ABSTRACT
What is appropriately done in a doctorate (Golde and Walker, 2006; Noble, 1994)? To what extent should disciplinary differences, changing economic conditions, the technological revolution, or societal need influence the answer (Woollard, 2002)? What is the doctorate preparation for – work in an academic field or in society (Golde and Dore, 2001)? These questions highlight for us the shifting, contested nature of the doctorate both within and beyond academe, and are questions of scholarly (as well as professional) interest to us. And, the questions assume even greater urgency in the face of a significant problem in Canadian and US universities: increasing times to completion (Elgar, 2003) and doctoral attrition rates as high as 30 per cent to 50 per cent, with the higher rates common in the humanities (Lovitts, 2001; Yeates, 2003).
