What motivates PhD students to start their studies and what keeps them motivated to continue?

Abstract

The process of obtaining a doctoral degree can be a very emotional process and pursuing it
requires a high degree of motivation. Challenges during the different stages of a PhD student's
process can gradually deteriorate their overall motivation. Lack of motivation can be a reason
for quitting the PhD programs, and has a negative impact on the quality of their work. Learning
how PhD students think about motivation and which strategies they use to regain their
motivation can thus be of great value to supervisors as they support PhD students throughout
their process. In this report, we review papers that deal with motivation among PhD students
and synthesise perspectives that a supervisor can use to analyse the motivation of a PhD
student: stages of the PhD process, intrinsic versus extrinsic motivation etc. These perspectives
were compared to the results of a group interview with seven PhD students from different
departments at Lund University. All students were half way or further through their PhD
processes. Our analysis shows that it was predominantly intrinsic reasons that motivated the
students to start their studies rather than extrinsic factors. Relationships to peers, a sense of
competence in areas of their life outside of work, and deadlines provided by the supervisor,
were important for their motivation in the middle stages of their studies. Towards the end, the
students worried about their careers after obtaining the PhD. Interestingly, they were deterred
rather than inspired by the job situation of their supervisors. In general, to regain motivation the
students said they often used the supervisor or other colleagues as discussion partners.
External deadlines helped them to focus on a task to remain motivated. The friendly social
environment at the department was also of high importance for their motivation.