Factors Associated with Online Doctoral Student Persistence: A Critical Integrative Review of the Literature

Abstract

Online students are less likely to complete their program than students enrolled in traditional face-to-face programs. Additionally, doctoral students are less likely to persist to degree completion than undergraduate and master’s students. Consequently, online doctoral students might be at an especially high risk for not completing their program. The purpose of this paper is to synthesize and critically analyze the body of research examining factors associated with persistence among online doctoral students, a relatively understudied population. Consistent with the notion that integration and institutional factors exert more influence on doctoral persistence than student characteristics, with the exception of leadership and motivation, few student-related characteristics examined were found to be associated with online doctoral student persistence. However, findings should be considered in light of the limitations of the existing research. Based on this critical integrative review of the literature, implications for research and practice and recommendations for next steps are offered.