So You Want to be a Doctoral Student: Themes to Consider

Ryan E. Gillespie, M.S., Indiana State University; 
Jamie D. Aten, M.S., Indiana State University; 
Richelle M. Reyes, M.S., Rutgers University; 
Dulcinea L. Barber, M.S., Southwest Counseling Service Rock Spring, WY

The applications were in the mail -- I was applying to doctoral programs. On the surface, it looked like I had made up my mind; nonetheless, I was conflicted. Was I prepared for such a huge commitment? In talking to a few of my classmates with similar aspirations, I discovered that they shared my concerns. Specifically, we were concerned with how doctoral study would effect us on a personal and professional level. As a result, we decided to study doctoral students who had completed their on-campus academic and clinical training and were preparing to leave for internship. We developed a qualitative study based on narratives provided by the doctoral students. From these narratives, we were able to identify five themes that encapsulated our participant’s experiences. The following is an overview of these themes.

Themes

1. Interrelatedness Between Personal and Professional Development

In listening to the students describe their development with regard to their doctoral studies, it became apparent to us that professional and personal growth were not viewed as mutually exclusive concepts, but as complementary and invaluable to one another. In general, the students in this study stated that professional growth was often an indication or reflection of personal growth and vise-versa. A quote that elucidates this theme is:

“Self-awareness is a must. You have to grow as a person in order to grow professionally.”

2. Emotionally and Academically Intense

It seems that none of the students were prepared for the level of intensity that they experienced, nor the sacrifices that they had to make as a result of this intensity. Much of the intensity described by the students centered around having to balance numerous tasks and obligations simultaneously. It was as though they were caught in a perpetual juggling act--a phenomenon that most of the students referred to as “jumping through hoops.” For each of these students, there was relatively no rest period, no “down time.” Three statements that encompass the degree of intensity experienced are:

“It’s a special kind of hell.”
“It’s crazy. It feels like there is never a spare moment.”
“You are excited and overwhelmed at the same time.”

3. Experienced Alienation

Upon entering the doctoral program, students soon realized that they would have to be selective in determining their priorities. For most of the students, this meant giving up free time spent with family and friends. Overall, the doctoral students in this study thought that those outside of the program were unable to understand the challenges they faced. Three sentences that describe this alienation are:

“For me it has been giving up three years of my social life.”
“...it is such an abnormal thing, no one else can ever see what you do.”
“My family does not really have a clue as to what I am doing.”

4. Cohort and Faculty as Primary Support

Each student noted several different types of groups from which they found support. However, they all reported that it was the cohort and faculty that“truly” understood them. These two groups encouraged them when they became overwhelmed from the demands of doctoral study. Furthermore, they challenged them to excel both personally and professionally. The following remarks give insight to the importance of cohort and faculty support:

“I think some of the things that have helped were having a supportive cohort.”
“Very supportive faculty members have been great, lots of supervision has been instrumental in where I’m at right now.”

5. Contentment With Current Development and Prospect of Future Growth

Each student reported being satisfied with his or her progress, both personally and professionally, thus far. Moreover, students reported having developed confidence in their ability to continually learn and grow, as a result. Students were satisfied with their growth and believed they had the propensity for continued growth as a result of the endeavors they persevered. Two statements made by participants that illustrate this theme are as follows:

Conclusion

From a personal standpoint, we as a group garnered a better understanding of how doctoral study impacts personal and professional development. In many ways, we have come to see it as a dynamic and challenging process. As noted above, this process can be turbulent and difficult. Inevitably, however, it appears that it is worth it. Truly, participants appeared to be content with their overall development, and confident about their potential for future growth. In essence, this is a modest contribution in that it represents a relatively simple investigation into the personal and professional development of doctoral students. However, our findings provided valuable information that has encouraged each of us to pursue doctoral study in psychology. We hope that it can provide clarity for others who are conflicted in contemplation.