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Doctoral Student Socialization

  • Living reference work entry
  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of International Higher Education Systems and Institutions

Synonyms

Development; Graduate professionalization; Professional identity; Training

Definition

The most widely used definition of doctoral student socialization refers to the process as one in which an individual interacts, integrates, and learns the values, skills, attitudes, norms, and knowledge to effectively take part in a group (Merton et al. 1957; Brim 1966; Bragg 1976; Baird 1990; Weidman et al. 2001; Austin 2002; Weidman and Stein 2003). The internalization of membership happens informally and formally, ultimately resulting in integration, role commitment to the member group, and role acquisition in the chosen group or organization. Doctoral student socialization takes place throughout the graduate career and facilitates the students’ integration into professional, department, and disciplinary networks, thereby socializing the student to graduate school and to the chosen professional pathway.

Historical Aspects

Socialization theory is a common and valuable theoretical framework...

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References

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Montana State University, 112 Reid Hall, P.O. Box 172880, Bozeman, MT, 59717-2880, USA

    Catherine M. Johnson

  2. Washington State University, Pullman, WA, USA

    Kelly A. Ward

  3. University of Maine, Orono, ME, USA

    Susan K. Gardner

Authors
  1. Catherine M. Johnson
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  2. Kelly A. Ward
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  3. Susan K. Gardner
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Catherine M. Johnson .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Education, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea (Republic of)

    Jung Cheol Shin

  2. CIPES, Faculty of Economics, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal

    Pedro Teixeira

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Johnson, C.M., Ward, K.A., Gardner, S.K. (2017). Doctoral Student Socialization. In: Shin, J., Teixeira, P. (eds) Encyclopedia of International Higher Education Systems and Institutions. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-9553-1_296-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-9553-1_296-1

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  • Print ISBN: 978-94-017-9553-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-017-9553-1

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