2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

This work-in-progress research paper explores the experiences of engineering doctoral students (EDS) in the buildup to, and immediately after, their qualifying exam (QE). The QE is a crucial milestone towards earning a doctoral degree and serves as the entry point to both candidacy status and increasing research independence [1], [2]. Despite their importance, QEs are an understudied element in doctoral programs especially for underrepresented populations [3]. Qualifying exams may contribute to attrition rates, a well-established concern in doctoral engineering education [4], [5]. Studies on attrition have described how advisor support, academic climate, personal traits, and funding affect engineering doctoral education [5]. The QE, being a foundational experience, and intersecting with all four of the above factors, highlights the value of specifically investigating its impact on EDS’ well-being.

As a major stressor for doctoral students, QEs may threaten well-being [6]. Furthermore, passing the QEs and continuing on to graduate can incur costs to EDS’ well-being [7]. However, Shanachilubwa et al. [8] found that well-being is not solely mapped to attrition rates. We have anecdotal evidence that our institution’s biomedical engineering QEs are a major stressor for our students. Despite low attrition rates (<10%) we are thus motivated to understand the impacts of QEs on EDS.

The study population comprises 3rd year biomedical engineering (BME) PhD candidates at a mid-sized private R1 university who completed the QEs the prior summer. The interviews are semi-structured and use the PERMA-V framework [9], [10] to explore six constructs that comprise well-being: positive emotion, engagement, relationships, meaning, accomplishment, and vitality. The analysis will be grounded in a constructivist epistemology that centers EDS’ meaning-making of their experiences [11].

The EDS population is not a monolith and we expect to find different subgroups of students for whom the QEs process has different impacts; this study outlines their diversity of these experiences. We plan to conduct a more comprehensive study of 2nd year BME PhD students’ experiences as they prepare for QEs. Thus, findings from this WIP will guide protocol development and participant sampling strategy, and identify appropriate temporal sampling points for the future, more comprehensive study.