Conceptualizing Thriving in Graduate School

• In Event: 66.041 - Graduate Students: Surviving and Thriving in Higher Education

Abstract

This study aims to investigate how student thriving can be conceptualized and understood within the context of graduate studies. While research on human thriving provides insight into how the notion can be conceptualized across the lifespan, student thriving within institutions of higher learning has been largely overlooked. This research is foundational in understanding and conceptualizing student thriving among graduate students, and provides a foundation upon which further research can be developed. The six overarching themes—Being, Connecting, Engaging, Achieving, Enjoying, and Balancing—provides the beginning groundwork for understanding the graduate student experience, and how programs and institutions can best support those enrolled within their graduate programs.

Authors

• Heather Coe-Nesbitt, Queen's University

• Nadia S. Arghash, Queen's University

• Anoushka Moucessian, Queen's University - Kingston

• Eleftherios Kyprianos Soleas, Queen's University

• Anna Geladi