Investigating the Importance of Identity for Graduate Engineering Student Stressors

• In Event: Sheraton Roundtable Session Twelve
  In Roundtable Session: STEM Student Identity (Table 1)

Abstract

Graduate student mental health is an urgent and growing concern. Limited research has explored how graduate students from different identities experience stressors related to graduate school. We draw on interviews with 55 graduate engineering students to compare student stressors by gender, race and ethnicity, and international student status. Stressors related to advisors, classes, COVID-19, and research were commonly cited by all students, but important differences of specific stressors within these broader categories emerged. Identifying stressors that differentially impact graduate students from diverse backgrounds will support proactive interventions for student wellbeing.

Authors

• Karin J. Jensen, University of Michigan
  Presenting Author

• Joseph F Mirabelli, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
  Non-Presenting Author

• Jennifer G. Cromley, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
  Non-Presenting Author

• Anne M Hart, University of Tennessee
  Non-Presenting Author

• Dale Robbennolt, University of Texas Austin
  Non-Presenting Author