Delayed Completion of Graduate Studies: An Assessment of the Growing Academic Demands
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Date
2025
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF RESEARCH AND INNOVATION IN SOCIAL SCIENCE (IJRISS)
Abstract
Graduate programmes are necessary in training and equipping graduate students with skills relevant to the
current and emerging demands of life. As much as a number of students enroll for graduate studies, graduation
rates in these programmes are generally lower than expected. This study used survey research design to
establish reasons behind the delayed completion of graduate studies amongst graduate students, at Masters and
PhD levels, enrolled in Kenya’s universities. The study established the average fee to be Ksh. 412,456 and
Ksh. 771,031 for Masters and PhD studies, respectively. Some students: were not assigned supervisors; could
not submit their theses for examination; and differed coursework due to inability to raise school fees, all
contributing to a stall in their academic journeys. About 34.5% of the respondents reported that completion of
their graduate studies was affected by work-related demands. Some students opined that they took unpaid
leaves so as to create time for studies; others indicated that they had little time for data collection and theses
writing; while others found it a tall order to obtain study leaves from their employers. About 52% and 32%
of the respondents met their academic supervisors on rare and irregular basis, respectively, thus delaying their
graduation. Majority of students with multiple supervisors indicated that they met them separately (72%), with
the rest meeting them jointly. Attempts to jointly meet supervisors escalated the cost of study to some
students. Some students delayed their graduation because of: supervisors wanting them to take up topics of the
supervisor, and not student, interest; helping supervisors with their errands as their academic work stayed on
halt; supervisors not responding to their communication; and disagreements between the supervisors. Clearly,
completion of graduate studies is, to an extent, affected by financial constraints, work-related obligations, and
academic supervisor demands. There is need to lay down support mechanism for students who are in dire need
for academic funding, conduct refresher courses on the role of academic supervisors, invest in hybrid academic
supervision, and stick to supervision guidelines in case of disagreement between supervisors.
Keywords: Graduate studies’ completion; Financial constraints; Work-related demands; Academic
supervisor(s) demands
Description
Research