Doctoral Candidates' Motivation During the Dissertation Phase

Date of Award

Spring 2026

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education in Organizational Leadership (EdD)

Committee Chair

Blake Renner

Committee Member

Tracy Greene

Committee Member

Crissie Jameson

Abstract

The purpose of this descriptive qualitative study is to investigate how doctoral candidates describe what supported their motivation to complete their degree during the dissertation phase at a private nonprofit institution in the Midwest. The framework of Bean’s Nine Themes of College Student Retention and Deci and Ryan’s Self-Determination Theory combined to guide this study to explore the gap in the literature on doctoral candidate attrition and motivation during the dissertation phase. Six important themes emerged from 62 open-ended surveys: (1) Personal Motivation, (2) Career Driven Motivation, (3) Coursework Alignment, (4) Supportive Doctoral Experience, (5) Intellectual Motivation, and (6) Employer Support. Implications for practice were identified to provide support and motivate doctoral candidates during the dissertation phase. The implications for practice for this study are as follows: (1) Increase the presence of the University’s Doctoral Student Association (DSA), (2) Maintain integration between dissertation research and student career paths, (3) Maintain coursework alignment, (4) Reinforce the third implication, maintain coursework alignment, (5) Maintain faculty support before candidacy is obtained, and increase faculty support after candidacy is obtained, (6) Maintain the delivery of the online doctoral program, and (7) Maintain and increase collaborative university-employer partnerships for doctoral programs.

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