Abstract
The breadth of doctoral education has expanded to include professional development activities in order to prepare students for academic and nonacademic careers. This mixed methods study focused on students’ perceptions of professional development opportunities at a Research One university. The findings suggest that most students feel prepared in scholarly-related activities; but they identify gaps in areas such as preparation for grant writing, teaching, and leading research teams. Statistically significant differences in perceived preparation were noted among disciplines. We offer suggestions for future research in doctoral professional development and recognize the need to expand and diversify centralized, institution-based resources so as to pave the pathway to successful careers for graduate students.
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Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank the Vanderbilt University Graduate Development Network and Graduate Student Council for their support in disseminating the survey; the students for their participation; and Drs. Sinaia Nathanson, Lynne Pepall, and Dawn Terkla of Tufts University for the use of the survey instrument and information on its original use. We would also like to acknowledge the important role of Henry (Rique) Campa and Judith Stoddart in the Graduate School of Michigan State University for their ongoing support of professional development for doctoral students and their continued training for administrators with the Council of Graduate Schools. This survey was funded by an Enhancing Graduate Education grant from the Vanderbilt University Graduate School.
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Heflinger, C.A., Doykos, B. Paving the Pathway: Exploring Student Perceptions of Professional Development Preparation in Doctoral Education. Innov High Educ 41, 343–358 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10755-016-9356-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10755-016-9356-9