The ABCs of ABDs: A Study of Incomplete Doctorates

Abstract

Doctoral candidates who never complete their dissertat ons, and t erefore fail to earn he Ph.D., have not been a topic for much systematic study. Perhaps their failure to complete all degree re quirements is a painful reminder to faculty and univer sity administrators alike that their judgments of a stu dent's capability and projected success have been faulty (2). Such casualties of the graduate education system have always been with us, yet we know little about them, their perceptions of the graduate training ex perience, and above all, their assessments of their "failure" and subsequent career choices. This paper intends to illuminate this shadowed side of graduate education: the "ABD" (all but dissertation). It is by no means a rigorous, statistical analysis of attrition in U.S. graduate schools. Rather, it is a narrative por trait, constructed from interviews with and anecdotes by a sample of ABDs who were Ph.D. candidates circa 1970. The study could best be considered a "collective biography" (4) of would-be doctoral scientists who con sented to reflect in 1980 on their experiences in graduate school. Their recollections, however, are not all bitter. Indeed, the passage of time has, for many, confirmed their decision as the "right" one. Still, others yearn for what-might-have-been. The twenty-five people inter viewed by telephone were remarkably candid in their self-appraisals and recounting of feelings now and then. They seemed surprised that anyone would be interested