TrivselPhD_Publikation_7

Being a PhD student Pre- Satisfation, Integration and Working Conditions among PhD students 2016

Content Introduction………………………………………………………………… 4 Overall Satisfaction……………………………………………………….. 6 Stress……………………………………………….................................. 10 Gender Differences………………………………………………………. 12 PhD Courses……………………………………………………………….. 16 2

Introduction IN order to assure that the quali- THE PhD School wanted to ty of the PhD programs is high focus on three particular are- Main Findings and is managed effectively the as in this year’s survey: as-  84 percent are satisfied with PhD School under the Facul- sessment of the supervision, ty of Business and Social PhD courses, and the work- their PhD programme Sciences at the University of ing environment. These and  Overall students are satisfied Southern Denmark (SDU) other questions concerning with the supervision received continuously evaluates its the general satisfaction with PhD programmes. the PhD programme are ad-  40 percent report that they dressed in the report. lack relevant PhD courses CONSEQUENTLY an elec-  32 percent state that the work tronic survey was sent out to ”Most PhDs are on the thesis is progressing all active PhD students at the satisfied with their with a range of problems faculty in March, 2016. 60 PhD students had answered PhD programme”  24 percent are not satisfied the questionnaire by April with the study and working leading to a response rate of environment at the depart- 66 percent. THIS booklet presents the ments most important points and  Female PhD students are THE survey is a follow-up to conclusions from the report. relatively less satisfied with a similar survey conducted in their supervisors 2012. Throughout this book- COHERE Analysis let and in the underlying  PhD students with children report interesting differences Department of Business and Economics are less satisfied with their since the 2012 report are University of Southern Denmark, SDU department and the relation- highlighted. ship to other PhD students Campusvej 55, 5230 Odense M 3 3

The Survey 4

Focus areas: Follow-up to a similar Conducted in March Supervision, survey from 2012 2016 PhD courses, work environment. 60 respondents 84% of the students 75 % feel stressed are either satisfied or frequently or now and Response rate: 66% very satisfied with their then PhD studies 5 5

Overall Satisfaction THE figure shows frequencies of students ON the next pages the overall satisfaction who are, respectively, highly satisfied, across gender and provider status is satisfied, less satisfied and dissatisfied with presented. It turns out that there are no their PhD studies. significant differences across either of these MOST students are either satisfied or highly groups. Also, no significant differences exist satisfied, while no students are dissatisfied. across means of financing or whether the The overall satisfaction is slightly worse than PhD students are part of a larger project or in 2012, but the difference is not statistically not. significant. 6

“In general, how do you consider your PhD Study?” 70% ”The vast majority 60 65 are either satisfied or highly satisfied” 50 40 30 20 19 17 ”No one is 10 0 unsatisfied” 0 All Highly satisfactory Satisfactory Less satisfactory Unsatisfactory 7

Gender Differences ”No significant differences across genders” 80 % 70 78 60 50 52 40 30 20 26 22 10 0 11 11 0 0 Females Males Highly satisfactory Satisfactory Less satisfactory Unsatisfactory 8 8

Provider Differences ”And no significant differences across provider status” 80% 70 78 60 50 52 40 30 20 26 22 10 11 11 0 0 0 Children No children Highly satisfactory Satisfactory Less satisfactory Unsatisfactory 9

Focus Area Stress ONE of the focus areas in the 2016 report is THOSE who feel stressed also tend to work the working environment. PhD students more hours and feel less satisfied overall. were asked whether on a daily basis they feel stressed as PhD students. UNFORTUNATELY, the vast majority of PhD students feel stressed at least now and ”75% of the PhD stuents then. Also, few PhD students hardly ever report feeling stressed. feel stressed. PhD students who frequently feel stressed are widely distributed among In 2012 this was 66%” all departments. 10

“On a daily basis as a PhD student, do you feel stressed?” ”PhDs feeling stressed also work more hours and feel less satisfied with their PhD studies in general” 60% 50 52 40 30 20 23 19 10 6 0 All Yes, frequently Yes, now and then No, rarely No, hardly ever 11 11

Focus Area Gender Differences ANTOHER focus area is gender ”Female PhD students differences. Although male and female are significantly less PhD students do not differ on overall satisfied with their satisfaction, differences exist in certain areas. supervisors’ academic competences” WOMEN are less satisfied with the supervisors’ academic competences and the commitment of their supervisors to their thesis. 12

“In your opinion, are your supervisors academically competent to advise you and your project?” 80% 70 74 60 50 48 40 30 37 20 22 10 15 4 0 0 0 Females Males Yes, definitely Yes, in most cases In some cases, not all No 13 13

“How will you characterize the supervisor’s commitment to the work on the PhD thesis?” ”Overall the PhD 70% students find their 60 65 supervisors’ commit- 50 ment to the thesis satisfactory” 40 30 20 19 17 10 0 0 All Highly satisfactory Satisfactory Less satisfactory Unsatisfactory 14 14

But.. ”Female PhD students are significantly less satisfied ” 70% 60 64 50 40 46 38 30 28 20 10 15 0 8 0 0 Females Males Highly satisfactory Satisfactory Less satisfactory Unsatisfactory 15

Focus Area PhD Courses A third focus area in the 2016 report was STILL, 40% feel that they do not always PhD courses. Specifically, PhD students have enough courses to choose from. were asked whether they have had NO significant differences were found enough relevant courses to choose from. across gender and provider status. 58% feel they have had enough PhD ”58% feel they have had courses to choose from at least most of the time. This is a large improvement since enough PhD courses to 2012 where 37% felt the same. choose from” 16

“Did you have enough relevant courses to choose from?” 45% 40 44 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 14 5 2 0 All Yes, always Yes, most of the time No,not always No, never 17 17

Read the report! Read the report for further details:  More comparisons with the 2012 survey  Further details at the deparmental level  Answers to open-ended questions  The importance of type of employment COHERE Analysis