The phd journey at addis ababa university: Study delays, causes, and coping mechanisms

Abstract

PhD in time is a process that can be influenced by many in-Teracting factors, which include student commitment and preparation, favoura-ble academic and research environment, and positive student-supervisor rap-port It is important for practitioners and higher education institutions to find ways to improve the on-Time completion of doctoral programmes in order to mini-mise the continued financial, emotional, and opportunity costs the higher edu-cation sector is currently incurring. The fact that this study was limited to a single institution by itself warrants more studies about time-To-degree in PhD programs and causes for study delays as well as studies about successful interventions in doctoral education. Future research should particularly explore the nature of the advisor/advisee relation-ship and other critical factors that appear to have a significant role in addressing the challenges of study delay. The expansion of PhD programmes is an encouraging development in Ethio-pia. The findings of this study may help improve completion rates of doctoral students and reduce program duration, which would have significant implication to minimise the ensuing financial, emotional, and opportunity costs involved at individual, national, and institutional levels. Given the growing number of universities in Ethiopia and their possible diver-sity, PhD students profiles, backgrounds, and expectations, more research is needed to examine how this diversity may impact doctoral students progression and persistence.