STEM PhD Funding Mechanisms' Relationships With Student Experiences, Skill Development, and Productivity

• In Event: International and Mentoring Graduate Students

Abstract

A substantial investment supports STEM doctoral students through a variety of funding mechanisms (e.g., fellowships, research and teaching assistantships). However, we have limited recent knowledge of how students’ funding influences their experiences, skill development, and scholarship productivity while in graduate school. Using survey data from 763 STEM doctoral students across 25 highly ranked U.S. institutions, we examined how students’ funding type relates to their experiences, skill development, and scholarly authorship during graduate school and find considerable variability across funding types. Scholars, practitioners, and policymakers in STEM graduate education should intentionally consider the entanglement between funding type and graduate students’ experiences, outcomes, and skill development.

Authors

• Dustin Michael Grote, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

• Chelsea Haines Lyles, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

• Timothy J Kinoshita, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

• David Knight, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

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