Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Date

2026

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education

Department

Higher & Adult Education

Committee Chair

Edith Gnanadass

Committee Member

Charisse Gulosino

Committee Member

Ian Baptiste

Abstract

The issue at hand for this study is the lack of specifically designed support for graduate student veterans as they transition from military service in search of a job in the civilian workforce. A recent Department of Veteran Affairs study stated that in 2018, nearly 700,000 veterans used veteran educational benefits, with 52% of this group in undergraduate programs and 9% in graduate programs. Both undergraduate and graduate student veterans seek career opportunities, personal growth, improvement of economic status, and professional advancement, but how these groups approach achieving their goals is not the same. When support was available, there was no differentiation between each demographic. In the limited student veteran literature, theorists believe that campus resources should primarily support undergraduate student veterans, since they are the predominant users of veteran educational benefits. Additionally, they crafted their theories solely for use by helping professionals. Using my career transition experiences as an instrumental case, this autoethnographic study assessed the utility of career transition theories, as an untrained user, to assist graduate student veterans better manage their transition from military service into the civilian workforce. Data was collected using a series of semi-structured interviews guided by Schlossberg’s 4Ss framework. Data analysis led to the following themes: drive for purpose and meaning in work, a tool of support was needed, and use of boundaries as a transition coping strategy. My findings suggest that graduate student veterans need assistance as they enter the higher education environment. If adequate support is unavailable, tools such as the 4Ss framework can be a reasonable mitigator as they find their footing on campus. This operationalization of the 4Ss for self-advising would be a useful addition to the Veteran Critical Theory body of knowledge, expanding its reach beyond the researcher-practitioner.

Comments

Data is provided by the student

Library Comment

Dissertation or thesis originally submitted to ProQuest/Clarivate.

Notes

Open Access

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