Doctoral Education: Present Realities and Future Trends

Overview & Synopsis

Doctoral education in the United States forms a huge and diverse enterprise. Seen from the outside, American graduate education is often hailed as the "gold standard" to which other nations and academic institutions aspire. From the inside, however, doctoral education faces many challenges. This article provides some basic information concerning doctoral education in the United States and will focus attention on the challenges facing doctoral education. While some U.S. analysts would disagree, my basic perspective is that American graduate education in general and doctoral education in particular is largely successful and effective. (Contains 7 footnotes.)