International Doctoral Students and Time to Completion in Regards to Institutional Financial Support

Abstract of the DissertationInternational Doctoral Students and Time to Completion in Regards to InstitutionalFinancial SupportThis study attempts to examine the different financial support mechanisms thatpredict the time of completion for international doctoral students within the UnitedStates. The National Science Foundation (NSF) Survey of Earned Doctorates (SED) isused to analyze 15,678 visa-seeking students who completed their degree from July 1,2012 to June 30, 2013. Multiple regression, correlation analysis, and analysis of variance(ANOVA) were used to investigate the research questions of the target population.The findings of this study offer a step in adding to the literature on these topics ofinternational students. First, the findings suggest the financial support mechanisms have astrong correlation of the regions in East Asia, South and Central Asia, and Europe andEurasia. Second, the results include that institutional aid, such as teaching and researchassistantships are primarily used by international students and have a positive impact ontime to completion. In addition, an international student’s personal finances such aspersonal savings or family earnings are not used as currently believed in data from priorresearch. Also, institutional aid such as teaching and research assistantships provideabout equally to both male and female international students and has a positive impact ontime to completion.Furthermore, the study critically reviews at the resources that are made available tointernational students during their time to completion. The SED is a good foundationalsurvey that provides some answers how financial support mechanisms affect time tocompletion for international doctoral students. The study concludes that the SED is agood foundational survey that provides some answers on how international supportaffects time to completion for international doctoral students, and that institutions shouldexamine more thoroughly how their institutional aid and other factors may becontributing towards time to completion.

Author

• Shank, Lorena

Language

• en

Keyword

• graduation
• Survey of Earned Doctorates (SED)
• human capital
• finances
• time to completion
• international students

Date created

• 2018

Type of Work

• Dissertation

License

• All rights reserved

Rights statement

• In Copyright

GW Unit

• Higher Education Administration

Degree

• Ed.D.

Advisor

• Gomez, Joel

Committee Member(s)

• Weiss, Brandi A.
• Jakeman, Rick C

Persistent URL

•  https://scholarspace.library.gwu.edu/etd/5t34sj972