Doctoral Dissertation Research: Faculty Mentorship and Graduate Student Progress

本项目对在美国一所精英研究型大学攻读博士学位的三组研究生进行了深入的案例研究，以研究性别和种族对这些学生群体中导师网络形成的影响，并研究这些网络对获得博士学位过程中各个里程碑的影响程度。教师指导被反复引用为研究生坚持和完成学位的关键因素，但其评估和衡量仍然难以捉摸。以学生论文委员会顾问和委员会成员任期的形式，构建了教师指导的衡量标准，以解释指导网络如何促进或抑制研究生的进步。通过对定量纵向数据和定性访谈数据的分析，该项目通过捕捉每个人群中所有未完成学业的人和博士获得者的轨迹，为博士教育和高等教育中的性别和种族的文献做出了贡献；考察来自多个院系和广泛领域的学生；并阐明师徒关系对研究生体验和研究生成功的影响。这个项目吗?S的混合方法将有助于高等教育社会学，性别和种族的交集，以及种族和性别对社会网络的影响。此外，这项工作将为未来的学者、教师和高等教育管理人员提供指导，通过阐明学生与教师师徒关系的发展，改善研究生项目的经验。特别是，确定种族和性别在多大程度上阻碍了研究生项目的进展和完成，这是发展和保持研究生和教师群体多样化的关键。研究成果将在会议上发表，并提交给教育和高等教育行政以及社会学领域的期刊。

This project conducts an in-depth case study of three population cohorts of graduate students pursuing doctorates at one elite research university in the United States, to examine the influence of gender and race on the formation of mentorship networks within these student cohorts, and examines the extent to which these networks impact various milestones en route to Ph.D. attainment. Faculty mentorship is repeatedly cited as a key factor in graduate student persistence and degree completion, but its assessment and measurement has remained elusive. A measurement of faculty mentorship is constructed - in the form of students' dissertation committee advisors and the duration of committee memberships - to explain how mentorship networks can enhance or inhibit graduate student progress. Drawing on analysis of both quantitative longitudinal data and qualitative interview data, this project contributes to the literature on doctoral education and gender and race in higher education by capturing the trajectories of all non-completers in each population as well as doctoral recipients; examining students from multiple academic departments and broad fields; and elucidating the influence of faculty mentorship on graduate student experience and post-graduate success. The project?s mixed methodology will contribute to work in the sociology of higher education, the intersection of gender and race, and the impact of race and gender on social networks. In addition, this work will provide guidance to future scholars, faculty, and higher education administrators in improving graduate program experience by shedding light on the development of student-faculty mentorship relationships. In particular, determining the extent to which race and gender generate barriers to graduate program progress and completion is key to developing and maintaining diverse graduate student as well as diverse faculty communities. Research findings will be presented at conferences and submitted to journals within the fields of education and higher education administration as well as sociology.