average time to get doctorate degree
Deans call loudly and frequently for streamlined degree programs, and many, if not most, graduate directors have been asked to figure out ways to reduce the amount of time students spend in graduate school. Yet time to degree remains stubbornly high. It's lowest in the sciences, where students still take about seven years to earn a Ph.D., and highest in education, where doctoral students take about 12 years (though students earning education Ph.D.'s often work full time while they study).