How Faculty Can Support Doctoral Degree Completion: Advice From Former Students

• In Event: Roundtable Session 29
  In Roundtable Session: Understanding and Facilitating Doctoral Student Persistence

Abstract

This study investigated the role of social support in the successful completion of a doctoral degree. Thirty-one participants with earned doctoral degrees completed an open-ended qualitative survey. The researchers asked the participants to describe the behaviors from their social support network that both helped and hindered their degree completion. The findings lend support for the stress-buffer hypothesis and show that all three sources of social support (i.e., academic friends, family, and faculty) provide positive and negative support. The findings also indicate general suggestions for future doctoral students and faculty advisers. Last, limitations to this study and directions for future research are discussed.

Author

• Dharma Jairam, The Pennsylvania State University