OBSERVATIONSThe Emotional
Toll of
Grad School
Mental health disorders and depression
are far more likely for grad students than they
are for the average AmericanA
recent Harvard study concluded that grad-
uate students are over three times more
likely than the average American to experi-
ence mental health disorders and depression. The
study, which surveyed over 500 economics stu-
dents from eight elite universities, also concluded
that one in 10 students experienced suicidal
thoughts over a two-week period, a result consis-
tent with other recent reports. While these find-
ings are alarming to some, as a current graduate
student myself, I regard them as hardly surprising.
But to understand the struggles graduate stu-
dents face, you have to understand the structure
of graduate school itself.
Most people probably lump doctoral students
into the same category as undergrads or students
in professional schools such as law or medicine.The reality is their lifestyle and the nature of their
work are fundamentally different. In the STEM
fields where I have personal experience, as well as
many other fields, graduate students are really
hardly students at all. For most of their programs,
which last over six years on average, they aren’t
preparing for written exams, taking courses or do-
ing any of the tasks usually associated with stu-
dent life. Instead they are dedicating often over 60
hours a week toward performing cutting-edge re-
search and writing journal articles that will be usedto garner millions of dollars in university research
funding.
While graduate students are compensated for
their work by a supervising professor, their salaries
substantially lag what the open job market would
offer to people with their qualifications, which of-
ten include both master’s and bachelor’s degrees.
For example, graduate student salaries are typical-
ly around $30,000 a year for those in STEM—and
can be substantially lower for those in other fields.
Further, unlike many professional school stu- GETTY IMAGESPrateek Puri is a National Science
Foundation Graduate Research fellow
studying atomic physics at the University of
California, Los Angeles.Opinion