Satisfaction Among Current Doctoral Students in Special Education

Despite the growing demand for professionals with doctoral degrees in special education, doctoral programs are not producing enough graduates to fulfill this need. Although large attrition rates exist in doctoral study across discipline, very little is known about the attrition or satisfaction of doctoral students in special education. This article reports the results of a nationwide satisfaction survey of 619 students from 78 doctoral programs. Findings indicate that students appear generally satisfied with their programs. However, areas of concern include program structure, overall workload, and quality of preparation in research. Implications for doctoral programs are presented.