Graduate School Experience Research Articles

Graduate Student Resilience: Exploring Influential Success Factors in U.S. Graduate Education through Survey Analysis

Graduate education holds the potential to stimulate personal growth in individuals that leads to economically viable career opportunities. First-generation college students, underrepresented minorities (URM), and females often face unique obstacles that can undermine their progress in graduate programs. These obstacles may be more pervasive in fields where these students have lower enrollment, such as STEM graduate programs. The Graduate Student Success Survey+ (GSSS+) was broadly distributed to a national population of graduate students in the United States, with a particular focus on seeking the participation of students from universities that serve first-generation, URM, and female graduate students, capturing both STEM and non-STEM programs. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were used to test the survey’s validity and reliability, with 648 participants from 23 universities. A 7-factor, 40-item model was determined with the following subscales: mentor support, imposter phenomenon, financial support, microaggressions (race and gender), access and opportunity, resilience, and peer support. Item analysis revealed differences in students’ perceptions of their graduate school experiences based on gender identity, racial and ethnic groups, residency status, enrollment type, program type, and program area. Findings lead to recommendations related to financial support, mental health counseling, and access and opportunity, to enhance graduate student success.

Professorial intentions of engineering PhDs from historically excluded groups: The influence of graduate school experiences

AbstractBackgroundIn addition to the benefits of a diverse faculty, many institutions are under pressure from students and administrators to increase the number of faculty from historically excluded backgrounds. Despite increases in the numbers of engineering PhD earners from these groups, the percentages of Black/African American and Hispanic/Latino tenure‐track faculty have not increased, and the percentage of women remains low.PurposeThe purpose of this study is to identify how experiences in graduate school encourage or deter PhD earners from historically excluded groups in pursuing an engineering academic career.MethodWe conducted 20 semi‐structured interviews with engineering PhD students and recent graduates, with half of participants interested and half disinterested in pursuing an academic career after graduation.ResultsThree key factors emerged as strongly influential on participants' desire to pursue an academic career: their relationship with their advisor, their perception of their advisor's work–life balance, and their perception of the culture of academia. Participants extrapolated their experiences in graduate school to their imagined lives as faculty. The results illuminate the reasons why engineering PhD earners from historically underrepresented groups remain in or leave the academic career pathway after graduate school.ConclusionsThe findings of this study have important implications for how graduate students' and postdoc's relationships with their advisors as well as perceptions of their advisors' work–life balances and the culture of academia affect future faculty. We make recommendations on what students, faculty, and administrators can do to create a more inclusive environment to encourage students from historically excluded groups to consider academic careers.

Understanding the Unique Factors Affecting South Asian International (SAI) Student Transitions into PhD Programs in the US: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis

International students comprise over 50% of the graduate student population in the life sciences in the US, over 70% of whom are Asian. Research that aims to understand international students’ experiences has often treated Asian students as a monolith, discounting significant cultural and historical differences between regions in Asia that may affect students’ motivations for pursuing graduate degrees, their experiences in graduate school, and their identities as scientists in training. To begin to understand the experiences of SAI students as they transition to PhD programs in the sciences, we conducted an exploratory study in which we interviewed 10 SAI students and 12 US native students during the first six months of their doctoral programs. We performed a content analysis of the interview data with the aim of identifying factors that shaped students’ doctoral transitions. We then selected factors that were distinctive to SAI students. Finally, we carried out an interpretative phenomenological analysis to understand and describe the following factors that SAI students experienced as influencing their doctoral transitions: prior exposure to research; opportunities for networking; challenges with and affordances for acculturation; attitudes toward and understanding of mental health issues; financial affordances and constraints of pursuing a PhD, and barriers to communication. The results of this work have the potential to be useful to graduate programs seeking to ease SAI students’ transition to doctoral programs.

Is It Any Better? A Comparison of PhD Students’ Experiences and Degree Completion Plans Between the Summers of 2020 and 2021

PhD students’ experiences in graduate school and associated outcomes vary by field of study, learning environment conditions, and support structures. In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic specifically, PhD students’ individual educational trajectories were potentially rendered more uncertain, as disruptive conditions for learning and research have continued over the past several years. We compared the reports of 422 PhD students at 12 U.S. institutions in terms of their experiences of support or marginalization and educational plans from the summer of 2020 with follow-up data gathered during the summer of 2021. We then examined factors related to PhD students’ changes in their estimated times to degree. We found lower, but still on average moderate, levels of depression symptoms compared to the previous year and continued experiences of emotional, financial, educational, and career stressors. Findings point to the importance of institutional material and psychological structural supports over time.

PILLARS OF SUCCESS: THE ROLE OF HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES (HBCUs) IN STEM UNDERGRADUATE PREPARATION LEADING TO GRADUATE SCHOOL PATHWAYS

Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) operate and are centered within the nexus of concerted nationwide efforts to advance the participation and success of Black students within the sciences, technology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines (STEM). Through an institution-level asset-based approach, this study aimed to further elucidate how undergraduate STEM preparation and success at HBCUs is linked to the transition into (and experiences within) graduate education. One hundred and fifty-one HBCU alumni from 37 unique HBCUs completed our HBCU Alumni Success survey. Factor analysis revealed 13 emerging components along three main touchpoints along alumni's graduate pathway: their HBCU undergraduate experiences, graduate application, and decision-making, as well as graduate school experiences. Cluster analysis further identified five unique clusters of alumni, revealing variation regarding the individual, institutional, and cultural factors that contributed to HBCU alumni's experiences within their graduate pathway. Specific attributes that characterized each unique cluster included (Cluster 1) experiencing challenges throughout their graduate pathway, (Cluster 2) variation in the sources of motivation that influenced graduate school choice, (Cluster 3) deliberation around attending graduate school, (Cluster 4) high commitment, success, and support in pursuit of a graduate degree, and (Cluster 5) high personal agency as well as faculty and research support within engineering. Implications for practice include capitalizing on the areas of success such as the impact of faculty mentorship and research opportunities.

Students’ Life Concerns and Graduate School Journey

Pursuing graduate studies is a fulfilling and rewarding experience, and sometimes challenging. Thus, this study examined the life concerns likely to contribute to the students’ graduate school journey. The study was conducted in the College of Graduate Studies, Palompon, Leyte, Philippines, utilizing a descriptive-correlational research design, with respondents recruited from the master's and doctoral degree programs. Relevant data were collected using survey questionnaires prepared in Google Forms. Data were analyzed using means, standard deviations, and the Spearman rank-order correlation. Results showed that the current study sample found their graduate school journey slightly good. Study findings revealed further that two demographic factors - age and work positions, were found negatively correlated with the graduate school journey, and this implies that younger graduate students tend to have better graduate school experience than older ones; and students holding supervisory positions have struggling graduate school experience. Correlation analysis indicated a significant negative relationship between work-related concerns and graduate school experience. Overall findings pinpoint the need for graduate school practitioners to consider initiatives that address students' life concerns and likewise formulate policies and guidelines that may provide them with a support system that helps students find their graduate school journey smooth, happier, and fulfilling.

A대학 이공계열 대학원생의 학습경험에 대한 인식과 실태 분석

Objectives In this study, we aimed to identify graduate students' learning experiences in graduate school, including their academic and social experiences, both quantitatively and qualitatively, and to draw implications for improving the quality of graduate education.
 Methods In order to comprehensively understand the learning experience of graduate students in science and engineering, sequential exploratory design method was conducted. First, after interviewing 11 graduate students at A University and the constant comparative method was applied. Second, based on the results, we conducted a survey of 153 students.
 Results First, the results of the interview analysis show that 'a. Deciding to go to graduate school and actively seeking information about graduate school, b. Graduate education emphasizing student-centered, problem-solving classes and research, c. Relationships for research-oriented advisors, peer learners, and professionals, and thirst, d. Growth moments’ were identified. Second, the analysis of the learning experiences revealed aboveaverage levels of higher-order learning experiences, but somewhat lower levels of collaborative learning experiences. More than 60% of students participated in 1-2 research projects as co-researchers or research assistants during the semester, and about 40% of students had written 1-2 papers. The perception of peer-to-peer interaction is above average, and relationships with advisors are relatively positive.
 Conclusions The graduate students are generally satisfied with their graduate school enrollment, major education, and relationships with advisors and fellow students. However, they felt somewhat lacking in-depth discussions with peers about the theories and techniques learned in classes, as well as collaborative learning experiences with individuals from other fields during class time. In order to provide education that aligns with the purpose of fostering advanced talents, it will be necessary to enhance the quality of education through a horizontal research lab culture and expanding experiences in interdisciplinary collaboration.

Impact of Mentoring Relationships on Perceived Quality Of Life among Engineering Graduate Students

Graduate students’ experiences bring on unprecedented challenges, influenced by physical, psychological, social, and environmental factors. Through a productive and authentic mentor-mentee relationship, it was hypothesized graduate students would be more satisfied with their graduate experience. An instrument was developed using the 26-item World Health Organization Quality of Life questionnaire consisting of four health domains (physical, psychological, social relationships, environmental) and additional questions on psychosocial help and the graduate student’s satisfaction with their advisors and overall graduate school experience. Overall, graduate students who were satisfied with their mentoring experience had a higher quality of life (QoL). Graduate students’ QoL was lower in social relationships (p=0.009) and psychological domains (p=0.000), similar to medical school students. Second- and third-year graduate students had lower QoL than those in the first or fourth+ year. Graduate students were satisfied with their overall mentoring experience, and better mentoring experience tended to have better QoL.

Effects of a Mentoring Program for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color and First-Generation Public Health Students.

Among graduate public health students, Black, Indigenous, and other people of color (BIPOC; including Latinx, Asian, Middle Eastern and North African, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, and multiracial) experience educational and personal challenges that require institutional support and reform. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of an antiracist mentorship program on the sense of belonging and overall experience among BIPOC and first-generation students at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health in New York City. We used 2 data sources to retrospectively evaluate experiences of BIPOC and first-generation graduate students: the 2021 Mentoring of Students and Igniting Community (MOSAIC) Student Survey (n = 39), which collected data on experiences of students who participated in the MOSAIC program, and the 2016-2020 Graduate Exit Surveys (n = 1222), which collected data on graduating students' experiences, satisfaction, and perspectives on diversity, equity, and inclusion. A difference-in-difference analysis compared overall experience, public health career preparedness, quality of life, and department satisfaction among all students before (2016-2018) and after (2019-2020) implementation of the MOSAIC program. Satisfaction among graduate students attributable to the MOSAIC program introduced in 2019 increased by about 25%. Compared with students who had not been exposed to MOSAIC, students exposed to MOSAIC had a 25% positive difference (P = .003) in overall graduate school experience, a 28% difference (P < .001) in quality of life, and a 10% difference (P = .001) in satisfaction with their departments. Mentorship for BIPOC and first-generation public health graduate students offers an effective strategy to improve student experiences and satisfaction with graduate departments and, ultimately, may help students meet educational and professional goals.

Experiences of neurodivergent students in graduate STEM programs.

Despite efforts to increase the participation of marginalized students in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM), neurodivergent students have remained underrepresented and underserved in STEM graduate programs. This qualitative study aims to increase understanding of the experiences of neurodivergent graduate students pursuing advanced degrees in STEM. In this analysis, we consider how common graduate school experiences interface with the invisibility of neurological diversity, thus contributing to a set of unique challenges experienced by neurodivergent students. In this qualitative study, 10 focus group sessions were conducted to examine the experiences of 18 students who identify as neurodivergent in graduate STEM programs at a large, research-intensive (R1) university. We used thematic analysis of the transcripts from these focus groups to identify three overarching themes within the data. The findings are presented through a novel model for understanding neurodivergent graduate STEM student experiences. The findings suggest that students who identify as neurodivergent feel pressure to conform to perceived neurotypical norms to avoid negative perceptions. They also may self-silence to maintain stability within the advisor-advisee relationship. The stigma associated with disability labels contributes a heavy cognitive and emotional load as students work to mask neurodiversity-related traits, navigate decisions about disclosure of their neurodivergence, and ultimately, experience significant mental health challenges and burnout. Despite these many challenges, the neurodivergent graduate students in this study perceived aspects of their neurodivergence as a strength. The findings may have implications for current and future graduate students, for graduate advisors who may or may not be aware of their students' neurodivergence, and for program administrators who influence policies that impact the wellbeing and productivity of neurodivergent students.

Find Yourself a Permanent Hype Squad: Professional Reflections for Cultivating Positive Graduate School Experiences

ABSTRACT The graduate school experience is a relevant part of professional development and can be instrumental in framing future careers. There is, however, a lack of resources and understanding concerning how institutions can best develop a positive culture during graduate school. In this paper, six professionals outline their graduate program experiences and how the faculty members and peers within their program worked to create a culture of shared responsibility that established meaningful relationships and set them up for success in the multiple career paths they chose to pursue. Specifically, the authors address: 1) creating a foundation of shared values, 2) navigating challenges and celebrating success, and 3) team learning and growth. These elements allowed them to establish meaningful and long-lasting connections that have been personally and professionally beneficial. The authors discuss perspectives on how other graduate students can cultivate professional development within their graduate program that will stem beyond their time in the classroom. These relationships formed within graduate programs continue to provide opportunities for professional collaboration, resource sharing, and an unwavering network of social support. It is vital that other graduate programs work toward creating positive experiences within their programs that will allow for future success in the professional field.

Experiences of genetic counseling students with disabilities and chronic illnesses: A qualitative study.

While many patients with disabilities or chronic illnesses are served by genetic counselors, little effort has been made to promote the inclusion of individuals with disabilities and chronic illnesses as professionals in the genetic counseling field. Genetic counselors with disabilities and chronic illnesses have reported insufficient support from their colleagues throughout all stages of their professional journeys, but there is a lack of research exploring these challenges. To gain an understanding of the experiences of this community during graduate training, we conducted semi-structured interviews with 13 recent graduates of genetic counseling programs who identify as having a disability or chronic illness. Questions explored various aspects of the graduate school experience including challenges, strengths, relationships, disclosure, and accommodations. Qualitative thematic analysis of interview transcripts resulted in six themes: (1) decisions around disclosure are complex, (2) interactions with others contribute to feeling misunderstood, (3) the high-performance culture in graduate programs makes it challenging to meet personal needs, (4) interpersonal relationships provide support, (5) the accommodation process is often disappointing, and (6) lived experiences are valuable to patients. This study reveals opportunities to better support genetic counseling students with disabilities and chronic illnesses through strengthening inclusion efforts, shifting away from ableist ideologies, and promoting more flexible training options.

Engineer identity and degree completion intentions in doctoral study

AbstractBackgroundDegree completion rates for doctoral engineering students remain stagnant at levels lower than necessary to meet national and global workforce needs. Increasing degree completion can improve opportunities for individuals and provide the human resources needed to address engineering challenges.Purpose/HypothesisIn this work, we measure the association of engineering identity variables with degree completion intentions for students who have persisted in doctoral study. We add to existing literature that suggests the importance of advisor and peer relationships, and the number of years in the doctoral program.Design/MethodWe use data collected via a national cross‐sectional survey of doctoral engineering students, which included measures of social and professional identities, graduate school experiences, and demographics. Surveys were collected from 1754 participants at 98 US universities between late 2017 and early 2018. The analyses reported here use multiple regression to measure associations with engineering doctoral degree completion intentions.ResultsResearch interest and scientist performance/competence are individually associated with degree completion intentions in students who are persisting in doctoral study. Overall, graduate engineering identity explains significant portions of variation in degree completion intentions (9.5%) beyond advisor and peer relationship variables and the number of years in graduate programs.ConclusionsResearcher interest and scientist performance/competence may be key opportunities to engage doctoral student engineering identity to improve degree completion rates. Accordingly, institutions can foster students' interest in research and build their confidence in their scientific competence to support students as they complete the doctoral degree.

Structure and Functional Responsibilities of Graduate Schools: An Organizational Analysis

The contemporary graduate ‘school’ is facing a number of significant challenges. In addition to the fundamental question of its role as a shared service provider, graduate education units are exploring ways that they can demonstrate a value-added component to the graduate school experience. These activities include offering graduate certificates about how to be a faculty member, how to best teach and mentor graduate students, and offering undergraduate courses on how to get into graduate school. The current study explored 84 graduate ‘school’ or equivalent unit organizational charts, noting major differences between those with research administration attached to them and those without such responsibilities. Findings also included the identification of small administrative staffs and growing innovation to serve graduate student needs, such as providing mental health services and food pantries.

Collectively Dreaming Toward Indigenized School Psychology Education and Training

Indigenous Peoples comprise a significant portion of the population whose mental health needs must be appropriately addressed, and schools are important contexts for this service provision. The author presents findings from a culturally-grounded, strengths-based, qualitative, Two-Eyed Seeing study that engaged with current and previous Indigenous graduate students from Canadian mainstream and Indigenized counseling psychology programs to explore their graduate school experience and dream for the future of psychological education and training. Community-led analysis with aspects of qualitative thematic analysis guided a collective results narrative. Eight findings emerged including: (1) the importance of relationality in education and training; (2) the significance of experiential learning (i.e., land and art-based, ceremonial, interpersonal relations); (3) diversity in knowledge sharers and inclusion of elders in psychology education; (4) critical decision-making about cohort member inclusion (i.e., all indigenous cohorts vs. mixed); (5) mandatory Indigenous pre-requisite courses; (6) cultural humility; (7) teachings about how to be a good person rather than how to be a good counselor; and (8) interviews for program entry. These findings are discussed in the context of future practice, intervention, education, and training of school, educational, counseling, and clinical psychologists, as well as pedagogical and curricular programmatic changes in multi-educational levels (i.e., K-12 and post-secondary). Considerations and areas of future research are discussed.

Nationwide assessment of leadership development for graduate students in the agricultural plant sciences.

Leadership development is a universally important goal across the agricultural plant science disciplines. Although previous studies have identified a need for leadership skills, less is known about leadership skill development in graduate programs. To address this, we constructed a mixed-method study to identify the most significant graduate school leadership experiences of scientists in the agricultural plant science disciplines. The survey was deployed to 6,728 people in the U.S. and received 1,086 responses (16.1% response rate). The majority of respondents reported that they were from one of the major agricultural states and employed at one of the agricultural plant science related doctoral universities, industries, or government. Results from this survey suggest that recent graduates were more engaged in graduate school activities that offered leadership development. Key experiences in graduate school were also identified that may be used to develop future leaders. Additionally, respondents reported the greatest barrier to providing leadership development for graduate students was that it is not part of their program curriculum, however current graduate students responded differently, and identifying lack of funding to support experiences as the greatest barrier. This survey also identified the top ranked professional skills considered most important for effective leaders in agricultural plant sciences as well as respondent-driven recommendations on how graduate programs can improve leadership development. Collectively, these results can be used in the future to identify priorities for skill development and opportunities for leadership training among graduate students within the plant science disciplines.

High Impact, Low Mood: An Analysis of Graduate Student Attitudes and Perceptions Through PHD Memes

Aim/Purpose: Graduate students face immense pressures and challenges as part of the graduate school experience, with few avenues to express their frustrations. While the crisis of graduate student mental health is well-documented quantitatively, and the stresses of graduate school are explored on the institutional level, there are few qualitative studies of these issues. Background: This study aims to explore graduate student attitudes and perceptions about graduate school and academia through the analysis of niche, graduate student-focused memes. Theories of emotional selection, emotional contagion, and collective coping predict that the creation and sharing of niche-interest memes reflect dominant attitudes and perceptions within niche communities under stress. Methodology: This study utilizes content analysis to thematically categorize a sample of 208 meme images created by and posted to the social media account High-Impact PhD Memes. The data is additionally categorized to measure resonance – how well each image was received by the page audience – and visualized using bar codes. Contribution: This study offers a new method for examining the attitudes and perceptions of niche groups online by proposing the measurement of emotional resonance, presents a novel visualization for the presentation of thematic coding and offers a new means to analyze internet memes for both content and emotional resonance. Findings: Findings indicate that the most frequently occurring themes in niche memes are not necessarily the ones that most highly emotionally resonate with the niche community of interest. The population of current and recent graduate students following High-Impact PhD Memes most highly resonated with the issues of literature access, financial/employment stresses, and overwork. Impact on Society: The findings of this study should encourage both researchers and higher education administrators to consider memes as reflections of the emotional states and perceptions of graduate students both collectively and individually, given how they comment on current, pressing issues. Based on the findings here, memes could feasibly be used as elicitation materials in well-being assessments or qualitative research studies to better understand and prompt reflections on the perspectives of graduate students, and ultimately improve programming and supports for the population. Future Research: Future research could apply similar methods to study other niche groups under pressure that use memes as a means of collective coping in order to better understand their attitudes and perceptions. Groups such as LGBTQ+ people, those with niche political affiliations, and neurodivergent people could all be studied with a similar approach.

The Fierce Life of Grace Holmes Carlson: Catholic, Socialist, Feminist

The Fierce Life of Grace Holmes Carlson: Catholic, Socialist, Feminist

In the Depths: Synergies Between the Doctoral Experience and Life in Hong Kong

The process of gaining a PhD does not occur in isolation; it is situated within and against the contexts doctoral students find themselves in at any given time. Through sharing three diary entries penned in the depths of my PhD in Hong Kong in 2017, I highlight the interconnections between particularly memorable events and junctures within my doctoral journey. In so doing, I reveal the importance of journaling for identifying the echoes between personal and graduate school experiences to understand the complex terrain of doctoral life.

"Student-led workshop strengthens perceived discussion skills and community in an interdisciplinary graduate program".

The Integrated Graduate Program in Physical and Engineering Biology (IGPPEB) at Yale University brings together Ph.D. students from the physical, engineering, and biological sciences. The main goals of this program are for students to become comfortable working in an interdisciplinary and collaborative research environment and adept at communicating with scientists and nonscientists. To fill a student-identified learning gap in engaging in inclusive discussions, IGPPEB students developed a communication workshop to improve skills in visual engagement, citing specific content, constructive conversation entrances, and encouragement of peers. Based on short- and long-term assessment of the workshop, 100% of students reported that it should be offered to future cohorts and 63% of students perceived it to be personally helpful. Additionally, 92% of participants reported using one or more of the core skills beyond the course, with skills in "Encouraging peers" and "Constructive conversation entrances" rated the highest in perceived improvement. Based on the highest average rating of 76 ± 24 (on a scale of 0-100), students agreed that the workshop made them feel more welcome in the IGPPEB community. With a rating of 68 ± 13, they also agreed that the workshop had a positive impact on their graduate school experience. Participants provided suggestions for future improvements, such as increasing student involvement in leading discussions of course material. This study demonstrates that a student-led workshop can improve perceived discussion skills and build community across an interdisciplinary program in the sciences.