Lynn McAlpine

Title: 
Professor
Academic title(s): 

Emerita Professor

Lynn McAlpine
Contact Information
Email address: 
lynn.mcalpine [at] mcgill.ca
Department: 
Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology
Degree(s): 

Ed.D., University of Toronto
M.A., Concordia University
Dip.Ed., McGill University
B.A., McGill University

Research areas: 
Doctoral and Research Education
Development of Academic Careers
Current research: 

My research interest in PhD career decision-making has evolved over time. My early research in this area followed scientists and social scientists for up to seven years as they navigated their careers and personal lives during and after finishing the PhD. Seeing how many did not remain in the academy has led me more recently to studying post-PhD careers outside the academy. My particular interest focus has been how they navigate their own desires amidst global trends for highly skilled workers, national policy regimes and institutional affordances and constraints. This, in turn, means researching how employers beyond the academy view PhD graduates as possible hires.

Research Project: Doc Work: Beyond the PhD -Careers in and out of academia

Graduate supervision: 

Dr. McAlpine does not supervise new students.

Selected publications: 

Recent publications

Peer-reviewed papers

McAlpine, L., Chiramba, O., & Keane, M. (2022). African experiences of international PhDs: Negotiating careers within broader life considerations. Studies in Graduate and Postgraduate Education, 13(3), 281-296.

Inouye, K., & McAlpine, L. (2022). Writing across contexts: The relationship between doctoral writing and workplace writing beyond the academy. Innovations in Education and Teaching International. DOI: 10.1080/14703297.2022.2075431

Bengtsen, S., & McAlpine, L. (2022). A novel perspective on doctoral supervision: Interaction of time, academic work, institutional policies, and lifecourse. Learning and Teaching: The International Journal of Higher Education in the Social Sciences. 15(1), 21–45.

McAlpine, L., & Inouye, K. (2022). PhD graduates in non-traditional roles: Harnessing communication knowledge to meet organizational goals. Studies in Graduate and Postgraduate Education. 13(2) 151-170.

McAlpine, L., Keane, M., & Chiramba, O. (2022). African experiences of international PhDs: Making sense of a spectrum of career mobility trajectories. Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education. https://doi.org/10.1080/03057925.2021.2017769.

Yousoubova, L., & McAlpine, L. (2021). Developing as a post-PhD researcher: Agency and feedback in construction of grant funding success. Infanci y Aprendizaje. Journal for the Study of Education and Development, 45(1), 1-36.

Yousoubova, L., & McAlpine, L. (2021). Why is the proposal alone not sufficient for grant success? Building research fundability through collaborative research networking. Innovations in Education and Teaching International, 59(1), 93-103.

McAlpine, L., & Inouye, K. (2021). What value do PhD graduates offer? An institutional case study. Higher Education Research and Development, 41(5), 1648-1663.

McAlpine, L., Skakni, I., Sala-Bubaré, A., Weise, C., & Inouye, K. (2021). Examining cross-national research teamwork: Revealing rewards and challenges. Qualitative Research. DOI 10.1108/QRJ-06-2020-0067.

McAlpine, L., Skakni, I., & Inouye, K. (2021). PhD non-traditional careers: Integrating individual and structural factors for a richer account. European Journal of Higher Education. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/21568235.2020.1870242.

Skakni, I., Inouye, K., & McAlpine, L. (2021). PhD holders entering non-academic workplaces: Organisational culture shock. Studies in Higher Education. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03075079.2021.1876650.

McAlpine, L., Castelló, M., & Pyhältö, K. (2020). What influences PhD graduate trajectories during the degree: A research-based policy agenda. Higher Education. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10734-019-00448-7.

McAlpine, L. (2020). What are postdocs? Drivers, purposes and outcomes. Higher Education in Russia and Beyond. 2 (23), https://herb.hse.ru/en/2020--2(23).html.

McAlpine, L., Skakni, I., & Pyhältö, K. (2020). PhD experience (and progress) is more than work: Life-work relations and reducing exhaustion. Studies in Higher Education. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03075079.2020.1744128.

McAlpine, L. (2020). Success? Learning to navigate the grant funding genre system. Journal of Research Administration. LI, 1. https://www.srainternational.org/blogs/srai-jra1/2020/05/05/success-learning-to-navigate-the-grant-funding-gen.

Recent books

McAlpine, L., & Amundsen, C. (2018). Identity-trajectories: Ways of understanding post-PhD career choices. Basingstoke: Palgrave MacMillan.

McAlpine, L., & Amundsen, C. (2016). Researcher development and career trajectories: Career planning, intention and decision-making. Basingstoke: Palgrave Pivot.

Back to top