Student motivation

Overview and research

"There are many reasons students undertake PhDs. Not everyone starts out because they want to be an academic. There are those who do it as a stalling tactic. Take Nelly, a well-known comedian. With no clear career direction but excellent academic results, she took the seemingly easy option of postgraduate work supported by a scholarship. Others are seduced by the romance of the ivory tower. John, a successful journalist and author, started his thesis enamoured with the idea that the university offered deep intellectual truths in which he might share. Then there are those who are flattered into it, such as Kris, an award-winning screenwriter, who undertook postgraduate work after his honours supervisor convinced him of his brilliance." (Dux, 2006)

Why do students enrol in a research degree?

Why do academic staff supervise research candidates?

Motivation is clearly a major factor in the relationship, progress of candidature, and its success or failure. Another way of looking at motivation is to consider the work of Salmon, where she discusses 'product' students, i.e. those aiming mainly for the PhD qualification, and the 'process' students, i.e. those who are mainly focused on the journey and process.

Various surveys support the differences in motivation with:

Intrinsic motivation, i.e. interest in research and/or the discipline itself, and personal satisfaction
Career advancement or change, i.e. the credential itself

Overall motivation tends to vary according to discipline and gender, e.g. females tend to be slightly more motivated by intrinsic reasons and students in the health sciences being slightly more motivated by career advancement.

The motivation of international candidates is of particular importance. Some international candidates and their families have made substantial sacrifices so a PhD can be undertaken, e.g. parents leaving behind very young children, being apart from partners for lengthy periods, being separated from one’s familiar culture, language, food and expectations. The motivation to do this can include a significantly improved standard of living for the candidate and extended family, the realisation of an extended family’s dreams and expectations, or the opportunity to contribute in a meaningful way to the capacity development of one’s country. Often such motivations and sacrifices can ‘drive’ international candidates to work very long hours in an effort to complete their degree in the shortest time possible.

One of the most widely read books on 'getting a PhD' is that by Phillips and Pugh (1987), and as far as motivation is concerned their chapter on How NOT to get a PhD is critical.

Their first method for not getting a PhD is not to want one, but rather wanting something else that they mistake for a PhD
The second method they suggest is to not understand the nature of a PhD and overestimating what is required, i.e. it is a PhD, not a Nobel Prize!
Underestimating what is required of a PhD
Having a supervisor who does not know what is required of a PhD
Losing contact with a supervisor
Not having a thesis
Taking a new job before completing the PhD

While not all of these issues relate specifically to motivation, clearly the candidate's motivation is critical in these matters.

As with this web site, the book does not have a separate section on international candidates but most of the advice offered in the book is as relevant for international students as it is for their domestic peers. However, in many cases, the international doctoral candidate is not in a position to get to know her/his supervisor prior to arrival, and vice versa for the supervisor. Hence clarifying expectations, motivations, and ways of communicating are even more important in this situation.

The above text was based on the following research:

Dux, M. (2006, 12 April). Quitting has its own rewards. The Australian.

Phillips, E., & Pugh, D. S. (1987). How to get a PhD: A handbook for students and their supervisors. Milton Keynes: Open University Press.

Ideas and tools

What is your motivation for supervising? Is it:

To have a source for additional research papers?
Because you want to pass on research skill and knowledge?
Meets the requirements for promotion?
Because you had no choice?

How does your motivation influence your relationship with your research students?

What is your student's motivation for undertaking a research degree? Is it:

To get the job they want?
Because they are seeking personal affirmation and a sense of achievement?
To provide an opportunity to refocus employment possibilities?
Because the children have left home and they have the time to do what they always wanted?

How does their motivation influence your relationship?

ANU information

Judging by the Graduate Destinations data, approximately 52% of doctoral graduates from Group of Eight universities are in employment related to higher education within six to twelve months of graduation, compared with 53% from ATN universities, 62% from IRU universities and 35% from Regional universities.

Recent data suggest that the ANU has the highest percentage of doctoral graduates entering higher education of all other Australian universities.

The Graduate Destinations data is available from the Statistics Office web site.

For College-specific information contact:

College of Engineering & Computer Science

College of Law

College of Arts and Social Sciences

College of Asia & the Pacific

College of Business & Economics

College of Medicine and Health Sciences

Alternatively, contact the College Associate Dean (HDR) for more general college information.