Introduction Why would a mature person decide to do a PhD? It is not urban myth that a significant number of doctoral students fail in completing their degrees, nor is the stereotype of the lonely dissertation student toiling away for years and years to finally stagger over the finishing line, exhausted and disillusioned. There is a body of quantitative and qualitative research proving that deciding to do a PhD is a high-risk strategy (Golde, 2005; Lovitts, 2001; Powell & Green, 2007). Why would someone commit several years of his or her life studying for a degree when there was no guarantee of success at the end? These were the questions posed in this study to 11 individuals in Australasia who took up the challenge of a History doctorate; their answers provide, from a student perspective, qualitative data to better understand the complex decision-making process. Researchers have explored how doctoral students 'navigate stages' (Grover, 2007) of their candidacy, with special concern over student isolation as a cause of attrition in doctoral programmes (Ali & Kohun, 2007; Lovitts, 2008). Successfully embedding or socialising doctoral students within their departments has been identified as a key factor in supporting persistence (Austin, 2009). Major studies are also tracking candidates' career paths beyond the doctorate (Aanerud, Homer, Nerad, & Cerry, 2006; Denholm & Evans, 2009). While our knowledge of doctoral students staying in and then exiting the 'ivory tower' is advancing, less is known about the entering phase (Gill & Hoppe, 2009; Leonard, Becker, & Coate, 2005). This paper, therefore, deals with this less understood aspect of the doctorate: the initial journey taken by students to enrolment. It takes its cue from Tatham and Denholm's provocative question in Supervising doctorates downunder: "If a doctorate is the answer, then what was the question in relation to career development?" (Tatham & Denholm, 2007, p. 262) This study is premised on the conjecture that PhD candidates (and their academic institutions) might avoid (or at least alleviate) the difficulties that the existing research indicates are likely to be encountered during the doctorate if both parties clearly understand the candidate's motives and aspirations from the outset. There are a few British studies that touch upon the issue of initial motivation. Salmon's (1992) Achieving a PhD interwove narratives of 10 mature social science candidates recounting their own doctoral journeys in the late 1980s, several of whom were motivated by social justice concerns and their own sense of identity. From their discussions with successful candidates, Churchill and Sanders (2007) in Getting your PhD established five generic headings to categorise motives or reasons for embarking on a PhD: career development; lack of current job satisfaction; a personal agenda; research as politics; and drifting in. Leonard, Becker and Coate's (2005) study, 'To prove myself at the highest level', using the Education doctorate as a case study, discerned from their interview data the "powerful aspirational value of the doctorate" (p. 139). This desire of Education doctoral holders to prove themselves underscored both 'personal growth' and 'training and qualification' motives. In addition to these British studies, a recent discussion on business professional doctorates (Gill & Hoppe, 2009, p. 31) proposes five motivational 'profiles' (and an associated personal objective) that could lead an individual to doctoral study: 'traditional' (entry into academia); 'advanced entry' (professional development); 'continuing development' (professional advancement); 'transition' (entry to a new career); and 'personal fulfilment' (self-enhancement). They also suggest that the first four profiles accord with different career stages; 'traditional' and 'advanced entry' relate to early-career candidates while 'continuing development' and 'transition' relate more to mid- to late-career candidates. …

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Motives and Aspirations for Doctoral Study: Career, Personal, and Inter-personal Factors in the Decision to Embark on a History PhD

Despite the increasing numbers of candidates embarking on higher degrees by research (HDRs, e.g., PhD, professional doctorate, practice-based doctorate), we still have limited knowledge about why they are choosing this path. What are the factors that motivate students to embark on research degrees? Given that many of those who succeed in completing their doctorates will not go into academic positions, the motivations for choosing to undertake a research degree may not match the experience or outcomes (and hence, perhaps, contribute to incompletion rates). This article investigates the motivations of students in all faculties embarking on HDRs at an Australian university. A survey of 405 students was subjected to a factor analysis. Five factors emerged: family and friends, intrinsic motivation, lecturer influence, research experience, and career progression.

https://digital.library.adelaide.edu.au/dspace/bitstream/2440/90216/2/hdl_90216.pdf

Why start a higher degree by research? An exploratory factor analysis of motivations to undertake doctoral studies

Professional doctorates, particularly in Australia and the UK, have been a significant growth area over the last 20 years. We discuss the emergence of professional doctorates in management education and their contribution to a more practice-based approach to doctoral education, with particular reference to the doctor of business administration degree (DBA). Professional doctorates were developed by some universities in the face of rising criticism about the relevance of PhD research to practice and the changing context and content of knowledge in the new economy. We conclude by discussing implications for doctoral education and directions for future research.

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Professional Doctorates in Management: Toward a Practice-Based Approach to Doctoral Education

Despite China’s recent remarkable performance in high-quality research, the number of students going abroad to pursue doctoral degrees in STEM fields has been rising rapidly. This study investigates the motivations of Chinese international doctoral students (CIDS) in STEM fields for undertaking a PhD abroad, and the external factors influencing this major life decision. Based on in-depth interviews with 35 CIDS from seven universities in four Australian states, the findings show that for the current generation, enriching life experiences and self-cultivation emerged as most prominent personal motivations. The choice to study abroad, though ultimately a personal decision, was influenced by a range of factors and particularly long-term cooperation between host and home institutions. Both academic and personal reputation of supervisors played important roles in the selection of host institutions. This study may be of value to supervisors and higher education policy-makers, at institutional and govern...

Motivations and influences in Chinese international doctoral students’ decision for STEM study abroad

Undertaking a PhD is commonly viewed as an apprenticeship, where the student learns the trade of becoming an academic. However, the doctoral degree did not start off with that intention, and it may...

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Contemporary Trends in Professional Doctorates.

Although growing in popularity in other countries, the business professional doctorate has yet to gain traction in the U.S. Such programs, intended to offer advanced disciplinary and research training to individuals who later plan to apply that training to employment in industry, are frequently seen to be inferior to their academically-focused Ph.D. program counterparts. Furthermore, if the sole purpose of a doctorate is to develop individuals focused on producing scholarly research articles, that assessment may well be correct. We argue, however, that such a narrowly focused view of the purpose of doctoral programs is self-defeating; by exclusively focusing on scholarly research and writings, we virtually guarantee that our research will never make it into practice. The paper begins by identifying a variety of types of doctoral programs that exist globally and placing these in a conceptual framework. We then present a detailed case study of the information systems (IS) doctoral programs offered in Osnabrueck, Germany—where as many as 90% of candidates choose careers in industry in preference to academia. Finally, we propose— supported using both conceptual arguments drawn from the study of complex informing and observed examples—that the greatest benefit of business professional doctorates may be the creation of enduring informing channels between practice and industry. Presented in this light, the business professional doctorate should be viewed as an essential part of the broader research ecology, rather than as a weak substitute for the disciplinary Ph.D.

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The Business Professional Doctorate as an Informing Channel: A Survey and Analysis

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Uwe Hoppe

Papers

The Business Professional Doctorate as an Informing Channel: A Survey and Analysis

The Business Professional Doctorate as an Informing Channel: A Survey and Analysis