The Purpose of a PhD in Engineering: Where Does Teaching Fit In?

Participant Name	Gender	Current Institution	Time in Position
Steven Bradley	Male	Baccalaureate	2 Years
Valerie Michaels	Female	Baccalaureate	0.5 Years
Opie Hampton	Male	Baccalaureate	2 Years
Christopher Davis	Male	Master’s	1 Year
Samantha Reed	Female	Master’s	1 Year
Jason Talbert	Male	Master’s	1 Year
Matthew Land	Male	R3	3 Years
Emma Edgerton	Female	R3	1.5 Years
Richard Vine	Male	R3	0.5 Years
Brandon Oakley	Male	R2	2 Years
Molly Sanders	Female	R2	3.5 Years
Tyler Colton	Male	R2	2.5 Years

Selected Questions from Interview Protocol.

Purpose of Question	Interview Question
Transition to non-R1	Why did you select your current position and what factors came into play?
Transition to non-R1, socialization in graduate school and current position	How have you experienced the transition between institutional cultures of your undergraduate, graduate, and faculty institutions?
Socialization in graduate school	How did you learn what faculty members do?
Socialization in graduate school and current position	If you could redesign your graduate program, what are the key things you would include?
Socialization in current position	Are you encouraged to spend time on teaching?
Socialization in current position	How does your department/institution support or deter you from teaching?

Themes Resulting from Thematic Analysis.

First-Order Themes	Second-Order Themes
Preparation for Job Market and Teaching	Swimming Upstream
Preparation for Job Market and Teaching	Desired Graduate Programming Focused on Teaching
Map Needed for Non-R1 Job Search Approaches
The Role of Luck
Decision-Making Factors	A Focus on Teaching was Desired
Decision-Making Factors	Overcoming Perceived Failure
Family Matters
Comparisons Between Institution Types	Misalignment of Teaching and Research Expectations
The Institutional Environment in Comparison to R1