July 27, 2007

In Humanities, 10 Years May Not Be Enough to Get a Ph.D.

By JOHN GRAVOIS

But overall rates for finishing doctorates may be better than thought, new data show

By the time the 10th anniversary of their enrollment in a Ph.D. program has rolled around, about 57 percent of doctoral students have their terminal degrees in hand, according to new data from the Council of Graduate Schools.

That figure represents the latest and most comprehensive effort to measure American Ph.D.-completion rates, which conventional wisdom has placed at about 50 percent since

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