[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":3,"doc-seo-599529-105":59,"doc-detail-599529-en":130},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"success",[7,13,18,23,28,33,38,43,48,51,55],{"id":8,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":10,"show_sort_weight":11,"slug":12},1,"Document","Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":14,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":15,"show_sort_weight":16,"slug":17},2,"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":19,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":20,"show_sort_weight":21,"slug":22},4,"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":24,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":25,"show_sort_weight":26,"slug":27},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":29,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":30,"show_sort_weight":31,"slug":32},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":34,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":35,"show_sort_weight":36,"slug":37},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":39,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":40,"show_sort_weight":41,"slug":42},8,"Research & Report",30,"research-report",{"id":44,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":45,"show_sort_weight":46,"slug":47},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":46,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":49,"show_sort_weight":46,"slug":50},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":52,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":53,"show_sort_weight":52,"slug":54},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":56,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":57,"show_sort_weight":24,"slug":58},19,"General","general",{"code":4,"msg":60,"data":61},"ok",{"site_id":62,"language":63,"slug":64,"title":65,"keywords":66,"description":67,"schema_data":68,"social_meta":123,"head_meta":125,"extra_data":127,"updated_unix":129},105,"en","first-semester-experiences-of-professionals-transitioning-to-full-time-doctoral-study","First Semester Experiences of Professionals Transitioning to Full-time Doctoral Study","","A phenomenological study examines how professionals transitioning to full-time doctoral programs experience the move from employment into student life. Interview data are interpreted through student transition and socialization frameworks, yielding themes of identity, integration, support systems, perseverance, and success versus challenges. The findings inform policy and program development aimed at reducing doctoral student attrition. The introduction situates completion rates and early attrition within persistence and socialization theories.",{"@graph":69,"@context":122},[70,84,105],{"@type":71,"itemListElement":72},"BreadcrumbList",[73,77,79,82],{"item":74,"name":75,"@type":76,"position":8},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":78,"name":9,"@type":76,"position":14},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/",{"item":80,"name":40,"@type":76,"position":81},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/",3,{"item":83,"name":65,"@type":76,"position":19},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/first-semester-experiences-of-professionals-transitioning-to-full-time-doctoral-study/599529/",{"url":83,"name":65,"@type":85,"image":86,"author":91,"headline":65,"publisher":94,"fileFormat":97,"inLanguage":63,"description":67,"dateModified":98,"datePublished":99,"encodingFormat":97,"isAccessibleForFree":100,"interactionStatistic":101},"DigitalDocument",{"url":87,"@type":88,"width":89,"height":90},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/first-semester-experiences-of-professionals-transitioning-to-full-time-doctoral-study/599529.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":92,"@type":93},"jayni","Person",{"url":74,"name":95,"@type":96},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-22","2026-10-15",true,{"@type":102,"interactionType":103,"userInteractionCount":19},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":104},"ViewAction",{"@type":106,"mainEntity":107},"FAQPage",[108,114,118],{"name":109,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":111},"What is the study’s purpose regarding doctoral students’ early experiences?","Question",{"text":112,"@type":113},"The study investigates how first-semester doctoral students experience the transition from full-time professional employment to full-time doctoral study.","Answer",{"name":115,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":116},"Which themes emerged from the interview data?",{"text":117,"@type":113},"Five themes emerged: identity, integration, support systems, perseverance, and success versus challenges.",{"name":119,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":120},"How can the results be used in doctoral education?",{"text":121,"@type":113},"The results can guide policies and programs designed to reduce doctoral student attrition.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":83,"og:type":124,"og:title":65,"og:site_name":95,"og:description":67},"article",{"robots":126,"canonical":83},"index,follow",{"doc_id":128,"site_id":62},599529,1792166408,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":131},{"doc_id":128,"user_id":132,"nickname":92,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":39,"category_name":40,"doc_title":65,"doc_description":67,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":19,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":8,"is_downloadable":8,"audit_status":8,"page_count":139,"language":140,"language_code":63,"site_id":62,"html_lang":63,"table_of_contents":141,"faqs":142,"seo_title":143,"seo_description":67,"update_tm":144,"read_time":145},3985747859343,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_276721f389ce27ea32af1340a28f341c","First Semester Experiences of Professionals Transitioning to Full-time Doctoral Study  \nJanice Austin, Tracey Cameron, Martha Glass, Karl Kosko, Fulya Marsh, Randa Abdelmagid, Penny Burge  \nThe purpose of this phenomenological study was to examine the experiences of full-time doctoral students transitioning from professional employment. Interview data were interpreted through a student transition and socialization conceptual framework. Five themes emerged:  \nidentity, integration, support systems, perseverance, and success vs. challenges.  \nThe results can be used to develop policies and programs aimed at reducing doctoral student attrition.  \nIntroduction  \nDi Pierro (2007) argues that the preservation of our nation’s doctoral students“will have significant bearing as we embrace a more technologically complex world that must avail itself of the research, creativity, and talents of a diverse body of scholars” (p. 368 ) . However, many students who begin a Ph.D. program do not finish. A recent study, the Ph.D. Completion Project conducted by the Council of Graduate Schools (2007), found that 57% of students complete the Ph.D. within 10 years. This number is slightly higher than what has been considered the norm of a 50 percent completion rate since the 1970’s. This recent study still leaves an alarming attrition rate for doctoral students at 43% . Another study found that 58.8% of attrition occurs within the first two years of doctoral study (Di Pierro, 2007) . The findings of Ph.D. Completion Project and other similar studies (Di Pierro, 2007; Lovitts, 2001) are a reminder that enhancing graduate education must be a priority for administrators, faculty, accrediting bodies, and legislators.  \nUnderstanding the factors that contribute to a student’s progress towards the completion of a degree has served as the source of inquiry for much of the research that has been focused on student persistence. The undergraduate population has been the focal point for the majority of the student persistence literature, without much regard to graduate education. But, mounting internal and external pressures associated with institutional accountability will force higher education administrators to take a closer look at doctoral student attrition and retention (Malone, Nelson & Nelson, 2001) .  \nTinto’s (1993) seminal work on undergraduate student departure serves as the impetus for his three-stage theory of graduate persistence: transition and adjustment, the development of competence (attaining candidacy), and completion of the dissertation. The process of graduate persistence is longitudinal in nature. Similar to the undergraduate departure framework, graduate student persistence is influenced by “the personal and intellectual  \ninteractions that occur within and between students and faculty and the various communities that make up the academic and social systems of the institution”(Tinto, 1993, p. 231) . The transition and adjustment phase, as described by Tinto (1993), typically occurs during the first year and focuses on the academic and social integration of the student into the university communities. Successful transition during year one is critical to retention; “Good beginnings .  \n. . help students to make informed decisions in response to socialization challenges they face”(Golde, 1998, p. 64) . Socialization theories also speak to the phenomenon of transition and adjustment. Golde (1998) maintained that graduate student socialization is unique in that not only does the new student have to transition into their role as student, but they must also be socialized into the profession.  \nThere is no single reason that explains why doctoral students depart prior to graduation. Departmental culture and incompatibility with the field of study, program, and institution have been cited as possible reasons for high attrition rates (Bair & Haworth, 1999) . Inadequate preparation for research and difficulty with the dissertation process (Bair & ","cbCaigDskBMSIf5B","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaigDskBMSIf5B","pdf",192076,21,"English","# Introduction\n## Doctoral persistence and attrition context\n## Frameworks and transition theory\n# Purpose and research questions\n## Phenomenological study aim\n## Transition to graduate study","[{\"question\":\"What is the study’s purpose regarding doctoral students’ early experiences?\",\"answer\":\"The study investigates how first-semester doctoral students experience the transition from full-time professional employment to full-time doctoral study.\"},{\"question\":\"Which themes emerged from the interview data?\",\"answer\":\"Five themes emerged: identity, integration, support systems, perseverance, and success versus challenges.\"},{\"question\":\"How can the results be used in doctoral education?\",\"answer\":\"The results can guide policies and programs designed to reduce doctoral student attrition.\"}]","First Semester Experiences of Professionals Transitioning to Full-time Doctoral Study | PDF",1792088943,53]