Determining the Extent to Which Program Structure Features and Integration Mechanisms Facilitate or Impede Doctoral Student Persistence in Mathematics

Abstract

The primary concern of this paper is to determine the extent to which program structure features and integration mechanisms facilitate or impede doctoral student persistence. Program structure features comprise Ph.D. requirements in the form of a written preliminary examination and an oral qualifying examination. In addition, integration mechanisms relate to type of financial sup-port, teaching opportunities, and advisor-advisee relationship. Twenty doctoral students enrolled in the mathematics doctoral program at the University of California Berkeley were interviewed regarding their perception of the key factors outlined above. This study relates to research sug-gesting the greater the extent to which students are integrated into the academic and social life of an institution, the more likely doctoral persistence (Lovitts, 2001; Tinto, 1993).