Perceptions of Doctoral Programs’ Training and Preparedness for Academic Careers

Abstract

There is a need to explore how prepared doctoral program graduates are to work in academia. This study explored the experiences of doctoral students and graduates in an effort to identify the ways that programs can support students towards professional success as academic faculty members. A cross sectional online survey was administered using convenience sampling of social work doctoral students and graduates. A total of 70 people completed an online survey. The results found that gender, providing external resources to support teaching skills, and number of sources of mentorship explained 54% of the variance in the level of preparedness for academic careers.  Additionally, responses to open-ended questions indicated that overall, doctoral programs were successful in preparing graduates to conduct research.  However, areas that were perceived as not adequate include mentoring in publication, teaching, and navigating the real-world of academia. Additionally, systemic issues, such as racial and gender disparities, were also identified. The overall findings indicated that continued disparities exist for race and gender in academia.