Graduating around the globe
PATRICIA ALEXANDER & RICHARD MAYER
United States Of America
Background information Before we offer our description of the doctoral experience, it would be helpful to share a few facts about higher education in the United States and how it compares to other countries around the globe. The US is a large and very diverse country, and so are its doctoral offerings. It is home to more than 4300 institutions of higher education (National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, National Science Foundation, 2019). Of those colleges and universities, 444 can grant doctoral degrees.
Among these public and private institutions, 115 qualify as “very high research activity” or R1 institutions and 107 are classified as “high research activity” or R2s (Indiana University Center for Postsecondary Research, n.d.). During their studies, US doctoral students, unlike graduate students in some other countries, spend a good portion of the time in formal classes meant to expand their substantive knowledge and their methodological expertise. Despite that fact, there is no prescribed curriculum or common set of requirements for a doctorate in education or psychology
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