TDNet Discover

The purpose of this quantitative, non-experimental, correlational study is to compare three variables associated with doctoral degree completion to determine if there is a statistical significance between completion time, financial aid status, and ethnicity for women in STEM programs in the United States. Two research questions are addressed in this study. The first is, what is the difference between the completion time for women pursuing doctoral degrees in STEM programs and their financial aid status in the United States? The second is, what is the difference between the completion time for women pursuing doctoral degrees in STEM programs and their ethnicity in the United States? The setting for this study is doctoral degree research program graduates. 57,596 persons received a research doctoral degree from 457 United States-accredited academic institutions. The researcher utilizes archival data from the National Science Foundation Survey of Earned Doctorates, 2022. Tinto’s (1975) Theory of Student Departure is utilized as the framework for this study. The statistical analysis used in this study includes Levene’s test of Equality, an Independent Samples t-test, and Cohen's d test. IBM's Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS-29) is used. This study found that female STEM doctoral students who utilize financial aid graduate at a faster rate than female students in STEM who do not utilize financial aid. It also concludes that White non-ethnic female STEM students graduate at a faster rate than ethnic (Hispanic/Latino, American Indian or Alaskan Native, Asian, Black or African American, More than one race, and Other races) female STEM students. The research identifies a critical need for more comprehensive studies on female completion times for STEM doctoral degree programs and ways to overcome the barriers that female students face, especially those who work full-time jobs and are raising a family.