ABSTRACT

When reviewing the literature on doctoral education, the atmosphere and tone set is rather bleak, prospects are hazy, and doctoral students and their supervisors are cast in roles of victimization and paralysis. However, we are witnessing a steady rise in studies that reveal doctoral student and supervisor agency and new forms of researcher activism within Graduate Schools and beyond. In this chapter, I argue that parallel to the frustration and despair found in many studies, we also find optimism and hope for the future of doctoral education, and we start to see new forms of ownership of the PhD.