Investigating National-Scale Variation in Doctoral Student Funding Mechanisms

• In Event: 66.044 - Professionalization Experiences in Doctoral Education

Abstract

This research developed variables to measure graduate programs’ doctoral student funding portfolios and determined the extent to which funding portfolios vary across and within fields. Using the Survey of Earned Doctorates, we show significant differences across Engineering, Life Sciences, Physical Sciences, and Education in institution’s doctoral student funding portfolios. Within those fields, we also demonstrate considerable variation—institutions cluster into different “modes” of funding portfolios that do not neatly map onto common institutional categories, such as Carnegie classification and institutional control. Guided by the socialization framework, this research will inform future studies on understanding how graduate student funding corresponds to student experiences and outcomes, including access for students to the financial, academic, professional and social resources that support success.

Authors

• Timothy J Kinoshita, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

• David Knight, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

• Maura J. Borrego, The University of Texas - Austin