Evaluation of Qualification Process, Expected Graduation Time, and Publication Productivity of ORPHEUS Doctoral Students: A Cross-Sectional Analysis of the 2022-2023 Fall Semester
ORPHEUS 2026 Conference Sustainable Networks Through Interdisciplinary Partnerships – The Key to Quality Enhancements in Doctoral Education, Budapest, Hungary, 26 - 28 May 2026, pp.1, (Summary Text)
- Publication Type: Conference Paper / Summary Text
- City: Budapest
- Country: Hungary
- Page Numbers: pp.1
- Istanbul University Affiliated: Yes
Abstract
Objective:The monitoring of doctoral students’ progress and scientific productivity is an important component of doctoral education quality. This study aimed to evaluate the qualification exam status, expected graduation timeline, and publication productivity of ORPHEUS doctoral students in the 2022–2023 fall semester. The study included 75 doctoral students in the qualification stage. Material and methods: Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the distribution of students according to their qualification exam period, expected graduation year, and publication experience with their advisors. Results: The findings showed that nearly half of the students (45.3%) took the qualification exam in the 4th term, while smaller proportions took it in the 5th term (14.7%) and 3rd term (9.3%). A considerable proportion of students (25.3%) had not yet attended the qualification exam, while a small number were either waiting due to traditional procedures (2.7%) or were unreachable (2.7%). Regarding expected graduation in 2026, the majority of students (78.6%) reported that they did not expect to graduate by that year, whereas only 18.7% believed they would graduate within this timeframe. In terms of research productivity, most students (82.6%) reported that they had not published any papers with their advisors outside their thesis-related work, while only 14.7% had such publications. Among those who had published additional articles (n=11), almost half had publications in Q1 journals (45.46%), followed by Q2 (27.27%) and Q3 (27.27%) journals (Table 1). Conclusion: These findings suggest that while a small proportion of doctoral students demonstrate high-quality publication outputs, overall research productivity and expected timely graduation rates remain limited. Strengthening mentoring, encouraging collaborative research, and supporting early publication efforts may contribute to improving doctoral training outcomes and academic productivity within ORPHEUS doctoral programs.