, based on my own academic and professional background.

From a policy perspective (My doctorate is in higher education policy – so this is the short list).

• To what degree do different financial aid programs contribute toward increasing graduate student success?
• Under what institutional conditions do minority graduate students increase their likelihood for completion?
• How do we leverage findings from increasing minority graduate student completion to have an impact on the number of minority faculty teaching at the undergraduate level? This might bolster undergraduate minority completion rates.

From a data perspective (I’ve been in the field of institutional research and have served as the head of IR offices for over 20 years).

• What is the time to degree by award level (e.g., master’s, doctoral research/scholarship vs doctoral professional practice)? And how does that compare across our peer and aspirational institutions?
• What are the trends of graduate graduation rates by peer and aspirational groups?

From an accreditation perspective (I’ve served as an accreditation liaison at multiple institutions, served on institutional accreditation teams, and been an accreditation reviewer.

• From which institutions can we glean graduate student graduation rate best practices? Sharing those practices with other institutions may help them improve their student successes.
• How can and should team reviewers evaluate graduate student graduation and completion rates such that it informs accrediting recommendations and actions?

Wrapping it up

I hope you are deeply encouraged by the fact that graduate student graduation and completion rate data exist – and are just waiting for us to discover it. In the meantime, while we all wait for national efforts to get underway, individual institutions can take action now by analyzing their existing data – and calculating graduate student retention and graduation rates — as well as thinking about better ways to measure student success.

National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics

• All previous cycle years

The SED is an annual census of research doctorate recipients from U.S. academic institutions that collects information on educational history, demographic characteristics, graduate funding source and educational debts, and postgraduation plans.

Survey Info

• tag for use when URL is provided --> Methodology
• tag for use when URL is provided --> Data
• tag for use when URL is provided --> Analysis

The Survey of Earned Doctorates is an annual census conducted since 1957 of all individuals receiving a research doctorate from an accredited U.S. institution in a given academic year. The SED is sponsored by the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (NCSES) within the National Science Foundation (NSF) and by three other federal agencies: the National Institutes of Health, Department of Education, and National Endowment for the Humanities. The SED collects information on the doctoral recipient’s educational history, demographic characteristics, and postgraduation plans. Results are used to assess characteristics of the doctoral population and trends in doctoral education and degrees.

Areas of Interest

• STEM Education
• Innovation and Global Competitiveness

Survey Administration

The 2022 survey was conducted by RTI International under contract to NCSES.

Survey Details

Featured survey analysis.

Doctorate Recipients from U.S. Universities: 2022

SED Overview

Data highlights, the number of research doctorates conferred by u.s. institutions, which began a sharp 15-month decline in spring 2020 due to the covid-19 pandemic, rebounded in 2022 with the highest number of research doctorates awarded in any academic year to date.

Over the past 20 years, most of the growth in the number of doctorates earned by both men and women has been in science and engineering (S&E) fields 

Methodology

Survey description, technical notes, technical tables, questionnaires, view archived questionnaires, featured analysis.

Research Doctorate Conferrals Rebound, Leading to Record Number of U.S. Doctorate Recipients in 2022

Related content, related collections, survey contact.

For additional information about this survey or the methodology, contact

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Factors Affecting PhD Student Success

Sonia n. young.

1 Department of Physical Therapy, Western Kentucky University, Bowling Green, KY, USA

WILLIAM R. VANWYE

2 Doctor of Physical Therapy Program, Gannon University, Ruskin, FL, USA

MARK A. SCHAFER

3 School of Kinesiology, Recreation & Sport, Western Kentucky University, Bowling Green, KY, USA

TROY A. ROBERTSON

4 School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Western Kentucky University, Bowling Green, KY, USA

5 Educational Leadership Doctoral Program, Western Kentucky University, Bowling Green, KY, USA

ASHLEY VINCENT POORE

Attrition rates for Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) programs in the United States across the fields of engineering, life sciences, social sciences, mathematics and physical sciences, and humanities range from 36 – 51%. A qualitative literature review indicates certain factors may impact the PhD student’s success in completing the program and degree. The factors focused on in this review include the student-advisor relationship, mentorship, and the dissertation process. Although kinesiology doctoral programs are evaluated and ranked by the National Academy of Kinesiology, little information is available exploring kinesiology PhD student success. General information on PhD student success may, therefore, be valuable to kinesiology PhD students and programs.

INTRODUCTION

Results from 2006 ( 31 ), 2007 ( 30 ), 2011 ( 28 ), and 2015 ( 33 ) provide evidence that the National Academy of Kinesiology (formerly the American Academy of Kinesiology and Physical Education) evaluates and ranks kinesiology doctoral programs in the United States (U.S.) every five years. However, ranking information and data regarding the attrition rate of kinesiology PhD students and factors that may impact student attainment of the degree is not included. Although not specific to kinesiology, Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) attrition data is available through The Council of Graduate Schools who performed a quantitative analysis of 30 institutions and nearly 50,000 students across five fields (i.e., engineering, life sciences, social sciences, mathematics and physical sciences, and humanities; 6). The 10-year PhD completion rate was 64%, 63%, 56%, 55%, and 49% for engineering, life sciences, social sciences, mathematics and physical sciences, and humanities, respectively ( 6 ). This relates to the field of kinesiology as it is classified as a life science by the Council of Graduate Schools ( 7 ).

Across the country, kinesiology programs typically do not have a standardized core curriculum and the outcomes of each program are established by the teaching and research expertise of the faculty. However, common courses such as research design and statistics are included in kinesiology PhD curriculums ( 26 ). Each program varies in the courses offered and amount and type of mentoring and advising of PhD students dependent on program faculty. Confusion also exists in the definition of the terms advising and mentoring in regard to PhD students. In a study by Titus and Ballou in 2013, 3,534 researchers, who had received a National Institute of Health (NIH) grant and had at least one PhD student, completed a survey to determine views of the role of advising and mentoring in PhD students ( 32 ). The participants were asked to rate and classify 19 activities as advisor only, mentor only, both, or neither ( 32 ). The activities of chairing a student’s dissertation committee and providing financial support were identified as the highest “advisor only” activities while teaching life or social skills and preparing contracts or grant proposals rated highest in “mentor only” activities ( 32 ). However, results indicated that most faculty members view their roles as mentor and advisor almost synonymously ( 32 ). As these terms can be used interchangeably, the authors will use the term mentoring or mentorship to encompass all advising and mentoring activities with PhD students. Titus and Ballou ( 32 ) also found that, while the majority of faculty supervising PhD students had training in human or animal subjects’ protection (89.6%) and responsible conduct of research (72.3%), relatively few had formal training on how to mentor (27.7%) or advise (25.4%) PhD students. Much of the mentorship therefore is dictated by the faculty’s personal doctoral experience and not typically from any formal training. Based on the amount of experience and training a mentor possesses, as well as the level of involvement in the PhD student experience, students may have vastly different experiences and outcomes such as completion of the program ( 8 ) and opportunities for professional development ( 20 ).

While little data is available on PhD student attrition in the area of kinesiology, research has indicated that multiple reasons contribute to PhD students in general not completing their programs ( 9 , 14 , 16 ). One of those reasons is navigating the dissertation process and following through to completion. In regard to the dissertation, it is typically up to the student to be intrinsically motivated and resourceful to manage the process and ensure the dissertation process persists until completion ( 9 ). Involvement of the faculty mentor in the dissertation process varies and may be dependent on the motivation and capabilities of the student. Faculty mentoring can play a monumental role in ensuring that doctorial students are successful throughout the coursework, dissertation process, and professional development. Russell advocates for kinesiology PhD programs to focus on developing professional stewardship in students ( 25 ). Stewardship includes teaching students how to: interact as a professional, become involved in and promote the profession, maintain ethical standards, and become autonomous researchers ( 13 , 24 , 25 ). Understanding reasons for attrition in PhD students can lead to a plan to mitigate barriers.

Overall, there has been limited research examining kinesiology PhD student success ( 20 , 25 ). Therefore, examining the existing evidence regarding PhD student success would be of benefit for kinesiology students and faculty alike by examining how to ensure successful completion of the program and determine any potential barriers. A qualitative literature review was performed by four of the authors with one additional author providing first-hand insight into the field of PhD level kinesiology programs. One author performed a search on PubMed using terms such as “kinesiology doctoral student success” and “kinesiology doctoral student” which garnered only one pertinent article. Three authors also performed an expanded electronic search on general PhD or doctoral student success, persistence, advising/mentoring, and attrition. The articles were selected if they related to kinesiology or general PhD success. The articles were then read and analyzed resulting in three recurring themes. For this review, PhD success was interpreted to mean successful completion of the degree and dissertation process. Attrition, in this review, is interpreted to mean students who did not complete the degree and or dissertation process and included those who dropped out during the program/coursework or those who finished the program/coursework but not the dissertation. In this review, the authors will discuss the following commonly cited issues affecting PhD student success: the student-advisor relationship, mentorship, and the dissertation process ( Table 1 ). In addition, the authors will provide practical recommendations to address these issues to aid in success. By addressing the potential factors that may impact student success of completing the dissertation and program, administration, faculty, and students can have conversations that may lead to a better understanding of the process and address potential issues.

Summary of potential factors influencing PhD student success.

POTENTIAL CONTRIBUTING FACTORS TO PHD STUDENT SUCCESS

Student-advisor relationship.

A critical factor in PhD student success (i.e., attaining the degree) is the student-advisor relationship ( 11 ). In a qualitative study by Knox et al., 19 psychology faculty members were interviewed about their student-advisor relationship with PhD students ( 18 ). Results indicated that it is not uncommon for doctoral advisors to adopt a mentoring style based on their own experience as a PhD student ( 18 ). Furthermore, they found a lack of training or preparation by the instructional institution leaves the task of acquiring mentoring skills to the practicing faculty member ( 18 ). This is in agreement with Golde and Dore who found that there appears to be a lack of emphasis programmatically on doctoral advising and mentoring ( 10 ).

An investigation by Mansson and Myers the authors found that advisors and advisees have similar ideas of what make a successful relationship ( 19 ). In this study, 636 doctoral and 141 faculty advisors from around the United States were surveyed about the mentoring relationship by using the Mentoring and Communication Support Scale, the Academic Mentoring Behavior Scale, and the Advisee Relational Maintenance Scale ( 19 ). This study found that advisees can positively influence the advisor-advisee relationship with 6 behaviors: showing appreciation, completing assignments in a timely manner, being courteous, protecting the reputation of the advisor, using humor in interactions with the advisor, and consulting the advisor about their individual goals ( 19 ). This was also supported by a qualitative study by Mazerolle et al. in 2015 in which 28 students completing a PhD in varied programs, including kinesiology and exercise science, were interviewed to determine their perception of mentoring from their advisors ( 20 ). The study found that most PhD students had positive relationships with their advisors with students founded on trust and communication ( 20 ). The students in this study further identified themes that must exist in a healthy mentoring relationship: encouraging independence and collaboration in a supportive environment, reciprocal relationship, and providing chances for professional development ( 20 ).

In the interest of improving PhD student success, some studies suggested that university and program-specific officials should evaluate how they can best provide structured and consistent mentorship, including training/mentoring for advisors ( 14 , 18 ). These mentorship strategies must be structured to consider that each student begins a program with different skill sets, levels of intrinsic motivation, and resilience. Harding-DeKam et al. postulated that initial steps for advisors, when the student initiates the program, included asking students what they intend to accomplish during the doctoral program and what area(s) they foresee needing the most support ( 15 ). The authors further suggest that advisors should schedule purposeful meetings to foster a relationship of open communication and trust, as well as using this time to provide explicit expectations ( 15 ). In a study of graduate students from library and information science, public affairs, higher education, and a variety of doctoral programs in the humanities and social sciences by Grady et al., the authors devised additional goals of regular meetings including: 1) timeline planning for degree completion and 2) possible funding available during and throughout their coursework ( 14 ). Some evidence offered advice on how to foster an improved relationship between the advisor and the PhD student but did not offer data that indicated whether or not the positive relationship impacted success.

While the evidence demonstrates that a healthy mentoring relationship is beneficial for the PhD student, there is conflicting evidence that this relationship has a direct impact on attrition. Golde et al. performed a qualitative analysis of 58 individuals from the humanities (English and history) and the science (biology and geology) who did not complete a doctoral program at a major American research institution to determine reasons for attrition ( 11 ). Major themes indicated that students feeling they were a mismatch and in isolation emerged ( 11 ). One of the areas of mismatch was in the student-advisor relationship and was cited as a reason for attrition ( 11 ). This is contrast to a qualitative study by Devos et al. who interviewed 21 former PhD students in Belgium (8 completing and 13 who did not) from science and technology, social sciences, and health sciences disciplines) to explore the students’ experiences that led to completion or attrition of the degree ( 8 ). The results indicated that while the supervisor support had a large impact, the quality of the relationship did not necessarily predict the success of the student in completing ( 8 ).

In summary, the student-advisor relationship can have both positive and negative influences ( Table 1 ). Recommendations to foster a positive student-advisor relationship include establishing mutual trust and clear communication early in the program including setting expectations, goals, and deadlines. The advisor should be supportive but also provide opportunities for development and encourage independence. The student should be proactive in the process of developing and maintaining a collaborative relationship rather than relying solely on the advisor to perform these tasks. Finally, administrators can also assist by providing an emphasis on advising tasks.

Mentorship plays a significant role in developing PhD students into professionals ( 9 ). Therefore, the advisor can also serve as a mentor to help the transition from student to professional ( 14 ). A study by Golde and Dore contends mentors are pivotal, not only for the PhD student’s education, but also for the development of the student’s desired career path ( 12 ). This includes exposing students to teaching, research, and service, but also includes helping students navigate professional subtleties, such as office politics ( 25 ).

An investigation of graduate student stress and strain found great value when mentors advised students transitioning into their new position being that there are many new added responsibilities beyond the pedagogical aspects of degree attainment ( 14 ). This is essential for PhD students, who often have many added responsibilities and subsequent stressors beyond the pedagogical aspects of the degree. For example, graduate students are often required to take on novel tasks beyond their studies (e.g., research, teach and/or oversee undergraduates), without the status, resources, or experience of a professional ( 14 ). Added responsibilities without support can lead to role conflict and overload, possibly affecting mental health and student success ( 14 ). A study that looked at the mental health of 146 graduate students in Brazil, who had been seen at a university mental health clinic, found that depression and anxiety were the main diagnoses reported (44%) and caused 4.5% of the students to be suspended from their programs ( 22 ). As mental health disorders are present in the graduate student population, advisors should be aware of this and may advise students on mental health resources.

It is also important to consider the advisor’s professional background and experience. A study by Carpenter et al. surveyed 21 doctoral faculty members of varying academic ranks in the field of communication, from a representative 14 universities, and revealed four main areas of support mentors provide: career, psychosocial, research, and intellectual ( 4 ). Of particular interest were the factors contributing to how this advisement was delivered ( 4 ). For example, lower ranking faculty provided mentorship that was more psychosocially-based ( 4 ). The authors speculated that as newer faculty tend to relate easier to students as they are not as far removed from their own graduate studies experience ( 4 ). On the other hand, the authors found that higher-ranking professors tend to provide more career and intellectual mentorship than their lower-ranking colleagues ( 4 ). However, tenured professors were less likely to collaborate on research compared to assistant professors ( 4 ). The authors of the study speculate that assistant professors are more inclined to collaborate with graduate students on research projects being that they are working towards tenure and promotion ( 4 ). Effective mentorship of the PhD student provides an avenue of development of professional behaviors and understanding of professional roles. This supportive environment may contribute to successful completion of a degree ( 4 ). Quality advising indicators of “number of doctoral advisees, faculty with at least one doctoral advisee, doctoral advisees who graduate, faculty with at least one doctoral advisee graduated, graduates who found employment within the field” were once used by the National Academy of Kinesiology in the five-year reports to rank and evaluate doctoral programs in kinesiology ( 33 ). Specific data related to these indicators for each school was not published, however. Additionally, in the latest report in 2015, the faculty indicators of total number and number of advisees that graduated were removed and employment was moved to a student indicator ( 33 ). The removal of these indicators, as well as the lack of specific data other than rank of the program, makes it difficult to gauge quality of mentorship as it relates to successful completion of a degree in kinesiology PhD programs.

Mentorship can also have a potential positive and negative influence on PhD student success ( Table 1 ). Recommendations for effective mentorship include providing students with exposure to and guidance in research, teaching, service and office politics. Additionally, the mentor should model professional behaviors and provide advice on mental health resources if needed.

Dissertation Process

The dissertation process may impact a PhD student’s success in completing the degree. Ali and Kohun divide the PhD program into four stages: Stage 1 – Preadmission to Enrollment, Stage II – First Year through Candidacy, Stage III- Second Year to Candidacy, and Stage IV – Dissertation Stage ( 1 ). Throughout theses stages, the student must build a committee and find a chair, formulate a research proposal, manage scheduling and time deadlines, and complete the dissertation. This process is often performed in relative isolation which can impact completion ( 1 ). A researcher interviewed 58 individuals from 4 departments in one university in the fields of history, biology, geology, and English who did not complete a PhD program and found isolation to be a major theme of the reason for attrition ( 11 ). Alternative dissertation models such as use of the cohort model and a lock-step process ( 11 ), the companion dissertation ( 21 , 23 ), and the supervision across disciplines model ( 5 ) have been proposed to mitigate the feelings of isolation.

Building a committee and finding a chair can complicate the dissertation process ( 15 , 27 ). Difficulties can arise from not knowing the pertinent questions to ask, nor understanding one’s options when selecting a chair and committee members. Spaulding and Rockinson-Szapkiw advise to carefully select a chair and committee that work well together and with you ( 27 ). Beatty found that lack of effective communication with the committee and chair can also be a concern ( 3 ). This ineffective communication can lead to the supervisor being unaware of the amount and type of feedback that the student needs or lead to ambiguity about authorship and writing responsibilities ( 3 ). Another challenge noted by Beatty and Harding-DeKam et al. is selecting a topic that is unique, interesting, and relevant ( 3 , 15 ). Beatty further reports that PhD students should consider the focus of the topic area, whether the research is feasible and congruent with the committee chair’s expertise, and whether the methodology is appropriate ( 3 ). It has also been suggested that students start considering dissertation topics early at the start of the program to narrow the focus of their research ( 3 ). This may benefit students if assignments throughout the program can serve as preliminary work for the final dissertation ( 3 , 15 ). Lastly, time management skills may impact dissertation completion. The PhD student must be responsible and willing to take on tasks and to complete them in a timely manner ( 17 ). It has been proposed that PhD students should set deadlines and work continuously, avoiding taking extended breaks ( 2 , 13 ). As time is a critical factor, scheduling time for research and writing may keep the student focused ( 2 , 12 , 13 ). Harding-DeKam suggests that PhD advisors utilize structured meetings where what the student knows is analyzed against what the student needs to learn ( 15 ). The student is then given individualized and explicit expectations and deadlines to complete assignments depending on the stage of the process that he or she is in ( 15 ).

The dissertation process offers the PhD student an opportunity to develop critical thinking skills as well as positive attributes and behaviors needed as a professional. This challenging period of growth from student to professional may have barriers that will need to be overcome to be successful. Unfortunately, however, some students are unable to overcome these barriers. Completing the dissertation can be a major hurdle in PhD student success and influence attrition ( 23 ). These barriers were also noted in studies related to doctoral degrees in the field of education where when the student is no longer in the classroom, there is a loss of support from peers and instructors giving an opportunity to develop independence ( 15 , 27 ). This loss of structure can lead to apprehension and feelings of isolation, with the dissertation often cited as the most isolating portion of doctoral training ( 2 , 12 , 13 , 21 ). In addition, lack of structure as an all but dissertation (ABD) PhD student may lead to feelings of isolation and a loss of focus resulting in the student never completing his/her dissertation. This is congruent with a study by Gardner who interviewed 60 PhD students and 34 faculty members to determine perceived attributes for attrition from these stakeholders ( 10 ). The results of this study indicated that faculty found “student lacking” (including a lack of focus and motivation) to be the most identified reason for attrition at 53% ( 10 ). Both groups identified “personal problems” as reasons for PhD student attrition (15% faculty and 34% student) ( 10 ). Ali and Kohun found social isolation to be a major factor in attrition of the doctoral program and developed a four-stage framework to combat this ( 1 , 2 ). Some of the highlights from the proposed framework included a structured orientation, formal social events, a structured advisor selection, collaboration, and face-to-face communication ( 2 ). Kinesiology students also need structure and support. A study examining the socialization experiences of kinesiology PhD students by utilizing a qualitative approach found that they needed both social and resource support to be successful with difficulty noted most during times of transition – such as from the coursework phase to the dissertation phase ( 24 ).

Multiple alternative models for the dissertation process have been suggested. One alternative model is the cohort approach with a lock-step program. A study by Ali and Kohum described a PhD program of Information Systems and communications at Robert Morris University (RMU) that has a higher graduation rate (90%) and time of completion (3 years) than the national average ( 1 ). The RMU program utilizes a three-year lock-step program in which a strict schedule of community dinners, debriefings, presentation of proposals to students and faculty, and individual meetings with each member of the students’ committee is required to keep the PhD student on track ( 1 ). Additionally, the PhD students presented their progress to others in their cohort and elicited feedback throughout the process from development to completion allowing them to find issues and make modifications quicker ( 1 ). This method was also noted to decrease these PhD students’ feelings of isolation ( 1 ). The use of a companion dissertation is another alternative model for the dissertation process that has been described in the education ( 21 ) and nursing ( 23 ) fields which may decrease feelings of isolation. In a companion dissertation, two PhD students work together on the same project ( 23 ). Essential components are sharing a dissertation chair, a common research agenda, and a collaborative completion of the research and writing ( 21 , 23 ). While Robinson and Tagher found that this approach improved interactions between PhD students and, subsequently, degree completion ( 23 ), limited evidence on the number of schools utilizing this method was found. Limitations were also noted with the companion dissertation including co-writing taking longer, the dissertation seen as less rigorous, and tension between students to meet all deadlines ( 23 ). Thus, this dissertation approach may not be feasible in the field of kinesiology without further evidence of success. Additionally, Carter-Veale et al proposed another alternative dissertation model that utilized faculty mentors from multiple departments to give additional support and collaboration ( 5 ). However, limited information is available on the effectiveness of this proposed model or the number of schools utilizing this multi-department collaboration. Overall, the goal of these alternative methods is to decrease feelings of isolation by improving connectivity, collaboration, and communication between students, their peers, and their advisors and mentors ( 5 , 23 ). While the dissertation process can impact a PhD student’s completion of a degree, effective communication with the dissertation committee, early and relevant topic selection, effective time management skills, and adoption of alternative models may positively impact this process, but more evidence is needed.

As with the other areas identified, the dissertation process has positive and negative consequences on completion ( Table 1 ). Recommendations to improve the dissertation process include choosing a topic at the start of the program and scheduling times for research and writing with set deadlines. As isolation and ambiguity in the process can impact completion, mentors should ensure the students understand the dissertation process early in the program, be available to consult, and encourage the student to ask questions. Likewise, the student should take a proactive approach to understanding the process and seek help when needed.

A review of the literature suggests repeated themes of potential factors that impact PhD student success in completing the program and degree: the student-advisor relationship, mentorship, and the dissertation process. As limited evidence is available regarding factors of success in PhD students specific to kinesiology, this general information gives insight to potential factors that may impact kinesiology PhD student success as well.

The student-advisor relationship can positively influence PhD student success by incorporating structured meetings, communication, and training for the advisors may improve the student-advisor relationship and therefore impact student success. This information may be useful to advisors so that they can help students better understand and navigate the program, as well as assist students in setting goals for meeting dissertation timeline deadlines.

Mentorship may also have a potential impact on PhD student success. Having a mentor to provide critical and timely information offers support to PhD students as they face the challenges listed in this review. Additionally, a mentor provides an opportunity for modeling and instruction on professional behaviors needed by the PhD student. A student could also find a mentor that is outside the department as in the Dissertation House Model where PhD students utilize multiple mentors across many disciplines to help supervise and assist in a cohort model ( 5 ).

The dissertation process should not be overlooked as an impactful experience on PhD student success. Evidence suggests selecting a chair and committee, building a topic, and managing the process and deadlines can impact success. Choosing a dissertation chair and committee was found to be a critical aspect to student success. To navigate this process, students are encouraged to proactively ask questions to understand the dissertation process, seek help from a mentor inside or outside of their department, research the chair and committee members area of research to see if it congruent with their interests, foster positive relationship by being proactive, and schedule time for writing and research. It has been suggested that the selection of a dissertation topic should begin early in the doctoral process. However, students should spend time reflecting prior to selecting a topic to ensure that it is interesting to them and that it will be relevant to their profession. As PhD students may feel isolated in the dissertation process, alternate models such as collaboration or the companion dissertation were reviewed; however little evidence is available on the widespread use or success of these models.

PhD student success of completing a degree and program is multifactorial. More evidence is needed regarding PhD student success for those enrolled in kinesiology programs. This could include a comprehensive survey to PhD students enrolled in kinesiology programs and those who completed the degree to determine the factors that these stakeholders attribute to successful completion. Additionally, a rise in undergraduate majors in kinesiology programs also necessitates the need for qualified PhD trained faculty as these majors are often selected by students entering physical therapy and other professional graduate programs ( 29 ). Therefore, future studies may also look at the type and quality of mentorship of PhD students for careers in higher education. Because there is limited information regarding kinesiology PhD student success degree completion, more research is needed with the aim of improving retention and completion.

Doctoral Completion & Time-to-degree

This page contains information about degree conferrals, time-to-degree, and retention for doctoral research programs at Stanford. While the most common academic doctoral degree across the university is the PhD, the JSD in Law and the DMA in Musical Arts are also included here. The MD and JD are considered to be professional degrees and are not included. In all cases below, the academic years reported are "summer start years", meaning that the academic year encompasses a period from the start of the summer term through the end of the following spring term. Please see the  definitions  below the dashboard for more details about how the various metrics presented here are calculated.

More information is available about  doctoral program enrollment and demographics , as well as  doctoral program admissions . Note that local variation in policy and practice regarding admission, matriculation, and degree conferral may affect the departmental and school-level metrics below.

Methodology & Definitions

Time-to-degree.

Time-to-degree is the length of time in years from the first day of the student's first term of enrollment in their doctoral program to the day of their degree conferral. Time-to-degree measures elapsed time only, not enrolled time. It does not stop and start if a student takes a leave of absence. If a student was enrolled in a master's degree program prior to matriculating in the doctoral program the separate time in the master's program is not included even if it was in the same department as the doctoral program. For this reason, time-to-degree may be lower in some doctoral programs where it is common to require completion of a master's degree prior to matriculation in the doctoral program. If a student switches between doctoral programs, time-to-degree is restarted from the first term of enrollment in the new program. The only exceptions to this restart of the clock are when program changes are the result of departmental name changes or other restructuring, or when the new program has the same CIP code as the original program.

Graduation Rate

As with time-to-degree, the start of the 6-year period used to calculate graduation rates is the first term in which the student is enrolled in a doctoral program, regardless of any prior or concurrent enrollment in a master's program. The 6-year rate is based on elapsed time only, not enrolled time. It is not based on the concept of a cohort year or graduation year, but on the actual matriculation term and degree conferral term. For example, if a student enrolled at the start of Spring 2010 and graduated at the end of Winter 2016, they would count towards the 6-year rate; however, if they instead graduated at the end of Spring 2016, their time to degree would be more than 6 years due to the extra term of enrollment.

Degree Conferrals

Numbers of degree conferrals are reported by summer start year. For example, all degree conferred from Summer 2016 through the following Spring 2017 would be reported under the 2016-17 year.

Entering Cohort Status

An entering cohort consists of all students entering a doctoral program during autumn, winter, or spring quarter of a single academic year, as well as those entering during the preceding summer. Students are considered to be current in their program if they are still actively pursuing that degree or are on an approved temporary leave of absence. "Current students in a different PhD program" are students who were enrolled at one point in the selected program but subsequently moved to another doctoral program at Stanford and are still engaged in doctoral study. Students who are listed as "completed" have successfully conferred their degree in the selected program or, if they have completed a different doctoral program, have changed programs and been awarded a doctoral degree by another program at Stanford. Program changes resulting from department name changes, organizational restructuring, or between programs with the same CIP code are not considered "changes" in this context. Students who are shown as "discontinued" have either left the university without a degree or switched to a non-doctoral degree program (in many cases a master's degree).

Visit the  Graduate Admissions website  for more information about pursuing graduate study at Stanford.

The data are available for download in Google Drive .

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All Departments: PhD Completion Rates Statistics

1 in 5 PhD students could drop out. Here are some tips for how to keep going

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Doctoral students show high levels of stress in comparison to other students, and ongoing uncertainty in terms of graduate career outcomes can make matters worse.

Before the pandemic, one in five research students were expected to disengage from their PhD. Disengagement includes taking extended leave, suspending their studies or dropping out entirely.

COVID-19 has made those statistics far worse. In a recent study , 45% of PhD students surveyed reported they expected to be disengaged from their research within six months, due to the financial effects of the pandemic.

Many factors influence whether a student completes their doctorate. They include supervision support (intellectual and pastoral), peer support (colleagues, friends and family), financial stability and good mental health.

In our recently published book The Doctoral Experience Student Stories from the Creative Arts and Humanities – which we edited with contributions from PhD students – students outlined their experiences of doing a doctorate and shared some useful strategies for how to keep going, and ultimately succeed, in the doctoral journey.

A deeply personal journey

Completing a doctorate involves much more than generating knowledge in a specific discipline. It is a profoundly transformational process evolving over a period of at least four years — and often longer.

This entails personal questioning , development in many areas of life, and often a quite significant personal and intellectual reorientation. The PhD brings with it high expectations, which in turn creates high emotional stakes that can both inspire and derail students. This is coupled with coming to see and think about the world very differently — which for some can be a daunting prospect, as all previously held assumptions are thrown into disarray.

Such a profoundly existential process can itself engender anxiety, depression and trauma if students are not equipped with the self-care strategies that enable resilience.

Read more: PhD completion: an evidence-based guide for students, supervisors and universities

Every chapter in our book, written by a different student, emphasises the need to engage in deep thinking and planning regarding their personal goals, strengths and weaknesses, and ways of working before starting the PhD.

This is important preparatory work to ensure any challenges that arise are surmountable.

In her chapter, Making Time (and Space) for the Journey, AK Milroy writes she learnt to

[…] analyse and break down the complicated doctoral journey into a manageable, achievable process with clear tasks and an imaginable destination.

She writes this includes involving family and friends in the process because

[…] it is paramount to ensure these people understand the work that lies ahead, and also that they too are being respected by being included in the planning.

Relationships were, above all, a critical component of the experience for many of the student writers. The supervisory relationship is the most obvious one, which Margaret Cook describes as the student undertaking a form of academic apprenticeship.

Read more: Ten types of PhD supervisor relationships – which is yours?

The student authors also identify strategies for the “thinking” part of the research process once enrolled. These include acknowledging that the free and creative element of mind-wandering and downtime are as legitimate as the focused, task-oriented work of project management, such as preparing checklists and calendars.

AK Milroy calls these “strategic side-steps”.

Peter Mackenzie, who researched regional jazz musicians, went a step further to connect with his participants.

I felt like an outsider but once I started to play with the guys on the bandstand that night at the Casino, I sensed a different level of appreciation from them. After playing and taking on some improvisations, I could feel the group relax. I was no longer an outside musician. Even better, I wasn’t seen as an academic. I was one of them.

Struggling with self doubt

The task of writing, of course, cannot be ignored in the long doctoral journey.

Drafting and redrafting, jettisoning ideas and arguments along the way, is acknowledged as a core component of the doctoral learning process itself, and the many attempts are not proof of failure.

Gail Pittaway writes about extending networks beyond one’s supervisors and university to collaborate with those in the discipline nationally and internationally.

This can be productive and lead to co-written articles and editing special issues of journals, which can positively influence the PhD thesis.

[…] by developing confidence in sharing ideas, seeking peer review feedback and editorial advice from a wider range of readers as some of these sections are submitted for publication, the writing of the thesis is encouraged and energised.

Many of the student authors acknowledge questioning, self-doubt and fear of the unknown are central to creating and performing research. While this might be frightening, they say it should be embraced as this is where innovation and novelty can arise.

Charmaine O'Brien writes about how transformative learning is dependent on this period of complexity and not-knowing. While “failure to make experience conform to what we already know is threatening because it destabilises a sense of how we know the world, and ourselves in it, resulting in psychological ‘dis-ease’”, staying with it – and having supportive supervisors – ensures the student becomes a doctoral-level thinker.

Read more: Mindfulness can help PhD students shift from surviving to thriving

Lisa Brummel writes of extending requirements of occupational health and safety into her own life. This takes forms such as family, friends and exercise, assisting with work-life balance and good mental health.

After all, two of the most significant resources PhD students possess to do the work required are their physical and mental capacity.

Finally, students must love their topic. Without an innate fascination for the field in which they are researching, this often tumultuous intellectual, emotional and personal journey may derail.

In the four-plus years spent doing a doctoral degree, any range of major life events can occur. Births, deaths, marriages, separations and divorces, illnesses and recovery, are all possible. Being willing to seek help and knowing who to ask can be the difference between completing and collapsing.

There is no pleasure without pain in the doctoral journey, but with the right frame of mind and supportive supervisors, the joys certainly outweigh the suffering.

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Is a PhD the right option for you?

Too often starry-eyed students rush into a PhD without knowing what it entails or how useful it will be. Daniel K. Sokol discusses what you need to consider before taking the plunge.

• PhD or no PhD, explore a range of exciting careers on Guardian Jobs

Embarking on a PhD is a big decision. Not only will it consume three to five years of your life but, in some UK institutions, the failure rate exceeds 40%. During that time, the 'great work' (ie the thesis) will hover above the candidate like the sword of Damocles, even in moments of supposed rest. So when students say they are thinking of doing a PhD, I ask them why.

For most jobs, a PhD is unnecessary. I, and many of my PhD friends, dropped the title soon after our release into the real world. The initial buzz of having Dr before your name dims with time, and using the title in a non-academic context exudes more than a whiff of self-importance.

People also equate the prefix with a medical degree. On a plane back from Australia one year, I heard the call dreaded by doctors and title-wielding PhDs alike: "is there a doctor on the plane?" Sensing that my knowledge of grounded theory would do little to assist the feverish passenger, my wife, a medical doctor, volunteered to save the day.

If future income is a consideration, a PhD is worth little more than a master's. According to Bernard Casey, who published a study on the economic contribution of PhDs, male PhDs earn 26% more than those who could have gone to university but did not. However, men with a master's degree earn almost as much, with a 23% increase. For women, the difference is smaller still. Variations also exist within individual disciplines. Casey concludes: "PhDs in social sciences, languages and arts do not enhance earnings significantly for either sex."

When I enrolled on my PhD, I didn't care about so distant an issue as future income. Armed with three years of funding, I cared only about my subject and pushing the frontiers of knowledge, however modestly.

Enthusiasm fills the heart of most prospective PhD students, but this enthusiasm can soon fade. The drop-out rate for PhDs is high. In the United States, only 57% of PhD students obtained their PhD 10 years after enrollment. In the humanities, the figure dropped to 49%. In my department, four of us enrolled on the PhD programme in medical ethics; two completed it. Contrary to popular belief, a PhD is not intellectually difficult but it calls for discipline and stamina.

A PhD, especially in the humanities, is a lonely affair. Days are spent alone in front of a computer. Antidotes to the common ailments known as PhD fatigue and PhD blues are, first, choosing a subject that can sustain interest for several years. Often students realise after a few months that their topic is not as gripping as initially believed. An additional consideration, when selecting a topic, is whether the choice will bolster an academic career. Some topics lie on the fringes of the field and may raise eyebrows in reviewers of articles and conference abstracts and in interviews for lectureships. An obscure PhD is also poor preparation for teaching a broad curriculum to undergraduate students.

The second antidote is choosing good supervisors. Knowledge aside, a good supervisor should be willing to devote time to the thesis. Beware the elusive professor, however stellar his or her reputation. It is worth talking to a supervisor's past or current PhD students before making your request.

Sadly, stories of disastrous PhD experiences abound. Unsupportive or bullying supervisors, lack of institutional support, late or radical changes of topic, poor advice, unfair viva voce examinations – the list of potential woes is long. So common are such problems that, after representing an aggrieved PhD student at an appeals hearing, I founded a service to help university students appeal unfair decisions. A frequent fault of students is allowing problems to grow rather than nipping them at the bud; early intervention is key. When I ask eager students their reasons for enrolling in a PhD programme, I do not seek to dissuade them. My own PhD experience, and those of countless others, was positive. Meetings with my supervisors were regular and enjoyable. The viva (or oral examination), which lasted three hours, went smoothly. Although academic jobs were scarce, I was lucky to obtain a lectureship immediately after the PhD. My thesis may even have contributed, microscopically, to the field.

Too often, however, starry-eyed students rush into a PhD program with scant knowledge of what it entails or how useful it will be in the future. The drop-out rate would be reduced, and much misery avoided, if prospective students possessed a more balanced view of the challenges, as well as the joys, of the PhD.

Daniel K. Sokol PhD is honorary senior lecturer in medical ethics at Imperial College and director of Alpha Academic Appeals

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• 25 January 2021

‘The problem is greater than it’s ever been’: US universities urged to invest in mental-health resources

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Chris Woolston is a freelance writer in Billings, Montana.

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Even at a time of great financial strain and uncertainty, universities and colleges across the United States must invest more resources to address a growing mental-health crisis among students, according to a report from the US National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine . “The problem is as great or greater than it’s ever been, and it’s not getting better,” says Alan Leshner, who chaired the committee behind the report and is chief executive emeritus of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. “Unless there’s concerted attention, it will get substantially worse, because the pressures are not going away.”

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• PhD Failure Rate – A Study of 26,076 PhD Candidates
• Doing a PhD

The PhD failure rate in the UK is 19.5%, with 16.2% of students leaving their PhD programme early, and 3.3% of students failing their viva. 80.5% of all students who enrol onto a PhD programme successfully complete it and are awarded a doctorate.

Introduction

One of the biggest concerns for doctoral students is the ongoing fear of failing their PhD.

After all those years of research, the long days in the lab and the endless nights in the library, it’s no surprise to find many agonising over the possibility of it all being for nothing. While this fear will always exist, it would help you to know how likely failure is, and what you can do to increase your chances of success.

Read on to learn how PhDs can be failed, what the true failure rates are based on an analysis of 26,067 PhD candidates from 14 UK universities, and what your options are if you’re unsuccessful in obtaining your PhD.

Ways You Can Fail A PhD

There are essentially two ways in which you can fail a PhD; non-completion or failing your viva (also known as your thesis defence ).

Non-completion

Non-completion is when a student leaves their PhD programme before having sat their viva examination. Since vivas take place at the end of the PhD journey, typically between the 3rd and 4th year for most full-time programmes, most failed PhDs fall within the ‘non-completion’ category because of the long duration it covers.

There are many reasons why a student may decide to leave a programme early, though these can usually be grouped into two categories:

• Motives – The individual may no longer believe undertaking a PhD is for them. This might be because it isn’t what they had imagined, or they’ve decided on an alternative path.
• Extenuating circumstances – The student may face unforeseen problems beyond their control, such as poor health, bereavement or family difficulties, preventing them from completing their research.

In both cases, a good supervisor will always try their best to help the student continue with their studies. In the former case, this may mean considering alternative research questions or, in the latter case, encouraging you to seek academic support from the university through one of their student care policies.

Besides the student deciding to end their programme early, the university can also make this decision. On these occasions, the student’s supervisor may not believe they’ve made enough progress for the time they’ve been on the project. If the problem can’t be corrected, the supervisor may ask the university to remove the student from the programme.

Failing The Viva

Assuming you make it to the end of your programme, there are still two ways you can be unsuccessful.

The first is an unsatisfactory thesis. For whatever reason, your thesis may be deemed not good enough, lacking originality, reliable data, conclusive findings, or be of poor overall quality. In such cases, your examiners may request an extensive rework of your thesis before agreeing to perform your viva examination. Although this will rarely be the case, it is possible that you may exceed the permissible length of programme registration and if you don’t have valid grounds for an extension, you may not have enough time to be able to sit your viva.

The more common scenario, while still being uncommon itself, is that you sit and fail your viva examination. The examiners may decide that your research project is severely flawed, to the point where it can’t possibly be remedied even with major revisions. This could happen for reasons such as basing your study on an incorrect fundamental assumption; this should not happen however if there is a proper supervisory support system in place.

PhD Failure Rate – UK & EU Statistics

According to 2010-11 data published by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (now replaced by UK Research and Innovation ), 72.9% of students enrolled in a PhD programme in the UK or EU complete their degree within seven years. Following this, 80.5% of PhD students complete their degree within 25 years.

This means that four out of every five students who register onto a PhD programme successfully complete their doctorate.

While a failure rate of one in five students may seem a little high, most of these are those who exit their programme early as opposed to those who fail at the viva stage.

Failing Doesn’t Happen Often

Although a PhD is an independent project, you will be appointed a supervisor to support you. Each university will have its own system for how your supervisor is to support you , but regardless of this, they will all require regular communication between the two of you. This could be in the form of annual reviews, quarterly interim reviews or regular meetings. The majority of students also have a secondary academic supervisor (and in some cases a thesis committee of supervisors); the role of these can vary from having a hands-on role in regular supervision, to being another useful person to bounce ideas off of.

These frequent check-ins are designed to help you stay on track with your project. For example, if any issues are identified, you and your supervisor can discuss how to rectify them in order to refocus your research. This reduces the likelihood of a problem going undetected for several years, only for it to be unearthed after it’s too late to address.

In addition, the thesis you submit to your examiners will likely be your third or fourth iteration, with your supervisor having critiqued each earlier version. As a result, your thesis will typically only be submitted to the examiners after your supervisor approves it; many UK universities require a formal, signed document to be submitted by the primary academic supervisor at the same time as the student submits the thesis, confirming that he or she has approved the submission.

Failed Viva – Outcomes of 26,076 Students

Despite what you may have heard, the failing PhD rate amongst students who sit their viva is low.

This, combined with ongoing guidance from your supervisor, is because vivas don’t have a strict pass/fail outcome. You can find a detailed breakdown of all viva outcomes in our viva guide, but to summarise – the most common outcome will be for you to revise your thesis in accordance with the comments from your examiners and resubmit it.

This means that as long as the review of your thesis and your viva examination uncovers no significant issues, you’re almost certain to be awarded a provisional pass on the basis you make the necessary corrections to your thesis.

To give you an indication of the viva failure rate, we’ve analysed the outcomes of 26,076 PhD candidates from 14 UK universities who sat a viva between 2006 and 2017.

The analysis shows that of the 26,076 students who sat their viva, 25,063 succeeded; this is just over 96% of the total students as shown in the chart below.

Students Who Passed

The analysis shows that of the 96% of students who passed, approximately 5% required no amendments, 79% required minor amendments and the remaining 16% required major revisions. This supports our earlier discussion on how the most common outcome of a viva is a ‘pass with minor amendments’.

Students Who Failed

Of the 4% of unsuccessful students, approximately 97% were awarded an MPhil (Master of Philosophy), and 3% weren’t awarded a degree.

Note : It should be noted that while the data provides the student’s overall outcome, i.e. whether they passed or failed, they didn’t all provide the students specific outcome, i.e. whether they had to make amendments, or with a failure, whether they were awarded an MPhil. Therefore, while the breakdowns represent the current known data, the exact breakdown may differ.

Summary of Findings

By using our data in combination with the earlier statistic provided by HEFCE, we can gain an overall picture of the PhD journey as summarised in the image below.

To summarise, based on the analysis of 26,076 PhD candidates at 14 universities between 2006 and 2017, the PhD pass rate in the UK is 80.5%. Of the 19.5% of students who fail, 3.3% is attributed to students failing their viva and the remaining 16.2% is attributed to students leaving their programme early.

The above statistics indicate that while 1 in every 5 students fail their PhD, the failure rate for the viva process itself is low. Specifically, only 4% of all students who sit their viva fail; in other words, 96% of the students pass it.

What Are Your Options After an Unsuccessful PhD?

Appeal your outcome.

If you believe you had a valid case, you can try to appeal against your outcome . The appeal process will be different for each university, so ensure you consult the guidelines published by your university before taking any action.

While making an appeal may be an option, it should only be considered if you genuinely believe you have a legitimate case. Most examiners have a lot of experience in assessing PhD candidates and follow strict guidelines when making their decisions. Therefore, your claim for appeal will need to be strong if it is to stand up in front of committee members in the adjudication process.

Downgrade to MPhil

If you are unsuccessful in being awarded a PhD, an MPhil may be awarded instead. For this to happen, your work would need to be considered worthy of an MPhil, as although it is a Master’s degree, it is still an advanced postgraduate research degree.

Unfortunately, there’s a lot of stigma around MPhil degrees, with many worrying that it will be seen as a sign of a failed PhD. While not as advanced as a PhD, an MPhil is still an advanced research degree, and being awarded one shows that you’ve successfully carried out an independent research project which is an undertaking to be admired.

Finding a PhD has never been this easy – search for a PhD by keyword, location or academic area of interest.

Additional Resources

Hopefully now knowing the overall picture your mind will feel slightly more at ease. Regardless, there are several good practices you can adopt to ensure you’re always in the best possible position. The key of these includes developing a good working relationship with your supervisor, working to a project schedule, having your thesis checked by several other academics aside from your supervisor, and thoroughly preparing for your viva examination.

We’ve developed a number of resources which should help you in the above:

• What to Expect from Your Supervisor – Find out what to look for in a Supervisor, how they will typically support you, and how often you should meet with them.
• How to Write a Research Proposal – Find an outline of how you can go about putting a project plan together.
• What is a PhD Viva? – Learn exactly what a viva is, their purpose and what you can expect on the day. We’ve also provided a full breakdown of all the possible outcomes of a viva and tips to help you prepare for your own.

Data for Statistics

• Cardiff University – 2006/07 to 2016/17
• Imperial College London – 2006/07 to 2016/17
• London School of Economics (LSE) – 2006/07 to 2015/16
• Queen Mary University of London – 2009/10 to 2015/16
• University College London (UCL) – 2006/07 to 2016/17
• University of Aberdeen – 2006/07 to 2016/17
• University of Birmingham – 2006/07 to 2015/16
• University of Bristol – 2006/07 to 2016/17
• University of Edinburgh – 2006/07 to 2016/17
• University of Nottingham – 2006/07 to 2015/16
• University of Oxford – 2007/08 to 2016/17
• University of York – 2009/10 to 2016/17
• University of Manchester – 2008/09 to 2017/18
• University of Sheffield – 2006/07 to 2016/17

Note : The data used for this analysis was obtained from the above universities under the Freedom of Information Act. As per the Act, the information was provided in such a way that no specific individual can be identified from the data.

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Regions & Countries

10 facts about today’s college graduates.

Having a bachelor’s degree remains an important advantage in many sectors of the U.S. labor market. College graduates generally out-earn those who have not attended college, and they are more likely to be employed in the first place. At the same time, many Americans say they cannot afford to get a four-year degree – or that they just don’t want to.

Here are key facts about American college graduates.

This Pew Research Center analysis about U.S. college graduates relies on data from sources including the Census Bureau, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the National Center for Education Statistics, the National Student Clearinghouse and the Federal Reserve Bank, as well as surveys conducted by the Center.

Everyone who took the Pew Research Center surveys cited is a member of the Center’s American Trends Panel (ATP), an online survey panel that is recruited through national, random sampling of residential addresses. This way nearly all U.S. adults have a chance of selection. The survey is weighted to be representative of the U.S. adult population by gender, race, ethnicity, partisan affiliation, education and other categories. Read more about  the ATP’s methodology .

Nearly four-in-ten Americans ages 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree, a share that has grown over the last decade. As of 2021, 37.9% of adults in this age group held a bachelor’s degree, including 14.3% who also obtained a graduate or professional degree, according to data from the Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey. That share is up 7.5 percentage points from 30.4% in 2011.

An additional 10.5% had an associate degree in 2021. About four-in-ten Americans ages 25 and older had a high school diploma with no further education (25.3%) or completed some college but didn’t have a degree (14.9%).

In a reversal, women are now more likely than men to graduate from college, according to the Current Population Survey . In 2021, 39% of women ages 25 and older had a bachelor’s degree or more education, compared with 37% of men in the same age range. The gap in college completion is even wider among adults ages 25 to 34: 46% of women in this age group have at least a bachelor’s degree, compared with 36% of men.

In an October 2021 Pew Research Center survey of Americans without a degree, 34% of men said a major reason why they have not received a four-year college degree is that they just didn’t want to. Only one-in-four women said the same. Men were also more likely to say a major reason they didn’t have a four-year degree is that they didn’t need more education for the job or career they wanted (26% of men said this vs. 20% of women).

Women (44%) were more likely than men (39%) to say not being able to afford college was a major reason they don’t have a bachelor’s degree. Men and women were about equally likely to say a major impediment was needing to work to help support their family.

There are racial and ethnic differences in college graduation patterns, as well as in the reasons for not completing a degree. Among adults ages 25 and older, 61% of Asian Americans have a bachelor’s degree or more education, along with 42% of White adults, 28% of Black adults and 21% of Hispanic adults, according to 2021 Current Population Survey data. The share of bachelor’s degree holders in each group has increased since 2010. That year, 52% of Asian Americans had a four-year degree or more, compared with a third of White adults, 20% of Black adults and 14% of Hispanic adults.

The October 2021 Center survey found that among adults without a bachelor’s degree, Hispanic adults (52%) were more likely than those who are White (39%) or Black (41%) to say a major reason they didn’t graduate from a four-year college is that they couldn’t afford it. Hispanic and Black adults were more likely than their White counterparts to say needing to work to support their family was a major reason.

While a third of White adults said not wanting to go to school was a major reason they didn’t complete a four-year degree, smaller shares of Black (22%) and Hispanic (23%) adults said the same. White adults were also more likely to cite not needing more education for the job or career they wanted. (There weren’t enough Asian adults without a bachelor’s degree in the sample to analyze separately.)

Only 62% of students who start a degree or certificate program finish their program within six years, according to the most recent data from the  National Student Clearinghouse , a nonprofit verification and research organization that tracked first-time college students who enrolled in fall 2015 with the intent of pursuing a degree or certificate. The degree completion rate for this group was highest among students who started at four-year, private, nonprofit schools (78.3%), and lowest among those who started at two-year public institutions (42.2%).

Business is the most commonly held bachelor’s degree, followed by health professions.  According to the  National Center for Education Statistics , about a fifth (19%) of the roughly 2 million bachelor’s degrees conferred in 2019-20 were in business. Health professions and related programs were the second most-popular field, making up 12.6% of degrees conferred that year. Business has been the single most common major since 1980-81; before that, education led the way.

The  least  common bachelor’s degrees in 2019-20 were in military technologies and applied sciences (1,156 degrees conferred in 2019-20), library science (118), and precision production (39).

There is a growing earnings gap between young college graduates and their counterparts without degrees. In 2021, full-time workers ages 22 to 27 who held a bachelor’s degree, but no further education, made a median annual wage of $52,000, compared with $30,000 for full-time workers of the same age with a high school diploma and no degree, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This gap has widened over time. Young bachelor’s degree holders earned a median annual wage of $48,481 in 1990, compared with $35,257 for full-time workers ages 22 to 27 with a high school diploma.

The unemployment rate is lower for college graduates than for workers without a bachelor’s degree, and that gap widened as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. In February 2020, just before the COVID-19 outbreak began in the U.S., only 1.9% of college graduates ages 25 and older were unemployed, compared with 3.1% of workers who completed some college but not a four-year degree, and 3.7% of workers with only a high school diploma. By June 2020, after the pandemic hit, 6.8% of college grads, 10.8% of workers with some college, and 12.2% of high school grads were unemployed.

By March 2022, the unemployment rate had nearly returned to pre-pandemic levels for college graduates (2%) while dropping to 3% among those with some college education but no four-year degree, and 4% among those with only a high school diploma.

Recent college graduates are more likely than graduates overall to be underemployed – that is, working in jobs that typically do not require a college degree, according to an analysis of Census Bureau and BLS data by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York . As of December 2021, 41% of college graduates ages 22 to 27 were underemployed, compared with 34% among all college graduates. The underemployment rates for recent college grads rose in 2020 as the COVID-19 outbreak strained the job market, but have since returned to pre-pandemic levels.

As of the end of 2021, only 34% of underemployed graduates ages 22 to 27 worked what the Fed defines as “good non-college jobs” – those paying at least $45,000 a year – down from around half in the 1990s. The share of underemployed graduates ages 22 to 27 in low-wage jobs – those earning less than $25,000 annually – rose from about 9% in 1990 to 11% last year.

When it comes to income and wealth accumulation, first-generation college graduates lag substantially behind those with college-educated parents, according to a May 2021 Pew Research Center analysis . Households headed by a first-generation college graduate – that is, someone who has completed at least a bachelor’s degree but does not have a parent with a college degree – had a median annual income of $99,600 in 2019, compared with $135,800 for households headed by those with at least one parent who graduated from college. The median wealth of households headed by first-generation college graduates ($152,000) also trailed that of households headed by someone with a parent who graduated from college ($244,500). The higher household income of the latter facilitates saving and wealth accumulation.

The gap also reflects differences in how individuals finance their education. Second-generation college graduates tend to come from  more affluent families , while first-generation college graduates are more likely to incur education debt than those with a college-educated parent.

Most Americans with college degrees see value in their experience. In the Center’s October 2021 survey , majorities of graduates said their college education was extremely or very useful when it came to helping them grow personally and intellectually (79%), opening doors to job opportunities (70%) and developing specific skills and knowledge that could be used in the workplace (65%).

Younger college graduates were less likely than older ones to see value in their college education. For example, only a third of college graduates younger than 50 said their college experience was extremely useful in helping them develop skills and knowledge that could be used in the workplace. Among college graduates ages 50 and older, 45% said this.

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About Pew Research Center Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping the world. It conducts public opinion polling, demographic research, media content analysis and other empirical social science research. Pew Research Center does not take policy positions. It is a subsidiary of The Pew Charitable Trusts .

Four years of graduate assistantship minimum stipend increases planned

UW–Madison has committed to increasing minimum graduate student teaching, research, and project assistantship stipends for the next four years in a stipend forecasting plan sent last week to schools, colleges, departments, and graduate programs. Rather than setting minimum rates year-to-year, the new approach gives students, principal investigators, departments, programs, schools, and colleges the ability to budget for minimum salary increases several years into the future.

The plan emphasizes supportive factors that are critical to student success: tuition remission, health and dental insurance benefits, paid vacation and sick leave, and mentorship training.

“Our competitive benefits package – which includes stipends, tuition remission, health insurance, and other benefits – is designed to help graduate students defray their cost of living so that they can focus on their advanced studies and degree completion,” states William J. Karpus, Dean of the Graduate School, who developed the plan with Provost Charles Isbell and Vice Chancellor for Finance and Administration Robert Cramer.

Ninety-nine percent of UW-Madison graduate assistants qualify for tuition remission, which allows them to take up to a full credit load every semester tuition-free. Graduate assistants are also paid stipends that can be used to help cover the various non-tuition costs of attendance, including paying segregated fees. These fees fund services such as the bus pass programs, University Health Services, and the Child Care Tuition Assistance Program.

The plan will enable UW–Madison, which supports over 5,400 graduate students through teaching assistant, project assistant, research assistant, and lecturer student assistant appointments, to remain competitive for top applicants. The plan also provides increased clarity about future minimum stipend rates to departments, programs, schools, and colleges.

The UW–Madison minimum annualized stipend for a 50% graduate assistant or internal fellowship appointment will be:

• 2024-25 : $32,396 (14% increase from 2023-24)
• 2025-26: $35,636 (10% increase from 2024-25)
• 2026-27: $37,417 (5% increase from 2025-26)
• 2027-28: $39,288 (5% increase from 2026-27)

Many individual graduate programs set stipend rates above the minimum to respond to competitive factors within the discipline; increases to the minimum stipend have no direct effect on programs or departments already paying above these minimums.

The plan also links degree completion and career preparation to effective faculty mentorship of graduate students and to graduate students developing mentor and mentee skills. Under the new plan, the university will implement evidence-based mentorship training by the end of 2027-2028.

The Graduate School will continue to communicate with programs and departments on the specifics of the minimum rates each year, including collecting stipend-setting information each fall, and work closely with schools and colleges to explore the broad set of issues affecting graduate students.

Visit the Graduate School’s website to read more about how UW–Madison invests in graduate assistantships . Questions about the stipend forecasting plan can be directed to [email protected] .

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The best- and worst-paying college majors, 5 years after graduation

If you want to make the most money possible right after college, study to be an engineer.

As a major, it's the safest bet in terms of earning power. Engineering degrees occupy nine of the top 16 college majors with the highest incomes five years after graduation, a recent New York Federal Reserve study reveals. 

Computer engineering majors ranked first with an annual median salary of $80,000, followed by chemical engineering and computer science — the only two other majors that earn more than $75,000 annually.

They make roughly double that of the lowest-paid majors, which tend to be degrees in the liberal arts or humanities.

Here are the 16 highest-paying college majors, five years after graduation:

The technical knowledge, mathematical proficiency and problem-solving abilities required in engineering are valuable across many industries. As such, the profession tends to have higher salaries compared with other occupations.

In contrast, students who major in liberal arts, performing arts and theology earn the lowest salaries within five years of graduating from college, according to the study of full-time workers.

Graduates of all three majors earned a median annual income of $38,000, the lowest out of the 75 majors in the study. Other low-paying majors include leisure and hospitality, history, fine arts and psychology, all of which garnered median salaries of $40,000 or less per year.

For context, that's slightly less than the U.S. personal income median of $40,480 as of 2022, per the latest data available from the U.S. Census .

Here's a look at the 16 lowest-paying majors, five years after graduation:

With liberal arts degrees, graduates tend to be paid less overall for various reasons. For one, their skills may not be directly related to generating revenue, even if their vocation is a benefit to society.

Or, it can be a case of too few well-paying jobs compared with the number of graduates each year, as is the case for fine arts degrees . As such, the lack of demand can drive down wages.

Education majors tend to be paid less as well. While teachers have good job security, summers off and pensions, they're usually paid by state governments, which have lagged in keeping wages commensurate with inflation. In recent years, the "teacher pay penalty" has gotten worse, according to the Economic Policy Institute .

Data for this annual study was compiled from U.S. Census data from 2022, the most recent available. The study excludes students currently enrolled in school and is limited to a working population of those ages 25 to 65, with a bachelor's degree or higher.

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Community event organized to promote Latinas in higher education coming to Houston

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- A new event coming to Houston this week will focus on Latinas in higher education. The goal is to increase the number of Latinas earning their diplomas.

According to organizer Anjelica Cazares, unique social and cultural barriers keep this demographic from earning a degree. She says she had a child early on in life, and becoming a young mom kept her from thinking she could stay in college full-time.

Cazares is now using her personal story, her passion, and her platform with the Latina Leadership Podcast to come up with community solutions to stop Latinas from dropping out of college at higher rates than other demographic groups.

SEE ALSO: Work and Learn program providing 6-week paid training course for young adults

"Say you have 100 Latinas signing up. Only 20-30 will graduate from that program. This is dedicated to Latinas in higher education and helping them understand maybe they can go back at 40 years old, or they can go back to full-time education as opposed to part-time," Cazares said.

The Latinas in Higher Education event will feature a panel of successful Latinas who have graduated from local colleges, universities, and training programs.

The event is free for the community on Thursday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Houston Community College's southeast campus on Rustic Street.

For updates on this story, follow Briana Conner on Facebook , X and Instagram .

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Confusing assistance requirements contribute to food insecurity among college students

Food insecurity among college students is associated with negative physical and mental health and lower academic performance and graduation rates. A recent research study in the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior , published by Elsevier, investigates why over half of college students eligible for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) -- the nation's largest food assistance program -- do not apply.

Lead study author Suzanna M. Martinez, PhD, MS, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of California San Francisco, explained, "In California, SNAP is known as CalFresh and despite policies and communication to improve college students' access to CalFresh, participation remains low, with approximately 78% of those eligible not receiving benefits."

While CalFresh benefits are paid by the federal government, county agencies are responsible for implementing policies, determining eligibility, processing applications, and distributing funds. This study conducted focus groups and interviews with county staff to determine how agency workers interpret the complex criteria for students to meet SNAP eligibility. Questions focused on how students' applications differed from community applicants, steps taken when processing student applications, student-specific training, and suggested improvements to the process.

Five central themes were identified in interviews: (1) a need for more consistency in policy dissemination and program administration, (2) student exemptions and the application process are perceived as challenges for students, (3) facilitators of successfully processing student SNAP applications, (4) tracking policy changes is burdensome, and (5) eliminate the student rules.

Study findings illustrate that SNAP rules are challenging for students as well as those involved in the implementation of the rules. Also, eligibility requirements written over 50 years ago, based on the assumption that college students are primarily from middle-class families, are outdated. The research supports simplifying the student SNAP process to increase participation for eligible students, especially for historically minoritized racial and ethnic groups and low-income students for whom equitable access to SNAP benefits is critical.

Dr. Martinez added, "The timing of this study resulted in a natural experiment since COVID-19-related SNAP modifications streamlined the student application process and reduced administrative burden. These modifications alleviated some challenges discussed by county workers, confirming existing opinions to eliminate the student rules."

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Materials provided by Elsevier . Note: Content may be edited for style and length.

Journal Reference :

• Suzanna M. Martinez, Sonali Singh, Erin Esaryk, Lorrene Ritchie. SNAP Student Rules Are Not So Snappy: Lessons Learned From a Qualitative Study of California County Agency Workers . Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior , 2024; 56 (3): 133 DOI: 10.1016/j.jneb.2023.12.004

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