What the research says about graduate study.

40 studies

1. In an online survey of graduate students, 41% scored as having moderate to severe anxiety and 39% moderate to severe depression, compared with 6% of the general population. The authors report that graduate students were more than six times as likely to experience depression and anxiety.

   Evans, T. M., Bira, L., Gastelum, J. B., Weiss, L. T., & Vanderford, N. L. (2018). Evidence for a mental health crisis in graduate education. Nature Biotechnology.

   What to do with itIf your mood or anxiety has changed since starting your degree, take it seriously and book an appointment with counselling or a doctor rather than waiting for it to pass.

2. In a representative sample of 3,659 PhD students in Flanders, Belgium, 32% were at risk of having or developing a common psychiatric disorder, especially depression, a higher rate than in comparison groups of highly educated people. Work-family conflict, job demands and control, the supervisor's leadership style, team decision-making culture and whether students saw a career outside academia as realistic were linked to these problems.

   Levecque, K., Anseel, F., De Beuckelaer, A., Van der Heyden, J., & Gisle, L. (2017). Work organization and mental health problems in PhD students. Research Policy.

   What to do with itSeveral of these factors can change, so raise workload, supervision style and career worries early rather than treating distress as a personal failing.

3. Drawing on 32 studies, the review estimated that 24% of PhD students had clinically significant depression (16 studies, 23,469 students) and 17% had anxiety (9 studies, 15,626 students). The authors conclude that programs that monitor and promote PhD students' mental health are urgently needed.

   Satinsky, E. N., Kimura, T., Kiang, M. V., Abebe, R., Cunningham, S., Lee, H., Lin, X., Liu, C. H., Rudan, I., Sen, S., Tomlinson, M., Yaver, M., & Tsai, A. C. (2021). Systematic review and meta-analysis of depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation among Ph.D. students. Scientific Reports.

   What to do with itIf you're struggling, you're far from alone, and asking for help is common among PhD students rather than a sign that you don't belong.

4. This review of 52 articles found that doctoral researchers reported significantly higher stress than population norms. Isolation and being female were the best-supported risk factors, while social support, seeing the PhD as a process, a positive relationship with the supervisor and self-care were protective.

   Hazell, C. M., Chapman, L., Valeix, S. F., Roberts, P., Niven, J. E., & Berry, C. (2020). Understanding the mental health of doctoral researchers: a mixed methods systematic review with meta-analysis and meta-synthesis. Systematic Reviews.

   What to do with itBuild regular contact with peers into your weeks and treat looking after yourself as part of the work, since both are linked with better mental health.

5. Nature's 2019 survey of more than 6,000 graduate students found that 36% had sought help for anxiety or depression caused by their PhD studies. More than three-quarters said they worked over 40 hours a week, yet most said they were generally satisfied with their experience.

   Woolston, C. (2019). PhDs: the tortuous truth. Nature.

   What to do with itCompare the hours you actually work with what your supervisor expects, and talk about it if they don't match, because long hours are common but rarely required.

6. The report describes economic and food insecurity and uncertainty about careers as major sources of stress for graduate students, along with difficult relationships with advisors and social isolation. It recommends that faculty be clear about expectations, including that students take the time they need to rest, and that programs treat mentoring as support for the whole student.

   Council of Graduate Schools & The Jed Foundation (2021). Supporting Graduate Student Mental Health and Well-being: Evidence-Informed Recommendations for the Graduate Community. Council of Graduate Schools.

   What to do with itUse it to make the case, to your program or graduate student association, for clearer expectations about rest, workload and mentoring.

7. Across 62 studies with 14,161 participants, reported rates of impostor syndrome ranged from 9% to 82%, depending largely on the screening tool and cut-off used. It was often accompanied by depression and anxiety, was linked with burnout and lower job satisfaction in workplace studies, and the authors found no published studies evaluating treatments.

   Bravata, D. M., Watts, S. A., Keefer, A. L., et al. (2020). Prevalence, Predictors, and Treatment of Impostor Syndrome: a Systematic Review. Journal of General Internal Medicine.

   What to do with itTreat impostor feelings as common and worth talking about, and get support for any anxiety or low mood that comes with them.

8. Working over five years with more than 150 highly successful women, including women with PhDs, respected professionals and honours students, the authors described an internal experience of feeling like an intellectual phony. Despite their achievements, these women believed they were not really bright and had fooled anyone who thought otherwise.

   Clance, P. R., & Imes, S. A. (1978). The imposter phenomenon in high achieving women: Dynamics and therapeutic intervention. Psychotherapy.

   What to do with itKnowing the feeling has a name, and that it's common among high achievers, can help you treat it as a feeling rather than a fact about your ability.

9. In data from the Ph.D. Completion Project, 57% of doctoral candidates completed their degree within ten years. Ten-year completion ranged from 64% in engineering to 49% in the humanities.

   Council of Graduate Schools (2010). Ph.D. Completion and Attrition: Policies and Practices to Promote Student Success. Council of Graduate Schools.

   What to do with itAsk your program for its own completion data and typical time to degree, and plan your milestones with those numbers in mind.

10. In exit surveys of 1,406 students who completed PhDs at 18 universities, graduates named financial support, mentoring and advising, and family support as the top factors that helped them finish.

    Sowell, R. S., Bell, N. E., Kirby, S. N., & Naftel, S. (2009). Ph.D. Completion and Attrition: Findings from Exit Surveys of Ph.D. Completers. Council of Graduate Schools.

    What to do with itLook after these three supports on purpose: know your funding timeline, ask for the mentoring you need and tell the people close to you how they can help.

11. Lovitts's studies of students who left doctoral programs found that those who finished and those who left did not differ meaningfully in ability. Whether students persisted depended more on what happened after they arrived, especially department culture and faculty mentoring, than on the background characteristics they brought with them.

    Lovitts, B. (2001). Leaving the Ivory Tower: The Causes and Consequences of Departure from Doctoral Study. Rowman & Littlefield.

    What to do with itIf you're thinking of leaving, look at how connected you are to your department and whether you're getting mentoring, because those can often be changed.

12. Reviewing 163 empirical articles, the authors grouped the influences on doctoral students' completion and wellbeing into external factors (supervision, personal and social life, the department and socialization, and financial support) and internal factors (motivation, writing skills, self-regulation strategies and academic identity).

    Sverdlik, A., Hall, N. C., McAlpine, L., & Hubbard, K. (2018). The PhD Experience: A Review of the Factors Influencing Doctoral Students' Completion, Achievement, and Well-Being. International Journal of Doctoral Studies.

    What to do with itUse the two lists as a checklist when things feel stuck, to work out whether the problem sits mainly in your environment or in skills and habits you can build.

13. In a retrospective study of 422 completers and non-completers and a prospective study of 1,060 enrolled PhD students, students' sense of competence emerged as the cornerstone of persistence and was linked to lower dropout intentions. That sense of competence was predicted mainly by students' motivation and by support from their advisor.

    Litalien, D., & Guay, F. (2015). Dropout intentions in PhD studies: A comprehensive model based on interpersonal relationships and motivational resources. Contemporary Educational Psychology.

    What to do with itAsk your supervisor for specific feedback on what you're doing well as well as what to fix, because feeling competent matters for whether people stay.

14. Of 724 social sciences doctoral students at 56 Spanish universities, about a third said they had considered dropping out, mostly younger, female and part-time students. The most common reasons were difficulty balancing work, personal life and doctoral study, and problems with socialization into the academic community.

    Castelló, M., Pardo, M., Sala-Bubaré, A., & Suñe-Soler, N. (2017). Why do students consider dropping out of doctoral degrees? Institutional and personal factors. Higher Education.

    What to do with itIf you're part-time or juggling work and family, build connections to your department deliberately, since overload and isolation are common reasons people consider leaving.

15. Among 1,509 doctoral students at the two largest universities in French-speaking Belgium, marital status, master's grade, research field and type of funding were associated with dropping out, and risk rose sharply as risk factors accumulated. Dropout was highest in the first two years, which was tied to lacking funding or a scholarship.

    Wollast, R., Boudrenghien, G., Van der Linden, N., Galand, B., Roland, N., Devos, C., De Clercq, M., Klein, O., Azzi, A., & Frenay, M. (2018). Who Are the Doctoral Students Who Drop Out? Factors Associated with the Rate of Doctoral Degree Completion in Universities. International Journal of Higher Education.

    What to do with itSecure funding as early as you can and use the first two years to put support in place, not only to prove yourself.

16. Based on interviews with supervisors from a range of disciplines, Lee described five approaches to supervision: functional (managing the project), enculturation (bringing the student into the disciplinary community), critical thinking, emancipation (encouraging the student to question and develop themselves) and quality relationship (the student is enthused, inspired and cared for). Each approach has strengths and drawbacks.

    Lee, A. (2008). How are doctoral students supervised? Concepts of doctoral research supervision. Studies in Higher Education.

    What to do with itNotice which of these approaches your supervisor mainly offers, and look for the others from committee members, peers or mentors.

17. In a longitudinal study of 21 Australian PhD students and their main supervisors, students who had a say in choosing their supervisor, whose topic matched the supervisor's expertise and who built a good working relationship tended to progress well and be more satisfied. Temporary changes of supervisor caused problems and delays.

    Ives, G., & Rowley, G. (2005). Supervisor selection or allocation and continuity of supervision: Ph.D. students' progress and outcomes. Studies in Higher Education.

    What to do with itIf your supervisor is going on leave, agree in advance who will cover and how, so the gap doesn't stall your progress.

18. The authors developed a reliable and valid questionnaire on supervisor-doctoral student interaction. It rests on a model with two dimensions of supervisor behaviour: influence, ranging from dominance to submission, and proximity, ranging from opposition to cooperation.

    Mainhard, T., van der Rijst, R., van Tartwijk, J., & Wubbels, T. (2009). A model for the supervisor-doctoral student relationship. Higher Education.

    What to do with itThinking about how much your supervisor directs you and how close or distant the relationship feels can help you name what's working and what to ask for.

19. In a 10-week study of writers with writing blocks, the group made to write habitually through external contingencies reported the most creative ideas. Those who wrote only when they felt like it reported modest creativity, and those who stopped writing reported very few new ideas, leading Boice to conclude that conditions which produce writing seem to help creativity rather than hinder it.

    Boice, R. (1983). Contingency management in writing and the appearance of creative ideas: Implications for the treatment of writing blocks. Behaviour Research and Therapy.

    What to do with itSchedule short, regular writing sessions instead of waiting for inspiration, because the ideas tend to come from writing rather than before it.

20. A retrospective evaluation of research writing groups at one large metropolitan university found that members learned scholarly writing in complex and timely ways, particularly by constructing, explaining and critiquing each other's texts.

    Aitchison, C. (2009). Writing groups for doctoral education. Studies in Higher Education.

    What to do with itLook for a writing group where members read and comment on each other's drafts, not only one where people write side by side.

21. Focus groups with graduate research students in a pilot writing-for-publication program at Monash University found that taking part in writing groups had a variety of positive outcomes, discussed under three themes: demystifying publication, writing for an audience, and balancing support with pressure.

    Cuthbert, D., & Spark, C. (2008). Getting a GriP: examining the outcomes of a pilot programme to support graduate research students in writing for publication. Studies in Higher Education.

    What to do with itA small group with a shared goal of submitting papers can make publishing feel less mysterious and give you a gentle, shared deadline.

22. Drawing on teaching sessions with UK and international postgraduates at different stages of their doctorates, the paper argues that writing is not only a matter of skill, knowledge and ability. Students' positive and negative attitudes and feelings towards writing play a large part, and staff need to respond to them.

    Wellington, J. (2010). More than a matter of cognition: an exploration of affective writing problems of postgraduate students and their possible solutions. Teaching in Higher Education.

    What to do with itIf writing feels hard, notice the feelings involved, such as fear of judgment or perfectionism, and work on those directly as well as on technique.

23. This meta-analysis of 691 correlations found that task aversiveness, task delay, self-efficacy, impulsiveness and several facets of conscientiousness were strong and consistent predictors of procrastination. Neuroticism, rebelliousness and sensation seeking had only weak links to it.

    Steel, P. (2007). The nature of procrastination: A meta-analytic and theoretical review of quintessential self-regulatory failure. Psychological Bulletin.

    What to do with itMake the next task less unpleasant and more immediate, for example by cutting it down to a small first step with a near deadline.

24. The authors argue that procrastination has a great deal to do with short-term mood repair and emotion regulation. Putting a task off makes us feel better now, while the costs fall on our future self, with consequences for health and wellbeing.

    Sirois, F., & Pychyl, T. (2013). Procrastination and the Priority of Short-Term Mood Regulation: Consequences for Future Self. Social and Personality Psychology Compass.

    What to do with itWhen you catch yourself avoiding a task, name the feeling it brings up and start with a version of the task small enough that the feeling is manageable.

25. Across 94 independent tests, forming implementation intentions, if-then plans that specify when, where and how you will act, had a positive effect of medium-to-large size on goal attainment (d = .65). The plans helped people get started and shield their efforts from distraction.

    Gollwitzer, P. M., & Sheeran, P. (2006). Implementation intentions and goal achievement: A meta-analysis of effects and processes. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology.

    What to do with itTurn a vague goal into an if-then plan, such as “If it's 9 a.m. on Tuesday, then I open my methods chapter in the library.”

26. Short-term sleep deprivation had its largest effects on simple, sustained attention, moderate effects on complex attention and working memory, and small, non-significant effects on reasoning accuracy.

    Lim, J., & Dinges, D. F. (2010). A meta-analysis of the impact of short-term sleep deprivation on cognitive variables. Psychological Bulletin.

    What to do with itProtect your sleep before a deadline instead of working through the night, especially for tasks that need steady attention, such as checking data or proofreading.

27. The paper links feelings of isolation among doctoral students to their decisions to leave, describes how isolation develops across four stages of a doctoral program and proposes countermeasures for each stage.

    Ali, A., & Kohun, F. (2006). Dealing with isolation feelings in IS doctoral programs. International Journal of Doctoral Studies.

    What to do with itPlan regular contact with peers at every stage of your program, especially once structured coursework ends and the work becomes more solitary.

28. In the CGS PhD Career Pathways student survey, 27% of US doctoral students identified as first-generation. First-generation students were more likely to hold undergraduate loans (47% compared with 31%) and rated their program's support for their desired career lower, but did not differ from their peers in their sense of career direction or preparation.

    Mitic, R. R. (2022). Insights into First-Generation Doctoral Students. Council of Graduate Schools.

    What to do with itIf you're the first in your family to do graduate work, ask your program directly about career support and funding, because the gap is in information and resources, not ability.

29. Stories of international doctoral students who left their programs showed how being treated as an outsider contributed to their departure. Unfamiliarity with the academic system, the local culture and the language left them more exposed to academic, financial and social difficulties.

    Laufer, M., & Gorup, M. (2019). The invisible Others: stories of international doctoral student drop-out. Higher Education.

    What to do with itIf you're an international student, learn early how the academic system works here, and connect with the international student office and other students before problems build up.

30. For international graduate students, adjustment was most difficult in the first 6 to 12 months in the new cultural context. The study identified marginalization in the supervisory relationship, in academic and organizational life and socially, and confirmed support from colleagues as a key coping strategy.

    McClure, J. W. (2007). International graduates' cross-cultural adjustment; experiences, coping strategies, and suggested programmatic responses. Teaching in Higher Education.

    What to do with itExpect the first year to be the hardest, and invest early in a few relationships with fellow students, since colleagues were a key source of support.

31. A qualitative study of Vietnamese students who left funded social sciences and humanities PhD programs found that their reasons for leaving were tied to research networks, academic identity and family responsibilities. The author suggests the findings should inform mental health support for international doctoral students and supervisor training.

    Phan, H. P. (2024). Narratives of 'delayed success': a life course perspective on understanding Vietnamese international students' decisions to drop out of PhD programmes. Higher Education.

    What to do with itIf you're weighing whether to leave, talk through how your research network, your sense of identity and your family obligations are shaping the decision, not only the research itself.

32. A large majority of surveyed humanities PhD graduates said their PhD prepared them well for their jobs. Graduates in academic jobs generally felt better prepared than those working outside academia, but the gap was statistically significant only three years after graduation.

    Okahana, H., & Kinoshita, T. (2018). Closing Gaps in our Knowledge of PhD Career Pathways: How Well Did a Humanities PhD Prepare Them? Council of Graduate Schools.

    What to do with itIf you might work outside academia, build extra skills during your degree, since the preparation gap is widest in the first years after graduating.

33. Fewer STEM PhD graduates working outside academia felt their PhD prepared them extremely or very well for their jobs than those working in academia. Persistence was rated the most important attribute for job performance across fields, and cooperation mattered especially for those working outside the academy.

    Okahana, H., Zhou, E., & Kinoshita, T. (2019). Closing Gaps in our Knowledge of PhD Career Pathways: How Well Did a STEM PhD Train Degree Recipients for Their Careers? Council of Graduate Schools.

    What to do with itSeek out collaborative projects and work with partners beyond your own group if there's a chance you'll work outside academia.

34. A survey of graduate teaching assistants found that they occupy an ambiguous niche, being teachers, researchers, students and employees at once, with considerable tensions arising from the often conflicting rights and responsibilities of these roles.

    Muzaka, V. (2009). The niche of Graduate Teaching Assistants: perceptions and reflections. Teaching in Higher Education.

    What to do with itBefore you start a TA job, clarify with the instructor and your contract exactly what you're responsible for, so the role doesn't quietly expand.

35. Studying graduates in science and education, Kamler found that most doctoral students do not receive adequate mentoring or structural support to publish. She argues that co-authoring with supervisors is a significant way of teaching students to publish and should be treated more explicitly as teaching.

    Kamler, B. (2008). Rethinking doctoral publication practices: writing from and beyond the thesis. Studies in Higher Education.

    What to do with itAsk your supervisor early whether you can write a paper together, and treat it as a chance to learn how publishing works from the inside.

36. Nature's policy does not allow authorship or accountability to be assigned to AI tools, expects authors to remain accountable for their work and to disclose AI use, and treats creating photorealistic deepfake images as not permitted. Peer reviewers may use AI for support but must not upload manuscript content to unsecured or public AI tools or delegate their critique or judgment to AI.

    Nature (n.d.). Editorial policies: AI. Springer Nature.

    What to do with itBefore using AI on a paper or a review, read the target journal's policy and keep a note of exactly how you used it so you can disclose it.

37. Nature tells referees that the primary purpose of a review is to give editors the information they need to reach a decision, and lists what a report should address, from validity, originality and statistics to whether conclusions are robust and which aspects the reviewer could not assess. It asks reviewers not to upload manuscripts into generative AI tools and to declare any AI support in their report.

    Nature (n.d.). How to write a report. Springer Nature.

    What to do with itUse the list as a template for your first review, and say clearly in the report which parts were outside your expertise.

38. Nature journals require a data availability statement and a separate code availability statement when custom code is central to the conclusions, and prefer data to be deposited in repositories rather than supplementary files. They support study preregistration and describe Registered Reports, a two-stage format in which methods and analyses are peer reviewed before the research is done.

    Nature (n.d.). Reporting standards and availability of data, materials, code and protocols. Springer Nature.

    What to do with itDraft your data and code availability statement while you're still analyzing, so you know where everything will live by the time you submit.

39. The guidelines ask graduate students to get written, unambiguous authorization from their supervisor or instructor before using generative AI in graduate work, apart from spell-checkers, and to disclose the tools used, their purpose, their influence and how outputs were checked. Students remain fully accountable for work produced with AI, AI cannot be a co-author, and unauthorized or undisclosed use may be treated as academic misconduct.

    Faculty of Graduate Studies, University of Calgary (2025). Guidelines for Generative AI Use in Graduate Studies. University of Calgary.

    What to do with itFind your own program's guidance, agree on AI use with your supervisor in writing and keep that record for your committee and examiners.

40. A CGS exit survey of master's graduates from 12 partner institutions found that most pursued their degree to gain knowledge. How directly graduates' jobs related to their degree varied by field, from 50.1% in mathematics and computer sciences to 25.4% in social and behavioural sciences.

    Regio, A. (2025). Pathways of Master's Degree Recipients to and through the STEM Workforce. Council of Graduate Schools.

    What to do with itIf you're doing a master's with a particular job in mind, find out early how closely your program's graduates end up working in related roles, and build experience to close any gap.