This study was designed to explore the impact of interdisciplinary research on the likelihood of a doctoral student obtaining a faculty job upon degree completion. Additionally, this study examined the important individual and institutional components of socialization that contribute to differences in career outcomes. A socialization framework likely substantiates the extent to which doctoral training environments are consequential to careers. Results were obtained from a sample of 28,928 doctoral students who participated in the 2021 Survey of Earned Doctorates. Hierarchical Generalized Linear Modeling was used because it measures the effects of both student characteristics and institutional factors. The findings from this analysis suggest student demographics are an important predictor, but the significance of those characteristics' changes when doctoral field of study is considered. Additionally, there are institutional characteristics that impact the likelihood of obtaining a faculty job related to the proportion of various student backgrounds, faculty backgrounds, and broad field of study, and the prestige of the institution. The independent variable of interest, interdisciplinary dissertation, was not statistically significant at the student level, but the proportion of doctoral students completing an interdisciplinary dissertation at the institution level was statistically significant and negatively associated with obtaining a faculty position adjusting for other institutional factors. These findings show the importance of applying hierarchical models to research questions related to career outcomes for doctoral students. Without a hierarchical model, this important differential finding across levels would have been hidden. / Doctor of Philosophy / There is currently a surplus in doctoral degree production compared to a shrinking number of faculty jobs in academia. Interdisciplinary research experiences in doctoral education are becoming more popular and it is important to determine how participation in these programs influences a student's career prospects upon receiving their degree. This study was designed to explore the impact of completing an interdisciplinary dissertation on the likelihood of obtaining a faculty job upon degree completion. A model was used which considers characteristics of individual students as well as characteristics of the institutions they attend. Findings of the study show that for a student, completing an interdisciplinary dissertation does not have a statistically significant influence on their likelihood of obtaining a faculty job. However, the proportion of students completing an interdisciplinary dissertation at a particular institution has a statistically significant negative association on the likelihood of obtaining a faculty job. Additionally, student demographics were only significant until the broad field of study was considered in the model. Beyond student characteristics, there are institutional characteristics that impact the likelihood of obtaining a faculty job and these are related to the representation of various student backgrounds, faculty backgrounds, institution prestige, and the proportion of doctoral students in each broad field. These findings show the importance of considering both student and institutional characteristics.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:VTETD/oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/118654 |
| Date | 23 April 2024 |
| Creators | Lawrence, Kacy |
| Contributors | Educational Research and Evaluation, Kniola, David J., Kaufman, Eric K., Miyazaki, Yasuo, Robbins, Claire K. |
| Publisher | Virginia Tech |
| Source Sets | Virginia Tech Theses and Dissertation |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Dissertation |
| Format | ETD, application/pdf |
| Rights | In Copyright, http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ |
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