Developing a Doctoral Identity

Abstract

To complete a doctoral program, students must develop the skills and knowledge of their field of study as well as a doctoral identity. However, there are many factors that can impede a student's ability to develop this identity, including the imposter phenomenon, connectedness, and self-efficacy. As researchers have shown, online doctoral students may face additional challenges as they can experience barriers when trying to interact with peers and faculty formally and informally. This reduced interaction can limit the opportunities that researchers have shown can facilitate doctoral identity development, such as participating in research projects. The purpose of this chapter is to share specific strategies that students, faculty, and institutions can use to support the doctoral identity development of online students.