By any method used to measure the length of time required to earn the doctorate, the duration of doctoral study has increased since the 1960s. All academic fields nationwide experienced increases in the length of time required to complete the doctorate. / The purpose of this study was to identify and describe the trends in the lengths of time required to complete the doctorate in each of four broad academic fields over a twenty year period of time at one research university, to discover how the lengths of time required to complete the doctorate in each broad academic field compared with each other over the twenty year period, and to analyze the elements that were associated with the increased lengths of time required to complete the doctorate in each broad field over the twenty year period. / At Florida State University, the length of time spent in graduate study and the length of time that elapsed between earning the baccalaureate and the doctorate increased by approximately 25 percent between 1968 and 1987. Each broad field studied, which included the natural sciences, the social and behavioral sciences, the humanities and the professions, experienced increases in the duration of doctoral study. The increases in time-to-degree varied by broad field. / Several elements were found to be associated with the increased length of time required to earn the PhD. The elements included: (1) Changes in the source of financial support for doctoral students; (2) Increased responsibilities for supporting a spouse and/or family; (3) Massive expansion of new knowledge and information; (4) Changes in the requirements for the doctorate; (5) Limited availability of grant funding for university research; (6) The poor economy during the 1970s and 1980s; and, (7) The glut of PhDs in the labor market and the subsequent decrease in demand for new PhDs. No clear pattern or model for explaining the increases in time-to-degree emerged. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 52-05, Section: A, page: 1662. / Major Professor: Allan Tucker. / Thesis (Ed.D.)--The Florida State University, 1991.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_76417 |
| Contributors | Wise, Timothy G., Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text |
| Format | 303 p. |
| Rights | On campus use only. |
| Relation | Dissertation Abstracts International |
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