Stressors in early-stage doctoral students^*

* Research was undertaken at the University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand.

ABSTRACT

Stress during doctoral study is common; however, its presence is of concern to students as it has a deleterious impact on well-being and performance, and to the university which has a duty of care to students and the desire to promote a supportive research environment. This article reports on the qualitative findings from an online survey that sought to identify students’ experiences related to stress during the early-stage doctoral study. All newly enrolled PhD students at the University of Otago (New Zealand) received invitations to participate and respond to two questions related to stress during the early-stage doctoral study. In total, 152 survey responses were acquired from 352 first-year PhD students (response rate 43.2%). Nine main areas of concern were identified from an inductive thematic analysis of participants’ responses. Key stressors were time pressure, uncertainty about doctoral processes, sense of belonging in scholarly communities, and financial pressures. Some findings are contrary to previous research with novel perceptions on the student–supervisor relationship, different financial issues, and transition stresses contrary to previous research; this may reflect the changed academic landscape of doctoral studies. Findings provide insight into potential support strategies to better support early-stage PhD students.

KEYWORDS:

• Doctoral education
• doctorate
• graduate education
• doctoral experience
• stress
• support strategies

Notes on contributors

Dr Jon Cornwall is Education Advisor in the Centre for Early Learning in Medicine at the Otago Medical School, University of Otago, New Zealand. He has interests in student wellbeing and bioethical issues relating to the use of posthumous human assets such as body donation and data donation.

Dr Elizabeth Mayland is a lecturer in the School of Health & Society at the University of Wollongong, Australia. She obtained her PhD in Medicine and Psychology at Otago University. Her research explores the intersection between sociocultural environments and individual experiences in medical, educational, and industrial settings.

Dr Jacques van der Meer works at the University of Otago College of Education, in Dunedin, New Zealand. His research areas are related to student transition and induction into higher education, student engagement, peer-learning, student wellbeing and student leadership. He also has an interest in student retention and achievement, especially of under-represented minorities. He has a background in adult, community, and secondary education, including counselling.

Dr Rachel Spronken-Smith is a Professor of Higher Education and Geography and currently Dean of the Graduate Research School at the University of Otago, New Zealand. She has research interests in doctoral education, graduate outcomes and undergraduate research and inquiry.

Dr Charles Tustin holds a doctorate in industrial/organisational psychology and has held a variety of academic and management positions in universities in South Africa, Australia and New Zealand including 11 years as the Director of Graduate Research Services at the University of Otago. Currently, he is the Master of St Margaret’s College, an independent residential college for students at that university.

Dr Phil Blyth is a Senior Lecturer of eLearning in Medicine, University of Otago, New Zealand. He gained his medical qualifications and PhD (Bioengineering) from the University of Auckland. His research interests include medical education and he has developed surgical simulation apps. Aside from a focus on eLearning, he teaches anatomy and practices medicine within the emergency department.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

ORCID

Jacques van der Meer http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2575-0249

Notes

* Research was undertaken at the University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand.