Current Issues

Structural problems are issues that are rooted in how an institution is designed. Since structural problems are embedded in the way these institutions function, solving them generally involves a complete overhaul of how things function in contrast to waiting for cyclical problems to resolve themselves.

In today’s PhD programs, exorbitant dropout rates (considering the previous academic success of PhD candidates) and lack of job preparation are two structural problems that have continued to plague higher education around the world. Despite investing hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars in obtaining these degrees, many are finding that master’s programs, professional experience, and at times bachelor’s degrees are all viable alternatives to obtaining the PhD. This article will present links illuminating the structural problems within higher education along with potential solutions for the problems.

Resources

  • Job Market for PhD Economists

    Despite growing numbers of job postings, economists with PhDs are having a hard time closing job offers. According to the article, the cancelled listings may represent the tip of a larger iceberg,” which could be the lack of demand for overqualified PhDs.

  • Dearth of Business School Doctorates

    Between 1995 and 2005, the number of business doctorates declined 12%. Furthermore, qualified business doctorates are being driven to higher paying private-sector jobs instead of teaching positions in academia. These problems stem from the fact that the MBA has become the most cost-effective and beneficial degree in the field of business.

  • Hope on PhD Attrition Rates

    Finds that attrition (dropout) rates among PhD students have been on the decline in recent years in all fields except for the humanities. Provides an optimistic outlook for completion rates of PhD students, overcoming one of the largest concerns within the field of academia.

  • Why and When PhD Students Finish

    While some PhD candidates finish their programs in four years or less, others continue into their research for longer than ten years. This study reveals the main factors contributing to completing in a timely manner, including availability of financial support, mentor support, family support, peer support, and program quality as main reasons.

  • Decline in History PhDs

    American Historical Association’s study on the number of history PhD degrees conferred between 1970 and 2005. Despite an increasing amount of overall PhDs, history PhDs have declined in recent years.

  • Help to the Finish Line

    Chronicle of Higher Education article on increasing the graduation rate of PhD students. Provides qualitative data and suggestions on improving the current dropout rates of PhD students.

  • How Not to Get a PhD

    Given the high dropout rates for PhDs candidates, the Guardian looks at the wrong ways to obtain a PhD. Offers case studies by professionals to provide a qualitative analysis of the current PhD landscape.

  • Reasons Not to Go to Grad School

    PhD programs other than the “professional fields” of law, medicine, and business (read: humanities) are valued differently by employers. This guide discusses the structural differences between humanities and professional PhD programs

  • The Doctorate and its Discontents

    An organic chemistry PhD’s views on the overpopulated field of chemistry doctorates. The process of churning out PhDs has reduced the overall value of holding the degree, producing doctorates who aren’t qualified to conduct research.

  • PhD Students and Their Advisors

    Highlights the importance of counselor guidance in PhD programs. 95% of the surveyed students put student-counselor interaction as the most important aspect to graduating with a PhD

  • The PhD Problem

    aHarvard Magazine’s comprehensive overview of several structural problems in higher education today. Covers topics including the state of the humanities, tensions between specialized and interdisciplinary studies, dynamics among university professors, and the role of a liberal arts education in today’s world.

  • Problems in Doctoral Rankings

    Stephen Stigler, professor of statistics at the University of Chicago’s critique of the National Research Council’s graduate school rankings. Notes that the rankings don’t distinguish between the programs on its list, despite its utility among graduate students looking for PhD programs.

  • Fix the PhD

    Discusses the externalities of a growing number of PhD graduates. Currently, demand for PhD is driven by the supply of funding for research, not the other way around.

  • PhD Quality is Slippinge

    Given the emphasis on graduating on time, many PhD graduates have lower standards of education upon graduation. A discussion on the negative effects of the lower standards of PhD graduates.

  • Low PhD Completion Rates

    A study revealing that almost 30% of PhD students haven’t graduated after seven years in their programs. Compares different fields of study and points out that fields with more established methods of inquiry (natural sciences, for example) result in quicker graduation rates.

  • Ranking of Doctoral Programs Makes its Long-Awaited Debut

    The Chronicle of Higher Education’s reflections on the NRC’s ranking of doctoral programs. Focuses on the outdated statistics that the study uses in many of its metrics.