Sequentially Structured Dissertation Model: Implications for Timely Student Completion among Online Psychology Doctoral Students

Previous research has shown that programmatic factors influence doctoral student outcomes, including timelines. However, completely online doctoral students have unique characteristics and needs and are underrepresented in the research literature; therefore, research exploring programmatic factors as related to learning outcomes in this population is warranted. This study investigated differences in time to completion among 3 cohorts of non-clinical psychology doctoral students: those who experienced a traditional dissertation model, those who experienced a sequentially structured dissertation model, and a transition cohort. We used institutional data from a non-profit completely online primarily doctoral-granting university for 430 doctoral students who completed their psychology PhD from 2013-2020. Analyses indicated time to completion was significantly lower for the sequentially structured cohort compared to the traditional (p < .001, d = .70) and transition cohorts (p < .01, d = .43). There was no statistically significant difference between the traditional and transition cohorts (p = .09). Overall, these results suggest mechanisms of the sequentially structured model support conscientious student progress with structured proximal goals and mentor feedback loops to guide progress and support timely completion.