Department of Methods and Statistics, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
PLoS One. 2013 Jul 23;8(7):e68839. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0068839. Print 2013.
A delay in PhD completion, while likely undesirable for PhD candidates, can also be detrimental to universities if and when PhD delay leads to attrition/termination. Termination of the PhD trajectory can lead to individual stress, a loss of valuable time and resources invested in the candidate and can also mean a loss of competitive advantage. Using data from two studies of doctoral candidates in The Netherlands, we take a closer look at PhD duration and delay in doctoral completion. Specifically, we address the question: Is it possible to predict which PhD candidates will experience delays in the completion of their doctorate degree? If so, it might be possible to take steps to shorten or even prevent delay, thereby helping to enhance university competitiveness. Moreover, we discuss practical do's and don'ts for universities and graduate schools to minimize delays.
博士完成时间的延迟，虽然可能不符合博士生的意愿，但如果博士延迟导致流失/终止，也会对大学造成不利影响。博士轨迹的终止可能会导致个人压力、候选人投入的宝贵时间和资源的损失，也意味着丧失竞争优势。我们使用来自荷兰两项博士生研究的数据，更深入地研究了博士学位的持续时间和完成时间的延迟。具体来说，我们提出了一个问题：是否有可能预测哪些博士生在完成博士学位时会经历延迟？如果是这样，也许可以采取措施缩短甚至防止延迟，从而有助于提高大学的竞争力。此外，我们还讨论了大学和研究生院为尽量减少延迟可以采取的实际措施和应该避免的措施。
