Why Embark on a PhD Today? A Typology of Motives for Doctoral Study in Russia

Abstract

Data obtained in interviews with doctoral students and their academic supervisors as well as in doctoral student surveys conducted across six Russian universities is used to explore the motives for embarking on and pursuing a PhD, and evaluate their incidence. Drawing from Deci and Ryan’s self-determination theory, three basic types of motivation are identified — intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation, and amotivation — and described in the context of doctoral education. Even though academic labor has been losing its prestige in Russia, intrinsic motivation associated with interest for research, science and education remains the most popular motive for embarking on doctoral study. At the same time, a significant percentage of doctoral students are driven by external non-academic motives, such as specific social benefits or desire to use PhD as an asset in a non-academic career.