ABSTRACT
Understanding the socialization experience of doctoral students is an important issue, as it determines not only the completion rate but also the quality of doctoral education. Based on a survey of 332 doctoral students of Life Sciences (210) and Physico-Chemical Sciences (122) in seven Indian Universities, this chapter explores the socialization experience of students. The study reveals that the norms related to region, caste, gender and family strongly influence students’ socialization experiences, which are manifested in their informal interaction. It is not only the internal departmental structure and culture that shaped the ‘self’ of the research student, but also the cultural baggage that he/she brings with him/her, and the broader social world in which he/she goes and comes out frequently. Although most of the doctoral students, irrespective of their caste and class backgrounds, have a common motivation for doctoral education, the study did show that the students coming from the underprivileged sections of the society face different problems during their doctoral programme.
