Exploring Persistent Racial and Ethnic Representation Disparity in U.S. Geography Doctoral Programs: The Disciplinary Underrepresentation Gap

The education of researchers in Sweden is regulated by a nationwide reform implemented in 1969, which intended to limit doctoral programs to 4 years without diminishing quality. In an audit performed by the government in 1996, however, it was concluded that the reform had failed. Some 80% of the doctoral students admitted had dropped out, and only 1% finished their PhD degree within the stipulated 4 years. In an attempt to determine the causes of this situation, we singled out a social-science department at a major Swedish university and interviewed those doctoral students who had dropped out of the program. This department was found to be representative of the nationwide figures found in the audit. The students interviewed had all completed at least 50% of their PhD studies and had declared themselves as dropouts from this department. We conclude that the entire research education was characterized by a laissez-faire attitude where supervisors were nominated but abdicated. To correct this situation, we suggest that a learning alliance should be established between the supervisor and the student. At the core of the learning alliance is the notion of mutually forming a platform form which work can emerge in common collaboration. The learning alliance implies a contract for work, stating its goals, the tasks to reach these goals, and the interpersonal bonding needed to give force and endurance to the endeavor. Constant scrutiny of this contract and a mutual concern for the learning alliance alone can contribute to its strength.

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Doctoral Training of Psychology Students in France

European Psychologist ◽

10.1027//1016-9040.8.1.3 ◽

2003 ◽

Vol 8 (1) ◽

pp. 3-8 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Christine Roland-Lévy

Keyword(s):

Doctoral Programs ◽

Psychology Students ◽

Doctoral Training ◽

University System ◽

The Third ◽

Conducting Research ◽

The University ◽

Psychology Doctoral ◽

Phd Programs ◽

Phd Program

Abstract: The aim of doctoral programs in psychology is to help students become competent psychologists, capable of conducting research and of finding suitable employment. Starting with a brief description of the basic organization of the French university system, this paper presents an overview of how the psychology doctoral training is organized in France. Since October 2000, the requisites and the training of PhD students are the same in all French universities, but what now differs is the openness to other disciplines according to the size and location of the university. Three main groups of doctoral programs are distinguished in this paper. The first group refers to small universities in which the Doctoral Schools are constructed around multidisciplinary seminars that combine various themes, sometimes rather distant from psychology. The second group covers larger universities, with a PhD program that includes psychology as well as other social sciences. The third group contains a few major universities that have doctoral programs that are clearly centered on psychology (clinical, social, and/or cognitive psychology). These descriptions are followed by comments on how PhD programs are presently structured and organized. In the third section, I suggest some concrete ways of improving this doctoral training in order to give French psychologists a more European dimension.

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Doctoral Studies in Psychology in Spain

European Psychologist ◽

10.1027//1016-9040.8.1.28 ◽

2003 ◽

Vol 8 (1) ◽

pp. 28-33

Author(s):

Yolanda García Rodríguez

Keyword(s):

Doctoral Programs ◽

Legal Reform ◽

The State ◽

Teaching Program ◽

Doctoral Studies ◽

Public And Private ◽

Teaching And Research ◽

Doctoral Thesis ◽

Critical Phase ◽

The Individual

In Spain doctoral studies underwent a major legal reform in 1998. The new legislation has brought together the criteria, norms, rules, and study certificates in universities throughout the country, both public and private. A brief description is presented here of the planning and structuring of doctoral programs, which have two clearly differentiated periods: teaching and research. At the end of the 2-year teaching program, the individual and personal phase of preparing one's doctoral thesis commences. However, despite efforts by the state to regulate these studies and to achieve greater efficiency, critical judgment is in order as to whether the envisioned aims are being achieved, namely, that students successfully complete their doctoral studies. After this analysis, we make proposals for the future aimed mainly at the individual period during which the thesis is written, a critical phase in obtaining the doctor's degree. Not enough attention has been given to this in the existing legislation.

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