The Employment Issue of PhD Graduates in the Humanities in Iran: Barriers and Challenges

Iran has seen significant growth in the establishment of universities and student enrollment in various fields of study over the past two decades. However, this increase in higher education has been accompanied by unemployment among a growing number of higher education graduates, with doctoral graduates in the humanities experiencing a higher unemployment rate than other fields. Therefore, the aim to this research was to understand the barriers to employment and the conditions that lead to unemployment among PhD graduates in humanities. Our main question in this research is to explore the reasons and conditions that prevent the employment of PhD graduates in the humanities. We used a qualitative approach and grounded theory method. Participants were sampled purposively with different genders, fields of study, universities, and graduation dates. A total of 44 interviews with participants who had graduated at least a year ago and did not have a suitable job or income were performed. Data collection was performed through semi-structured interviews. The interview transcripts were analyzed using grounded theory coding. After analyzing the data, 7 main categories were explored, which include: Relationship governance, Ideological contexts, University massification, Humanities isolation, Market/university mismatch, Limitations in humanities entrepreneurship and Dysfunctional policymaking. And finally, the central category of structural and institutional barriers was constructed. The findings showed that one of the most important factors in the employment of PhD graduates in the humanities is the policies and decisions of the government and its affiliated institutions.