Factors Influencing Successful Submission of PhD Theses

This article examines the submission rates of 3579 postgraduate research students who studied for the traditional PhD degree at a single large civic university between 1984 and 1993. An examination is made of individual factors which may have an effect on students' rate of completion, attempting to identify characteristics of the student 'most likely to succeed'. The analysis excludes intrinsic student characteristics and institutional conditions. The only factor which emerged as a reliable predictor of successful submission within a 4-year period and within a 10-year period was whether a student was researching a science-based or an arts and humanities-based subject. Gender showed no predictive effect on submission. It is suggested that success in postgraduate research study is becoming more equally likely between different student groups, especially where international students, women and older students are concerned. Some differences between successful submission in the sciences and in the arts and humanities are identified and questions are raised about differences between fields of study.