| By focusing on one of the key aspects of doctoral education, the doctoral student-faculty advising relationship across academic divisions, this single-institution study offers the student perspective in an effort to gain insight into how students experience their doctoral education and how the student-faculty relationship impacts this experience. An original on-line survey instrument was disseminated to doctoral students at a major research institution in the western United States. The final sample included 1,087 students enrolled in 81 doctoral programs in 14 academic divisions.;Descriptive analyses were utilized to address between-field variation in the following aspects of the advising relationship: adviser selection, career guidance, desired and perceived emotional/personal support, students' views of advisers as mentors, and doctoral program challenges. Differences between academic fields were found for all types of variables.;Two-way analysis of variance was used to address how six dynamics of advising (comfort with adviser, perceived exploitation, positive feedback, professional development, importance of compatibility, and importance of reputation) varied by stage of academic progress and academic division. Significant differences between fields were found for five of the six dynamics (all but importance of reputation). No significant differences were found for the main effect for stage of progress or for the progress by field interaction.;Finally, blocked, stepwise linear regression analyses were run to determine how the advising dynamics impacted three outcomes: expected time-to-degree, likelihood to consider leaving before completing the degree, and overall program satisfaction. Variables from the following domains were included in the analyses: demographics, domestic situation, academic field and stage of progress, finances and employment, dynamics of advising, program climate, and student well-being. Each of the advising dynamics predicted at least one of the outcomes. Intricacies of the student-advising relationship had an impact on doctoral education beyond all controls. The findings of this study have implications for theory, policy, and practice in the following areas: student involvement in governance, career guidance, assessment of faculty mentoring/advising, organization of academic disciplines, adviser selection, finances, and clarity of program requirements. |
