The Professional Doctorate has become an increasingly popular doctoral route. Research has tended to focus on outcomes and "impact" or on the epistemological nature of programmes and resulting student identities compared to other routes. This paper takes a different focus, examining the "process" through which students come to…

This paper explores fit as an important theoretical construct in the study of doctoral education and doctoral student development. We discuss how research based on three types of fit (person-environment fit, person-culture fit, person-vocation fit) may provide critical insights into the doctoral student experience, and offer a framework based on…

The educational doctorate (EdD) is being re-envisioned as a distinct professional degree. Today's EdD graduates are envisioned as scholarly practitioners. Given this it may be reasoned these individuals have unique identities comprised of several layers. In this study, we examined how 18 entering students and 17 graduating students from an…

In practice and process PhD examination is distinctive, reflecting the high expectations of students whose learning has been directed to their becoming researchers. This article builds on previous research on the examination of Australian theses that revealed that examiners in Science (n?=?542) and Education (n?=?241) provide a substantial…

Doctoral supervision continues to be an interesting pedagogical site. As the university changes, so do the expectations and circumstances for doctoral education, including supervision. Although it is unhelpful to overstate the homogeneity of the doctoral student body of the past, there is no doubt that global and local changes to higher education…

Although certain aspects of the work of Habermas have had much influence on emancipatory and action research, this article draws on a wider range of his thinking in order to explore how his ideas can inform the content and process of educational researcher development programmes. Habermas's theory of communicative action, his discourse ethics…

This study investigates how doctoral students perceive research work in the context of their own PhD projects. Thirty-two students from a Finnish university were interviewed, representing three disciplines: medicine, natural sciences and behavioural sciences. Their conceptions of research varied in terms of describing research as "a job to…

There are no universal, precise, or explicit criteria for completing a doctoral degree successfully. Researchers and practitioners have pointed out how difficult and time consuming the supervision of graduate student research can be. When students in doctoral programs complete their degrees via distance delivery, supervision of graduate students…

Existing tensions within and between the discourses permeating doctoral candidature are being exacerbated by those of interdisciplinarity and industry collaboration. Drawing on the author's experience as a doctoral candidate within a cooperative research centre, this article interrogates the conflicting and challenging pressures placed on…

An important element of doctoral studies is identification with the academic community. Such identification is often complicated by part-time student status. In this paper, two part-time doctoral students and their supervisor employ Lave and Wenger's concept of legitimate peripheral participation to explore, through a critical socio-cultural…

This paper critically engages with the pedagogical design of a generic professional doctorate programme as a framework for creation of actionable knowledge within the practice of both adviser and candidate. Within this exploration the relational dimensions of the adviser-candidate interaction are identified and their potential impact partially…

The purpose of this study is to better understand the differences in selected retention constructs by student nationality in US graduate programs. Surveys administered at four universities across the United States during fall 2010 resulted in responses from 685 PhD students from six international regions. Using univariate ANOVA, responses were…

This article examines changes in completion rates and time-to-degree in Norwegian doctoral training over the last 30 years. A steadily increasing share of doctoral candidates holding a fellowship have been awarded their doctoral degree within five years; from 30% of those admitted in 1980 to 60% of those admitted 25 years later. Furthermore, the…

While much research focuses on factors contributing to doctoral completion, few studies explore the role of the doctorate in forming active researchers with the skills, know-how and appetite to pursue research post-completion. This article investigates 15 existing studies for evidence of what factors in the doctoral experience may contribute to…

The changing market for doctorally prepared workers led one institution to examine its overall approach to defining and supporting professional doctorates. After a review of existing scholarship and internal practices, a white paper was created to capture the various ways that these degrees can be distinguished from the academic doctorate (PhD) at…