Document Type

Conference Proceeding

Publication Date

2025

Abstract

This paper examines the schism emerging in doctoral education regarding the integration of Generative AI (GenAI). Drawing on Rogers’ Diffusion of Innovations Theory (DIT), this analysis examines how higher education institutions are responding to the disruptive potential of AI in doctoral writing, research, and dissertation defense. A historical examination spanning from Socrates’ resistance to written texts (370 BCE) through contemporary AI debates reveals a recurring pattern: initial resistance to technological innovations, followed by gradual institutional adoption as new frameworks emerge that accommodate the technical tools while preserving the core values of graduate education. DIT-grounded analysis reveals three key factors driving the current schism: structural compatibility alignment differences between AI tools and doctoral program values, limited trialability due to restricted time for AI experimentation, and failure to reach the diffusion tipping point necessary for widespread adoption. Institutions currently employ a range of divergent strategies, from prohibition and AI detection tools to transparent integration policies and the development of AI literacy. A four-step framework addresses this schism. Suspending AI detection tools, developing discipline-specific policies, redesigning curricula to emphasize higher-order human competencies, and introducing a mandatory module into the doctoral program, which culminates in an AI Integration and Ethics Plan. The dissertation defense should evolve to assess intellectual judgment in AI augmented environments through transparent documentation protocols. Historical precedent suggests that the current doctoral schism is a temporary phase on a predictable diffusion cycle.

College/Unit

School of Education

Academic Department

Doctoral Studies

Publication or Event Title

Rethinking Scholarship in the AI Era

Comments

This paper appears in conjunction with the panel discussion Rethinking Scholarship in the AI Era presented by the Office of Academic Scholarship on December 2, 2025.

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