Black & ABD: Investigating the "All but Dissertation" Stage of the Doctoral Program among Black Graduate Students

The purpose of this qualitative study is to identify barriers experienced by Black "All but dissertation" (ABD) students while working to complete the dissertation phase of doctoral education. A heuristic phenomenological approach was adopted to collect and analyze the experiences of ten current and former students in EdD and PhD programs. The study's findings indicate that Black doctoral students feel disconnected from the doctoral process once they reach ABD status. Findings also showed that Black ABD students described positive experiences with external supports yet negative experiences involving program changes, guidance, feedback, and the racialized nature of graduate school experience. The findings have implications for the identification and amelioration of problematic individual, programmatic, or institutional practices that impede doctoral degree completion.