Why Awarding Doctoral Degrees Matters

As the largest R1 research university in the North Texas region, UNT plays a vital role in preparing doctoral graduates who advance knowledge, drive innovation, and address society’s most pressing challenges — now and in the future. Doctoral students are essential to UNT’s research enterprise, as their scholarship, creativity, and discoveries fuel breakthroughs across disciplines from materials science to music, engineering to education. Training highly skilled doctoral graduates strengthens Texas’ talent pipeline in fields critical to our economic competitiveness and positions UNT graduates to lead in industry, government, and beyond.

Our Goal
Increase the number of doctoral degrees awarded each year from 286 to 300 by 2030, while enhancing funding, mentoring, and professional development for every doctoral student.

 

Unpacking the Data: Doctoral Degrees at UNT

This dashboard highlights the number of doctoral degrees awarded across all colleges, allowing comparisons between UNT overall and specific academic units. It also gives insight into specific areas of study and research to show how UNT contributes to in-demand fields and provides solutions to society’s toughest  challenges. Tracking doctoral degrees by field also helps UNT assess whether our programs align with regional and state workforce needs in high-demand fields.

UNT currently enrolls about 2,000 doctoral students and graduates an average of 280 of them a year. Doctoral students play a pivotal role in advancing UNT’s research enterprise — their innovative research, critical thinking, and scholarly contributions drive discovery and knowledge creation across disciplines, creating enduring value for industries and communities in the DFW region and beyond. While UNT plans to grow the number of doctoral degrees awarded each year, it is equally important to enhance the quality of support provided to every doctoral student through competitive funding that allows students to focus on their research, excellent mentorship that guides their scholarly development, and robust professional development opportunities that prepare them for multiple career pathways in academia, industry, government, and beyond.

In recent years, UNT has already made progress on these priorities, increasing doctoral student enrollment by 8% and reducing the average time to degree from 5.66 years to 5.47 years through enhanced funding, better mentorship, and clearer program structures. Moving forward, UNT will continue to invest in our existing strengths in materials science, computer science, life sciences, and logistics, while expanding into emerging fields like artificial intelligence, semiconductors, and aerospace technologies — fields critical to Texas' economy and workforce needs.

Strategic Priorities to Increase Doctoral Degrees

UNT will monitor doctoral degree completion and use these insights to strengthen support for doctoral students across all disciplines while making strategic investments in programs aligned with regional and state priorities. By enhancing the doctoral experience through competitive funding, excellent mentorship, and robust professional development, we prepare graduates to lead and innovate in their fields. Learn more about graduate education and research at UNT.

  • Expand doctoral student recruitment and support by offering competitive funding packages, targeted fellowships, and enhanced stipends that enable talented students to focus on their research and complete their degrees in a timely manner, particularly in high-demand fields critical to Texas' economy.
  • Strengthen graduate student mentoring and professional development by equipping faculty with training in best practices for doctoral mentorship, expanding opportunities for students to develop transferable skills needed for multiple career paths, and fostering a supportive culture that celebrates doctoral student achievement and persistence.
  • Tackle Texas’ most pressing challenges by prioritizing growth in fields most important to the state’s future, including artificial intelligence, semiconductors, aerospace, health care, advanced manufacturing, and logistics, to ensure UNT graduates are prepared to fill high-demand positions in industry, academia, government, and beyond.
  • Increase research funding and core infrastructure by pursuing external grants and expanding internal funding for doctoral student research activities, including support for conference travel, publication costs, and specialized equipment that enables cutting-edge scholarship across all disciplines.
  • Enhance the doctoral student experience by reducing time to degree through clear program pathways and milestones, providing integrated academic and career advising, and creating opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration that prepares students to tackle complex challenges requiring expertise that bridges traditional academic disciplines.

Methodology Notes

The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) terms these degrees "doctor's degree-research/scholarship" and defines them as "a Ph.D. or other doctor's degree that requires advanced work beyond the master's level, including the preparation and defense of a dissertation based on original research, or the planning and execution of an original project demonstrating substantial artistic or scholarly achievement.”

Some examples of this type of degree may include Ed.D., D.M.A., D.B.A., D.Sc., D.A., D.M., and others, as designated by the awarding institution.