Dec. 7

Hope on Ph.D. Attrition Rates — Except in Humanities

While it is unclear why, the attrition rate for students in Ph.D. programs may be dropping — at least in fields outside of the humanities, where it appears stalled.

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That finding is among the most striking in a major study of Ph.D. completion and attrition rates being released today by the Council of Graduate Schools. The finding on attrition is significant because one of the major reasons for the study and one of the top concerns in graduate schools is that so many students never finish — leaving some fields facing shortages of doctorates and leaving many students who drop out feeling like they wasted years of their lives.

The data on Ph.D. attrition rates are part of a larger analysis of 10 years of statistics on who starts and finishes Ph.D. programs. Much of the summary data on completion rates was released in July and confirmed what is no secret to English Ph.D. students: It takes much longer for a humanities Ph.D. to finish up, on average, than for those in any other broad area.

Even after 10 years, a majority of humanities Ph.D. students have not finished their degrees, while nearly two-thirds of those in engineering have done so. After seven years, a majority of engineering and life sciences students have wrapped up, while that’s not the case for even 30 percent in the humanities. (The social sciences are in the middle, and there are also gaps within the sciences, social sciences and humanities, with psychology outperforming sociology, for example.)

While the numbers on overall rates have been refined, the general trends are unchanged. But the more detailed report being issued today does provide some hope for those who have been concerned about attrition rates among doctoral students. The study analyzed three cohorts of doctoral students — those who started in 1992, 1995 and 1998 — and tracked attrition rates through 1995, 1998 and 2001, respectively. (As with other data in the study, information was collected from 30 universities.)

While not enough time has passed to see what proportion of the students in the latter cohorts eventually finished, there are equal time periods to study attrition in the first few years of a program. The data show large changes in the attrition rates in mathematics and physical sciences, and the social sciences, and smaller changes everywhere except the humanities, where the decrease in rates is 0.3 percent.

For the earliest cohorts, the humanities doctoral students had lower attrition rates, but there is some debate about whether that is the pull of programs or the more lucrative job opportunities that exist for people in engineering or the sciences who have a few years of graduate education, but no doctoral degree.

Four-Year Cumulative Attrition Rates for 3 Cohorts of Ph.D. Students

Field	Starting in 1992	Starting in 1995	Starting in 1998
Engineering	23.2%	23.0%	21.4%
Life sciences	20.9%	22.0%	17.3%
Mathematics and physical sciences	30.7%	30.8%	24.7%
Social sciences	20.0%	19.5%	15.3%
Humanities	18.5%	21.1%	18.2%

Robert Sowell, vice president for programs and operations at the Council of Graduate Schools, said that he was encouraged by those shifts (except for the humanities), but that the study thus far did not offer explanations for why the changes would vary so much by discipline. During the periods of the three cohorts, however, he said many graduate schools started to devote more attention to preventing attrition and that he hoped the data show the success of those efforts. He also said that he could not identify from the available data why humanities attrition rates would show so little change during periods that the other groups improved.

He said that the current data did not have demographic breakdowns — and that would be the focus of the next data analysis.

The idea behind the entire project, he stressed, was to get data that could be used at the campus level to improve completion rates. “To improve completion rates, we’ve got to know where we are,” he said.

Cumulative 10-Year Completion Rates for Students Who Entered Ph.D. Programs 1992-3 through 1994-5

Year in Program	% Who Earned Doctorate
3	4.5%
4	10.5%
5	22.5%
6	36.1%
7	45.5%
8	50.9%
9	54.6%
10	56.6%

— Scott Jaschik

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Comments

To improve completion rates, universities also have to convince students, especially those students in humanities fields with low salaries, high teaching loads, and little chance of a tenure-track job that, beyond the intrinsic value of the degree as a signal accomplishment, perseverance will be rewarded. A trend developing over the past decade or three suggests decreasing value of the degree in an uncertain field of employment when compared anecdotally to well-paid opportunities in non-humanities fields inside and outside academe.

Humanities PhD Candidate, ABD at Top 10, at 8:30 am EST on December 7, 2007

The results of this study are not that surprising. At many institutions, the funding situation for graduate programs in the sciences tends to be more stable and more generous than in humanities programs because there is simply more state, federal, and foundation money available for scientific research. At my alma mater’s biochemistry program (where I worked as an administrative associate), all slots for new students were funded without exception, while in my own department in the humanities, less than half of new students were supported financially. Graduate school is hard enough without having to carry a separate job on the side!

But what continues to surprise me is that any grad program allows students to linger for 10 or more years without completion. For my degree, I had 5 years after my candidacy exams to complete and defend my dissertation. That strict deadline certainly kept me on track. Graduate programs suffering from heavy attrition could benefit from bringing in fewer students, supporting them more generously, and setting shorter, yet still reasonable, limits for completion of degree requirements.

Dr. Parker, Dr. Parker at Independent Scholar, at 8:50 am EST on December 7, 2007

Could someone explain what the percentages are tracking? I am just not seeing it. It can’t be that over 50% finish the Phd in year 6, over 50% finish in year 7, etc. But presumably the stat is not that, of people who are in their 6th year, over 50% finish, etc. Or is it? Or is the stat tracking something else? Why isn’t there a stat that tells us how the percentage of people who finish in four years, five, years, six years, etc.? That seems like the most important information.

Philosophy Prof, at 9:10 am EST on December 7, 2007

The table shows that, after 10 years, only 56.6% of those students that entered a PhD program between 1992-1993 and 1994-1995 completed the PhD. Of course, that means that after 10 years, nearly 45% of students did not complete the PhD. Staggering...

FJS, Dear Philosophy Prof, at 9:30 am EST on December 7, 2007

The issue here, of course, is not starting doctoral work in a given discipline but rather finishing it. I would hope that most doctoral students have had sufficient experience in academia to dispel any wide-eyed naiveté and to help them understand the potential for their completed doctorates. When I joined the faculty here in 1979, I had a master’s in English — sufficient then to get a fulltime, tenure-track job. I began my doctoral work 10 years later and completed it in 1997. The effort certainly paid off well insofar as salary. More importantly, though, I came out a better teacher and a better scholar. It always has been true that non-humanities jobs tend to pay better, and if a higher salary is one’s goal, then don’t choose the humanities. In fact, don’t choose college teaching in any discipline if salary is important. The number of jobs across disciplines varies with time, but I still recall the good advice one of my undergrad profs gave me when I asked more than 30 years ago if there were jobs available teaching college English and journalism. He said, “There’s always room for the good ones.”

Prof at Midwest regional univ, at 9:45 am EST on December 7, 2007

Dear Prof at Midwest...

I appreciate your comments.

Career preparation in my department is nonexistent until the year we go on the market. It’s good to hear that not all is gloom and doom, even if that’s what funds studies and inspires banner headlines.

Humanities PhD Candidate, at 10:55 am EST on December 7, 2007

Maybe drop-out rate is common sense

It could be that the humanities Ph.D drop-out rate is the result of common sense kicking in.

The article mentioned that those who drop out might feel they wasted their time, but at least they’re cutting their opportunity losses. Those who stick it out and still fail to gain a tenure-track position have wasted even more time, for a result that won’t matter to non-academic employers, who will not care whether you finished or not.

Gypsy Boots, at 10:55 am EST on December 7, 2007

Process

Is it so bad for people to try something out, figure out that it’s not for them, and move on? The option seems to be to know exactly what you want to do before you do it, and there is far too much of that attitude among undergraduates as it is. It’s pretty hard to know what the academic life is like — or the legal, medical, or any other professional life — without diving in. A person who begins a career at 40 still has a good thirty years to work — plenty of time to do the same thing. Experimentation combined with introspection should be encouraged.

Sarah Schneewind, at 12:35 pm EST on December 7, 2007

beyond naiveté

Prof. at Midwest regional univ writes, “I would hope that most doctoral students have had sufficient experience in academia to dispel any wide-eyed naiveté and to help them understand the potential for their completed doctorates.” Naiveté seems the wrong word here. Until now, there seems to have been a kind of tacit agreement that one can at least make it on a professor’s salary. Last year I was one of four new hires at a midwestern college. Three of us—I know this to be the case—have been able to work here because someone not working here (parent, grandparent, et al.) is subsidizing our teaching hobby (it can’t really be considered a livelihood). Insurance costs are through the roof; housing costs are outrageous; the board keeps telling us that the school’s salaries are “competitive.” Something is wrong. But, as you say, we do retain a sense of satisfaction in knowing that our terminal degrees make us better teachers and scholars. And that’s worth a lot. In fact, evidently it is worth more than a living wage to those of us who chose to stick it out.

Mitya1102, at 12:35 pm EST on December 7, 2007

The System Loves Attrition

The academic labor system relies on this high attrition rate. It produces a continual, renewable supply of a) cheap “student teachers” and b) persons who are unenrolled, intermittently enrolled, or enrolled on a dissertation-maintenance fee schedule, who serve as contingent faculty.

In the academic labor force, these individuals—student teachers and contingent faculty—outnumber the tenure stream by as much as 3 to 1.

If “attrition” were stopped, would tenure-track jobs magically appear for these folks?

Nope.

Oh, and who would do the work these folks are doing? (Crickets chirping from the “labor market” ideologues out there.)

This gross, exploitative, dishonest system is doing what it is designed to do. It sucks in the idealistic and talented on the promise of dignified academic work that it is unable to deliver for the vast majority. It’s not unable to deliver that work because it “doesn’t need” people. It’s unable to deliver that work because it is designed to “need people” in really exploitative ways. It has converted academic jobs to “student funding” and “temp work.”

The solution to attrition is simple.

We need all of these folks to be doing the work they’re doing. There’s plenty of academic work to be done.

But that work has to be repackaged as “real jobs,” not “funding” for more students than could possibly find jobs and temp work for persons so emotionally and economically battered that they’ll work for half the wage of restaurant servers and bartenders.

How to repackage academic work into jobs—that’s the question.http://marcbousquet.net

Marc Bousquet, author, How the University Works, at Santa Clara University, at 12:35 pm EST on December 7, 2007

endless adjunct

to Humanities PhD Candidate & Prof at Midwest Uthe Candidate is Correct and the Prof is wrong, and in fact, naive—so protected by that tenure of yours! There most emphatically is not always a place for the good ones. Our performances speak for themselves in evaluations, packed classes, repeat students, and ongoing invitations by departments to return, but it is also abundantly clear that there are no permanent jobs. My experiences are the norm not the exception, as is to be expected in a situation where nearly 70% of positions academia-wide are adjunct. I suspect that in the humanities the percentage is higher still. Relocate??? Don’t fool yourself. It’s just as difficult due to those same percentages. And, please do not return with that tired old line of “just do something else.” When you have a label as an educator in any field of the humanities, getting out of that world is much easier said than done.

hsigur, at 12:45 pm EST on December 7, 2007

When Do They Leave?

It would be interesting to see when people leave their programs. I wonder how many are ABD?

Brent, at 12:45 pm EST on December 7, 2007

PhD Attrition vs. Consumption

While extremely useful, this article begs the alternate question, “How does attrition rate compare with the market for PhDs in various disciplines?” One might see a broader market for math, science, or technical PhDs simply considering both industry and the academy. Doctoral credentials are pivotal to opportunities within the academy. The industrial market for PhDs in humanities might be limited in comparison. Competition for these rare opportunities might require extreme sophistication during research efforts so as to distinguish one’s self to a hiring organization.My perspective and doctoral aspirations come from desire for a second career. After a 30-year technical career, my very simplistic cost-benefit analysis exposed wide differences in raw numbers of PhDs hired with technical vs. humanities degrees. I suspect that the job market outside the academy makes a large contribution to those who complete their doctoral studies and how long those studies take to conclude.

Dan Saint-Andre, at 1:20 pm EST on December 7, 2007

Reason is obvious

I spent twenty years in the business field and earned an MBA over twenty years ago. I returned for a PhD and loved the program until I got to the dissertation. I enjoyed the research, I even enjoyed writing the proposal. Trying to get the committee to work in other speed than molasses has been ridiculous. “Please make this change", okay I make the change in a few days, then wait 4-6 months for them to respond. I would assume this level of frustration finally discourages many ABDs. I know I’ve moved way beyond my research over the last two years, and my upcoming defense is more a study of history than current events now. I regret not doing this program online from a for-profit who understands the concept of customer service.

An ABD candidate, at 1:20 pm EST on December 7, 2007

Hope on Ph.D. Attrition Rates

While the attrition rate for the Ph.D. is staggering and very dishearting, I’m concerned about the number of African-Americans making it through the pipeline. The number enrolling in programs and the number completing is well below the figure indicated in the article.

H. Richard Dozier, Ph.D., Vice President Student Development at Corning Community College, at 2:25 pm EST on December 7, 2007

Only the strong survive

Let’s make it easier and see what that does to working conditions for college teachers.Sure, let’s just give everyone a terminal degree and see if the “supply” of permanent adjuncts increases or decreases.

(any gamblers out there? 100/1 odds that the number of permanent adjuncts will increase and that they will gladly wash the dean’s SUV and mow her lawn if they get the 62% adjunct job with no benefits)

I taught full time while pursuing the Ph.D., saw others commuting 90-100 miles to get to classes as we savored the part-time doctoral student experience. Yes Virginia, many of those departments will grant dissertation extensions to school teachers who can only afford to take one or two classes each term.

Yes, committee members do contradict themselves, often asking candidates to re-insert paragraphs that only last year, other committee members had insisted be removed. This whole process helps develop patience, learned-helplessness, and brain cell death.

Viva Ph.D.s and sluggish gray matter!

Dr. F. Gump, at 7:15 am EST on December 8, 2007

Blinding Flash of the Obvious

Who wants to spend 5+ years preparing for a career that doesn’t exist? Current humanities faculty have done NOTHING to protect/perpetuate full-time TT opportunities at their colleges.

Kathy, at 12:00 pm EST on December 8, 2007

PhDs in Humanities

As long as colleges and universities continue to hire a large percentage of adjuncts (mostly all with the aspirations of becoming “full time"), those of us who have worked on PhDs in the humanities field will not be hired full time.

It is in the hands of economics, budgets and short-sighted people who feel that there is no disadvantage to hiring part timers to full time employees.

Doc

Dr. Alice M. Rainey, Dr. at Atlantic Cape Community College, at 1:55 pm EST on December 10, 2007

Disinterested and unaccountable faculty

In some programs, faculty have little interest in their students when the students stop doing the professors’ research in order to pursue their own research/dissertation. Inavailability of professors who spend a lot of time “working at home” adds to the delay. The course is not as structured, discrete and objective as it is for Bachelors and Masters programs, which enables ambiguity and further adds to the delay. Some students give up. The federal government holds colleges somewhat accountable for graduation rates; doctoral programs get little publicity for their graduation rates such that professors are free to operate in the shadows, where politics abounds. Doctoral programs ttypically not student-centered.

Susan, at 7:40 pm EST on December 15, 2007

The adjunct phenomenon. . .

I wrote my dissertation on the adjunct phenomenon in composition studies. It’s a bloody awful trend, and I don’t see it getting any better in the near future. However, I did offer three semi-optimistic suggestions to better rectify the situation and/or attrition rates.

1. Bridge the long standing, and often unnecessary, literature vs. composition divide. It creates an unsettling division in many departments. Full-timers teach literature, and part-timers teach composition. There are rarely exceptions. Thus, various tensions can arise, and individuals may be less likely to socialize and assist one another in a variety of ways.

2. Reconfigure the research vs. teaching load for graduate students and/or adjuncts. Teaching, obviously, brings money into the institution. That is a given. However, much could be gained by inviting graduate students and/or adjuncts to study with senior members of the department. On the senior members’ behalf, they could have an extra set of eyes, ears, and hands at their disposal, a Mini-Me research assistant if you will. And on the behalf of the graduate students and/or adjuncts, they could learn valuable research skills while making connections in the field.

3. Revamp the current master’s and doctoral level curriculums in order to include greater diversity and/or alternatives to academic work. I recommend that English Departments become more responsible, perhaps more realistic is a better word choice, with their core curriculums. While it is certainly a blessing to have courses like Topics in British Literature Before 1660 and Second Language Teaching out there, according to humanities statistics, more than half of us will be underemployed and ultimately looking for work outside of the academia. As a result, I suggest we catch up with the times, and update many of our archaic programs to better accommodate the needs of our current academic landscape.

Hope this helps. Keep your heads up.

Dr. Natalie Dorfeld, A Bloody Awful Trend at Thiel College, at 9:00 am EST on December 28, 2007

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