Showcase

These publications can give you more information on the details about each of the topics 

 Topic Area 1 – Doctoral Program Management   

Key Takeaways 

• Students enter graduate school with misconceptions that can ultimately impact their persistence. 

• Having a clear understanding early on can help them make critical decisions conscientiously. 

• Funding types and management have been shown to impact the doctoral experience and time to degree. 

• In the case of minoritized students specifically, the investments made to attend doctoral education often extend beyond the financial. 

 

Suggested readings 

• Artiles, M. S., Matusovich, H. M., Bey, C. J., & Adams, S. G. (2018). Understanding the Investment of Underrepresented minorities in Doctoral Engineering Programs. American Society for Engineering Education, Salt Lake City, UT.  

• Artiles, M. S. (2019). Advisor Selection Processes in Doctoral STEM Programs in the US [Dissertation.]. Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.  

• Ferrer de Valero, Y. (2001). Departmental Factors Affecting Time-to-Degree and Completion Rates of Doctoral Students at One Land-Grant Research Institution. The Journal of Higher Education, 72(3), 341. https://doi.org/10.2307/2649335  

• Holbrook, A., Shaw, K., Scevak, J., Bourke, S., Cantwell, R., & Budd, J. (2014). PhD candidate expectations: Exploring mismatch with experience. International Journal of Doctoral Studies, 9, 329–346.  

• Knight, D., Kinoshita, T. J., Choe, N., & Borrego, M. (2018). Doctoral student funding portfolios across and within engineering, life sciences and physical sciences. Studies in Graduate and Postdoctoral Education, 9(1), 75–90. https://doi.org/10.1108/SGPE-D-17-00044  

 

Topic Area 2 – Advising and Interpersonal Relationships in Graduate  

Key Takeaways 

• Maintaining a positive advising relationship is a key factor for student retention. Learning how to handle disagreements has been shown to increase persistence (Barker, 2011; Devos et al., 2016; Zhao et al., 2007).  

• Awareness of the broader departmental politics and environment can be key in the development of graduate students and their persistence (Berdanier et al., 2020; Golde, 2005; Sowell et al., 2015; Weidman et al., 2001; Zhou & Okahana, 2016). Minoritized students in engineering have been found to struggle with this awareness (Twale et al., 2016; Wood et al., 2016).  

 

Suggested readings 

•  Devos, C., Boudrenghien, G., Van der Linden, N., Frenay, M., Azzi, A., Galand, B., & Klein, O. (2016). ” Misfits between doctoral students and their supervisors:(How) are they regulated? International Journal of Doctoral Studies, 11. 

• Barker, M. J. (2011). Racial context, currency and connections: Black doctoral student and white advisor perspectives on cross-race advising. Innovations in Education and Teaching International, 48(4), 387–400. https://doi.org/10.1080/14703297.2011.617092  

• Berdanier, C. G., Whitehair, C., Kirn, A., & Satterfield, D. (2020). Analysis of social media forums to elicit narratives of graduate engineering student attrition. Journal of Engineering Education, 109(1), 125–147. https://doi.org/10.1002/jee.20299  

• Golde, C. M. (2005). The Role of the Department and Discipline in Doctoral Student Attrition: Lessons from Four Departments. The Journal of Higher Education, 76(6), 669–700. https://i.org/10.1080/00221546.2005.11772304 

• Twale, D. J., Weidman, J. C., & Bethea, K. (2016). Conceptualizing Socialization of Graduate Students of Color: Revisiting the Weidman-Twale-Stein Framework. Western Journal of Black Studies, 40(2).  

• Wood, C. V., Campbell, P. B., & McGee, R. (2016). “An Incredibly Steep Hill”: How Gender, Race, and Class Shape Perspectives On Academic Careers Among Beginning Biomedical PhD Students. Journal of Women and Minorities in Science and Engineering, 22(2). http://www.dl.begellhouse.com/journals/00551c876cc2f027,42bf45761aa16485,3569f89 030434b39.html 

• Zhao, C.-M., Golde, C. M., & McCormick, A. C. (2007). More than a signature: How advisor choice and advisor behaviour affect doctoral student satisfaction. Journal of Further and  Higher Education, 31(3), 263–281. 

• Zhou, E., & Okahana, H. (2016). The Role of Department Supports on Doctoral Completion and Time-to-Degree. Journal of College Student Retention: Research, Theory & Practice, 152102511668203. https://doi.org/10.1177/1521025116682036  

  

Topic Area 3 – Day to Day Strategies for Graduate School Success 

Key Takeaways 

• Shifting from a prescribed schedule and explicit assessment guidelines in the undergraduate to a hidden process at the doctoral level is often a barrier for students who lack self-management (Gardner, 2008; Gardner & Holley, 2011; Wood et al., 2016). 

• The writing process can often be a challenge for engineering doctoral students as they may not have developed these skills in the undergraduate (Berdanier, 2016; Berdanier & Zerbe, 2018).  

 

Suggested readings 

• Berdanier, C. G. (2016). Learning the language of academic engineering: Sociocognitive writing in graduate students. Purdue University.  

• Berdanier, C. G., & Zerbe, E. (2018). Quantitative Investigation of Engineering Graduate Student Conceptions and Processes of Academic Writing. 2018 IEEE International Professional Communication Conference (ProComm), 138–145.  

• Gardner, S. K. (2008). “What’s Too Much and What’s Too Little?”: The Process of Becoming an Independent Researcher in Doctoral Education. The Journal of Higher Education, 79(3), 326–350. https://doi.org/10.1353/jhe.0.0007  

• Gardner, S. K., & Holley, K. A. (2011). “Those invisible barriers are real”: The Progression of First-Generation Students Through Doctoral Education. Equity & Excellence in Education, 44(1), 77–92. https://doi.org/10.1080/10665684.2011.529791  

• Wood, C. V., Campbell, P. B., & McGee, R. (2016). “An Incredibly Steep Hill”: How Gender, Race, and Class Shape Perspectives On Academic Careers Among Beginning Biomedical PhD Students. Journal of Women and Minorities in Science and Engineering, 22(2). http://www.dl.begellhouse.com/journals/00551c876cc2f027,42bf45761aa16485,3569f89030434b39.html 

  

Topic Area 4 – Being Minoritized in Graduate School 

Key Takeaways 

• Minoritized doctoral students often experience impostor syndrome and lack belongingness (Felder et al., 2014; Gildersleeve et al., 2011; Jaeger et al., 2017). The continuity of these feelings can develop mental health issues (Levecque et al., 2017) and impact doctoral progress (Artiles & Matusovich, 2020).  

• Managing such and creating support systems such as peer groups and mentoring relationships can help students manage to be visibly different from the norm in academia and persist in the doctorate (Ahn, 2016; Holloway-Friesen, 2019; Mondisa et al., 2015).  

 

Suggested readings 

•  Artiles, M. S., & Matusovich, H. M. (2020). Examining Doctoral Degree Attrition Rates: Using Expectancy-Value Theory to Compare Student Values and Faculty Supports. International Journal of Engineering Education, 36(3), 1071–1081.  

• ·Ahn, B. (2016). Applying the Cognitive Apprenticeship Theory to Examine Graduate and Postdoctoral Researchers’ Mentoring Practices in Undergraduate Research Settings. International Journal of Engineering Education, 32(4), 1691–1703.  

• Felder, P. P., Stevenson, H. C., & Gasman, M. (2014). Understanding race in doctoral student socialization. International Journal of Doctoral Studies, 9(19), 21–42.  

• Gildersleeve, R. E., Croom, N. N., & Vasquez, P. L. (2011). “Am I going crazy?!”: A critical race analysis of doctoral education. Equity & Excellence in Education, 44(1), 93–114.  

• Holloway-Friesen, H. (2019). The Role of Mentoring on Hispanic Graduate Students’ Sense of Belonging and Academic Self-Efficacy. Journal of Hispanic Higher Education, 153819271882371. https://doi.org/10.1177/1538192718823716  

• Jaeger, A. J., Mitchall, A., O’Meara, K. A., Grantham, A., Zhang, J., Eliason, J., & Cowdery, K. (2017). Push and pull: The influence of race/ethnicity on agency in doctoral student career advancement. Journal of Diversity in Higher Education, 10(3), 232–252. https://doi.org/10.1037/dhe0000018  

• Levecque, K., Anseel, F., De Beuckelaer, A., Van der Heyden, J., & Gisle, L. (2017). Work organization and mental health problems in PhD students. Research Policy, 46(4), 868– 879. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.respol.2017.02.008  

•  Mondisa, J.-L., Brown, C., & Adams, R. (2015). Mentoring African-American Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Undergraduates: An African- American STEM Mentor’s Perspective. 26.1146.1-26.1146.11. https://doi.org/10.18260/p.24483  

 

Topic Area 5 – Life Post Ph.D. 

Key Takeaways 

• Over 70% of engineering and other STEM doctorate holders have been shown to pursue careers outside of academia, such as industry and government (Turk-Bicakci et al., 2014).  

 

Suggested readings 

• Turk-Bicakci, L., Berger, A., & Haxton, C. (2014). The nonacademic careers of STEM PhD holders.