The Postgraduate Experience: Stress, Uncertainty, Depression, and Anxiety

Research in the context of graduate programs has focused mainly on surveys of student experiences. These mostly address issues relevant to mental health and the motivational and social experiences of Ph.D. students. Although these studies have spread concerns about students’ physical and psychological health, a comprehensive understanding of these topics is still necessary.

The results of a survey on the postgraduate experience conducted by the journal Nature, in conjunction with the London research firm Shift Learning, were published this month. This being the fifth version of its kind, the survey was first launched in four languages, seeking to increase international participation, and it succeeded in reaching more than 6,300 students from Europe, Asia, Central, South and North America, Africa, and Australasia.

The results of this report manage to corroborate personal experiences like that of Kovačević, a student at the University of Novi Sad in Serbia, who describes his own history of resilience and satisfaction despite factors going against him such as stress, uncertainty, depression, and anxiety.

Through this study, the graduate students surveyed were able to express widespread and deep-rooted frustrations towards issues such as extensive academic training, the balancing of work and studies, being accosted and bullied, uncertain work prospects, student debt, and other key factors like mental health and the support provided in this area by their institutions.

In addition to providing timely responses about the main concerns of Ph.D. students, it also provided students with an anonymous open dialogue space for effective communication of their personal experiences within programs. Here are some comments that stood out in this free-thinking section of the survey:

“I cannot emphasize enough the impact on mental health when you are working on a Ph.D. I wish I were alone in making that statement; however, the students in my program struggled with suicidal tendencies, depression, and anxiety.” (United States.)

“The academic system is very traditionalist and still frequently penalizes those who lie outside the norm.” (United States.)

“I’m concerned about the very competitive nature of the scientists who are at the start of their postgrad studies. In some institutions, the people are very cut-throat instead of being supportive of their colleagues.” (United States.)

“The Ph.D. is indeed difficult, but not when we view things with passion. The doctorate achieved with passion is a one-time experience.” (India.)

Unmet expectations

Some aspects of the student experience are recharged by an initial expectation of the graduate program. Still, these expectations become notoriously reduced as students advance through the program, depending on the results they obtain. About 75% of the students surveyed are satisfied with their decision to pursue a doctoral degree, but 45% also say their expectations declined dramatically from the beginning of their course work.

Among the areas that stood out to be most liked within university life were: the intellectual challenge, working with admirable colleagues and professors, and the university environment. The last factor was the development of a healthy social life, with a shocking 1%.

“It ’s hard for us to be good Ph.D. students and good parents.”

Mental Health

One crucial aspect found was the concept of insufficient help provided by the universities concerning complications such as stress, anxiety, and depression. The figures are in line with those reported in other studies on the subject, such as the one conducted in 2018 by Nature Biotechnology, which found surprisingly high rates of depression and anxiety among postgrad students, with reports ranging from little to no help provided by supervisors. “Our results show that graduate students are six times more likely to experience depression and anxiety compared to the general population,” the study says.

In addition to student stress and pressure is the culture of “long-hours” deeply entrenched within the university environment. This is characterized by extremely long workdays that continuously go beyond the norm and even include night-practice shifts. More than half of the respondents (76%) said that they work more than 41 hours a week.

As a consequence, 36% of students have struggled with infirmities, such as anxiety and depression caused by their studies. Of these, one-third sought help outside of that provided by the institution, while 18% approached the advisers that were provided, but they did not find adequate support.

Graduate student concerns

The surveyed students were least satisfied with factors such as the pressure for the number of publications required by the institutions, the balance between work, study, and private life, the uncertainty of working experience after completing school, along with financial factors like student debts.

In addition to balancing a graduate program with a job, some of the students have people in their care. Just over 10% of the respondents say they are responsible for children under the age of 12, and the same percentage care for older adults. Such is the case of Fonseca-Hernández, a university student, who cares for her 5-year-old daughter and states that the lack of daycare centers near the campus forced her to look for alternatives farther away and much more costly. “It ’s hard for us to be good Ph.D. students and good parents,” she says.

Harassment, bullying, and discrimination

Contrary to popular conception, risky situations such as bullying, harassment, and discrimination are not found in just lower school environments. In the survey,  21%  of students reported that they had experienced bullying and, of them, 57% said they were unable to discuss this situation for fear of personal repercussions.

Universities should be more aware of these types of situations before it is too late. Last October, the Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights started an investigation after receiving a complaint by one student at Arizona State University, who was a victim of sexual harassment by one of her professors. The graduate student says that even after the professor who abused her left campus, her fellow students continued to harass and blame her for the disruption to their careers.

“Graduate students are six times more likely to experience depression and anxiety compared to the general population.”

One of the alarming statistics coming from the questions about school harassment is the percentage of people who identify themselves as women experiencing gender discrimination during their college careers. Calling graduate education “systematically abusive,”  Kaylynne Glover, director of legislative affairs in the National Association of Professional Graduate Students, said this is “a problem that transcends cities and cultures, and it affects students from low-income and marginalized backgrounds the worst.”

The educational experience linked to the relationship between students and supervisors

Thanks to the open answers provided, we have a better idea of the impact of the relationship between the graduate student and his direct supervisor. As one of the respondents mentioned, academic success “depends in large measure on the supervisor. A good supervisor can make you happy during your doctorate, and they can drive or destroy your career.”

Another student states that “the academic system does not always help the student’s position. The student depends heavily on his/her supervisor(s), and this means that a good relationship with the supervisor is necessary for a pleasant experience. I’m lucky to have a good relationship, but I have seen many examples where this is not the case.”

Existing records of an abusive environment created by teachers and students within the lab bring devastating lab stories that illustrate fatal scenarios within the graduate experience. Such is the case of suicide by a student at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, who for seven years worked under the supervision of a professor who would later be found responsible for having reprimanded, degraded, and threatened students under his charge.

“I’m concerned about the very competitive nature of the scientists who are at the start of their postgrad studies. In some institutions, the people are very cut-throat instead of being supportive of their colleagues.”

The surveys reported by Nature and similar research directed toward graduate students could help future students develop a much more realistic perspective on the career path that awaits them, and they can prepare themselves ahead of time for that. Besides, the research manages to eliminate the perception, sometimes erroneous, of the privileged position which graduate students are assumed to have, allowing us to understand the challenges that these students face on their paths to the end of their programs. This information is invaluable for those universities looking to make relevant changes to the needs of students.

Paola Villafuerte

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This article from Observatory of the Institute for the Future of Education may be shared under the terms of the license CC BY-NC-SA 4.0