A Multilevel Analysis to Examine Interdisciplinary Research Experience Among Doctoral Graduates and Its Effect on Career Outcomes

This study was designed to explore the impact of interdisciplinary research on the likelihood of a doctoral student obtaining a faculty job upon degree completion. Additionally, this study examined the important individual and institutional components of socialization that contribute to differences in career outcomes. A socialization framework likely substantiates the extent to which doctoral training environments are consequential to careers. Results were obtained from a sample of 28,928 doctoral students who participated in the 2021 Survey of Earned Doctorates. Hierarchical Generalized Linear Modeling was used because it measures the effects of both student characteristics and institutional factors. The findings from this analysis suggest student demographics are an important predictor, but the significance of those characteristics' changes when doctoral field of study is considered. Additionally, there are institutional characteristics that impact the likelihood of obtaining a faculty job related to the proportion of various student backgrounds, faculty backgrounds, and broad field of study, and the prestige of the institution. The independent variable of interest, interdisciplinary dissertation, was not statistically significant at the student level, but the proportion of doctoral students completing an interdisciplinary dissertation at the institution level was statistically significant and negatively associated with obtaining a faculty position adjusting for other institutional factors. These findings show the importance of applying hierarchical models to research questions related to career outcomes for doctoral students. Without a hierarchical model, this important differential finding across levels would have been hidden.