The Differences by Field: Doctoral Students in American Research Universities
Abstract
This study analyzes a doctoral student survey conducted as part of the 2010 National Research Council assessment to identify how doctoral students in five major fields are financially supported to publish their papers. The study investigates doctoral students’ characteristics, focusing on their primary sources of financial support and their academic activities in five major fields: Biological and Health Sciences, Engineering, Humanities, Physical and Mathematical Sciences, and Social and Behavioral Sciences. The results showed that every field has unique characteristics. The study relies on the framework of doctoral education as an integrated process of research, teaching, and learning. In other words, the outcome of teaching and learning is also the outcome of research, such as the publication of a thesis. In addition, as there are significant differences in scholarly activities in each field of study, the major fields are examined separately. The study is significant because it indicates the foundational conditions that shape excellence in doctoral education. Furthermore, the study survey was conducted as a pilot study. Therefore, although some of the tabulations are included in the report, they have not been analyzed under a consistent framework. This study analyzes the individual data in the archive from an integrated perspective.
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