Themes and categories.

Higher education around the globe is striving to develop rigor and productive doctoral studies that mainly evolve in fostering doctoral students’ research skills by furnishing the necessary socialization process which predicts their future professional and academic decisions. Although scholars investigated the socialization experiences of doctoral students from different perspectives and stages, a large body of evidence is concentrated in western countries that do not define or imply non-western countries like Pakistan. Therefore, the present qualitative study sought to be an icebreaker and stimulant investigation to unfold doctoral students’ socialization experience in research-intensive universities through the lens of Weidman’s socialization framework. After interviewing 24 doctoral students, the findings revealed that doctoral students have high expectations from research universities to enhance their research capabilities. Moreover, most students knew the research’s significance for personal and professional development. The study concluded the progressive and adverse research socialization experiences of doctoral students.