Toward a Model of Graduate Student Socialization and Satisfaction

• In Event: Accessing Doctoral Education: Enhancing the Socialization Process for Aspiring Scholars of Color

Abstract

Socialization has become the common lens through which the graduate student experience is understood (e.g., Anderson, 1998; Austin, 2002; Gardner, 2007; Holley, 2006; Mendoza, 2007; Weidman, Twale, & Stein, 2001). Golde (1998) described the process of graduate school socialization as one “in which a newcomer is made a member of a community – in the case of graduate students, the community of an academic department in a particular discipline” (p. 56). The socialization of graduate students is a complex process as the student experiences a dual socialization – both to the role of graduate student but also to the anticipated role of a professional in the given field or discipline (Golde, 1998). At the same time, the socialization of graduate students is fraught with uncertainty and power dynamics that may ultimately influence the students’ success in graduate school and beyond (Weidman et al., 2001). Further, the socialization of graduate students is greatly influenced by the students’ own background characteristics (e.g., Ellis, 2001) as well as the departmental (Golde, 2005) and institutional contexts (Gardner, 2010) in which the students are situated. In this way, a successful socialization experience has also been tied to graduate student satisfaction (Nettles & Millett, 2006), which are both leading indicators of graduate student persistence and success (Gregg, 1972). The paper discussed in this symposium will provide a detailed overview of graduate student socialization models as well as a synthesis of the literature as it relates to graduate student success and satisfaction.

Author

• Susan K. Gardner, University of Maine