A Multivariate Comparative Analysis of TQ Graduate Student Experiences, Program Perceptions and Health Outcomes

• In Event: Responding to the Void: QuantCrit Analyses of Queer and Trans Outcomes across Four Large-Scale Surveys

Abstract

Purpose
While there is a burgeoning constructivist literature detailing the narratives of trans and queer (TQ) graduate students and their on-campus experiences, studies have not well documented the relationship between their departmental climate and their health and well-being outcomes, nor have scholars readily used nationally representative data to uplift TQ graduate students. Extant research has examined mental health outcomes among graduate students more broadly (Bork & Mondisa, 2022; Evans et al., 2018), but none have disaggregated these outcomes by gender identity or sexuality.

Understanding this connection is important within a sociopolitical and higher education landscape that is liminal, contextual, and increasingly hostile for TQ people (Catalano et al., 2025; Oliveira et al., 2023), especially trans and nonbinary graduate students (Goldberg et al., 2019; Goldberg et al., 2022). Together, these conditions highlight the urgent need to examine how academic program climates relate to the well-being of TQ graduate students. The following research question guided this study:
● How do perceptions of departmental climate, experiences, and health and well-being outcomes vary between transgender and nonbinary students, cisgender LGB+ students, and heterosexual/cisgender students?

Theoretical Framework
Microclimates theories (Vaccaro, 2012) illustrates that campus communities are often felt in localized ways—such as in departments, organizations, and meetings. Vaccaro (2012) noted that graduate student experiences are most often “limited to specific departments and the campus buildings where their classes were held” (p. 435). This framing highlights how graduate students, particularly TQ students, experience climate not as a monolith, but through discrete and often highly variable microcontexts. With this framework in mind, we employ a quantitative criticalist methodological approach “in solidarity for and alignment with communities violently and systematically oppressed and excluded in education” (Garvey & Huynh, 2024, p. 77).

Methods & Data
We conducted a secondary analysis of the 2023-2024 Student Experiences in the Research University (GradSERU) Survey (n = 27,653), which includes graduate students across several research universities. Respondents were grouped into three categories: (1) transgender and nonbinary students (n = 883), (2) cisgender LGB+ students (n = 7,664), and (3) cisgender, heterosexual students (n = 19,106). Dependent variables included perceptions of respectful climate (α = .94), belonging (α = .87), overall climate, climate-related stress, discrimination stress, and summative measures of mental and overall health (Table 1). We used MANOVA to examine differences across groups, followed by Tukey’s HSD for pairwise comparisons.

Results
Results revealed statistically significant differences in all dependent variables (Table 2) indicating that transgender and nonbinary graduate students experienced the lowest perceptions and poorest experiences, followed by cisgender LGB+ students, with heterosexual/cisgender students experiencing the most positive outcomes.

Scholarly Significance
In a climate where TQ communities are being politically targeted, it is paramount that we continue to pursue truth and justice in research and education. This endeavor necessitates accurately reporting the experiences of TQ people and using that research to inform actionable organizational change. As it relates to our findings, understanding how academic program climate shapes outcomes for TQ graduate students can guide interventions that improve their well-being.

Authors

• Kristopher Oliveira, University of South Florida

• Animesh Paul, University of Georgia

• Roman Christiaens, Indiana University

• Cat Metcalfe, Florida State University

• C. V. Dolan, University of Vermont

• Jason C. Garvey, University of Vermont