Strengthening the bond between the student and advisor can boost retention rates in doctorate engineering programs, according to national collaborative research.
Dr. Marissa Tsugawa, along with professors from Penn State, The University of Oregon, Indiana University Bloomington, University of Reno, Nevada and North Carolina State University, recently published a study with the Journal of Engineering Education on March 17, 2023. The study establishes a link between an engineering student’s identity and desire to earn a Ph.D. in engineering.
Students assign themselves identities based on their experiences in the lab and in the classroom. The authors contend that some Ph.D. students won’t finish their degrees if they are unable to identify with engineering.
This alarms experts who claim that doctoral engineering students’ degree completion rates continue to stagnate at lower levels than what is required to meet national and international requirements. Strengthening the advisor-peer relationship might fix that.
In this work, we seek to identify to what extent do advisor and peer relationships predict the intention of finishing a Ph.D. and the potential relevance of the number of years in the doctoral program. To do this, we explore engineering identification variables as predictors of the intent to complete a doctoral degree and explore alternative interventions to increase degree completion rates.
Dr. Marissa Tsugawa
1,754 Ph.D. students from 98 universities were asked about their intent to finish their studies and if they identified as an engineer.
“In this work, we seek to identify to what extent do advisor and peer relationships predict the intention of finishing a Ph.D. and the potential relevance of the number of years in the doctoral program,” Tsugawa said.
“To do this, we explore engineering identification variables as predictors of the intent to complete a doctoral degree and explore alternative interventions to increase degree completion rates.”
The findings of this study demonstrated that each person’s interest and performance tended to indicate their intention to finish their degree. Overall, graduate engineering identity, in addition to advisor and peer interaction characteristics and the length of time in graduate programs, explained 9.5 percent of the variation in degree completion intention.
“This means that research interest and scientific knowledge could be key when engaging with engineering identity to improve degree completion rates,” Tsugawa said. “Efforts should be made to remove barriers and provide support to develop Ph.D. performance.”
Tsugawa’s research follows engineering identity and neurodiversity amongst STEM students. They have worked together on numerous papers, and they intend to give neurodivergent engineering students additional resources and assistance.
