Improving completion rates of students in biomedical PhD programs: an interventional study

BACKGROUND: Analysis of graduation success at the University of Split School of Medicine PhD programs conducted in 2011 revealed that only 11% of students who enrolled and completed their graduate coursework between 1999 and 2011 earned a doctoral degree. In this prospective cohort study we evaluated and compared three PhD programs within the same medical school, where the newest program, called Translational Research in Biomedicine (TRIBE), established in the academic year 2010/11, aimed to increase the graduation rate through an innovative approach. METHODS: The intervention in the new program was related to three domains: redefined recruitment strategy, strict study regulations, and changes to the curriculum. We compared performance of PhD students between the new and existing programs and analyzed their current status, time to obtain a degree (from enrolment to doctorate), age at doctorate, number of publications on which the thesis was based and the impact factor of journals in which these were published. RESULTS: These improvement strategies were associated with higher thesis completion rate and reduced time to degree for students enrolled in the TRIBE program. There was no change in the impact factor or number of publications that were the basis for the doctoral theses. CONCLUSION: Our study describes good practices which proved useful in the design or reform of the PhD training program.