Factors Influencing Doctoral Students’ Degree Completion: The Impact of Institutional Type and Discipline

Sometimes, there is a belief that doctoral degrees are quite challenging to attain. The majority of previous studies have an emphasis on subjective reasons for doctoral degree incompletion. Therefore, many past studies applied qualitative inquiries (Wollast et al., 2018). Thus, there is a lack of mixed-method studies in the areas of how particular factors influence doctoral student retention and competition in U.S. universities. Similarly, there is a gap in knowledge in terms of factors impacting the doctoral students’ competition and temporary employment after their graduation in Canadian universities (Sverdlik et al., 2018; Kot & Hendel, 2012; Walters et al., 2021). This study focuses on the factors that might impact student competition and retention rates, including the discipline and institutional type influences. The literature gap is also in the comparative analysis of the experiences of doctoral student competition and early career prospects between the U.S. and Canadian universities. However, there are studies that focus on the factors and issues of degree completion and career opportunities within each country’s universities (Etmanski et al., 2017). Therefore, the study attempts to fill in this gap.

Faculty Supervisor:

Aliya Kuzhabekova

Student:

Partner:

Iowa State University

Discipline:

Sociology

Sector:

Education

University:

University of Calgary

Program: