Abstract
This study employs the 2007–2008 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study and the National Research Center’s survey data, “A Data-Based Assessment of Research-Doctorate Programs in the United States,” to investigate the (1) the effects of debt in relation to tuition and fees paid and (2) the effects of teaching assistantships, research assistantships, and fellowships on within year retention among Ph.D. students. We created an innovative conceptual model for this study by merging a socioeconomic model for graduate students and a graduate student socialization model. We used propensity score weights for estimating average treatment effects and average treatment effect on the treated as well as a series of control and balancing variables. This study provides timely insights into which of these financial strategies are likely to improve the already low doctoral retention rates nationwide. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study that includes proxies of socialization variables in examining the role of various funding mechanisms in doctoral retention using a national representative dataset.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 650-685 |
| Number of pages | 36 |
| Journal | Research in Higher Education |
| Volume | 55 |
| Issue number | 7 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Oct 31 2014 |
| Externally published | Yes |
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Keywords
- Doctoral assistantships
- Doctoral student retention
- Fellowships
- Graduate debt
- Graduate students
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Education
Cite this
Within-Year Retention Among Ph.D. Students : The Effect of Debt, Assistantships, and Fellowships. / Mendoza, Pilar; Villarreal III, Pedro; Gunderson, Alee.
In: Research in Higher Education, Vol. 55, No. 7, 31.10.2014, p. 650-685.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Within-Year Retention Among Ph.D. Students
T2 - The Effect of Debt, Assistantships, and Fellowships
AU - Mendoza, Pilar
AU - Villarreal III, Pedro
AU - Gunderson, Alee
PY - 2014/10/31
Y1 - 2014/10/31
N2 - This study employs the 2007–2008 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study and the National Research Center’s survey data, “A Data-Based Assessment of Research-Doctorate Programs in the United States,” to investigate the (1) the effects of debt in relation to tuition and fees paid and (2) the effects of teaching assistantships, research assistantships, and fellowships on within year retention among Ph.D. students. We created an innovative conceptual model for this study by merging a socioeconomic model for graduate students and a graduate student socialization model. We used propensity score weights for estimating average treatment effects and average treatment effect on the treated as well as a series of control and balancing variables. This study provides timely insights into which of these financial strategies are likely to improve the already low doctoral retention rates nationwide. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study that includes proxies of socialization variables in examining the role of various funding mechanisms in doctoral retention using a national representative dataset.
AB - This study employs the 2007–2008 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study and the National Research Center’s survey data, “A Data-Based Assessment of Research-Doctorate Programs in the United States,” to investigate the (1) the effects of debt in relation to tuition and fees paid and (2) the effects of teaching assistantships, research assistantships, and fellowships on within year retention among Ph.D. students. We created an innovative conceptual model for this study by merging a socioeconomic model for graduate students and a graduate student socialization model. We used propensity score weights for estimating average treatment effects and average treatment effect on the treated as well as a series of control and balancing variables. This study provides timely insights into which of these financial strategies are likely to improve the already low doctoral retention rates nationwide. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study that includes proxies of socialization variables in examining the role of various funding mechanisms in doctoral retention using a national representative dataset.
KW - Doctoral assistantships
KW - Doctoral student retention
KW - Fellowships
KW - Graduate debt
KW - Graduate students
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84930931729&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84930931729&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s11162-014-9327-x
DO - 10.1007/s11162-014-9327-x
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84930931729
VL - 55
SP - 650
EP - 685
JO - Research in Higher Education
JF - Research in Higher Education
SN - 0361-0365
IS - 7
ER -