Is It Any Better - A Comparison of PhD Students’ Experiences and Degree Completion Plans Between the Summers of 2020 and 2021

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Adam

PhD students’ educational experiences and degree completion plans differ across fields of study, learning conditions, and support structures, and the COVID-19 pandemic likely increased uncertainty in individual trajectories. This study compares reports from 422 PhD students at 12 U.S. institutions, contrasting summer 2020 experiences with summer 2021 follow-up data. Depression symptoms remained lower but moderate, while emotional, financial, educational, and career stressors persisted. Results emphasize institutional material and psychological structural supports over time.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages18

Reading Time45 min

AccessFree to download

Study focus and context

Sample and longitudinal design

Stressors and depression findings

Implications for institutional support

AERA Open January-December 2024, Vol. 10, No. 1, pp. 1–18 DOI: 10. 1177/23328584241228222 Article reuse guidelines: [sagepub.com/journals-permissions](sagepub.com/journals-permissions)[ ](sagepub.com/journals-permissions)© The Author(s) 2024. [https://journals.sagepub.com/home/ero](https://journals.sagepub.com/home/ero) Is It Any Better? A Comparison of PhD Students’ Experiencesand Degree Completion Plans Between the Summers of 2020 and 2021 Rachel A. Smith Iowa State University Garrett H. Gowen Independent Scholar Rosemary J. Perez University of Michigan Jennifer A. Tipton Iowa State University Craig A. Ogilvie Montana State University Thomas R. Brooks New Mexico Highlands University PhD students’ experiences in graduate school and associated outcomes vary by field of study, learning environment conditions, and support structures. In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic specifically, PhD students’ individual educational trajectories were potentially rendered more uncertain, as disruptive conditions for learning and research have continued over the past several years. We compared the reports of 422 PhD students at 12 U.S. institutions in terms of their experiences of support or marginalization and educational plans from the summer of 2020 with follow-up data gathered during the summer of 2021. We then examined factors related to PhD students’ changes in their estimated times to degree. We found lower, but still on average moderate, levels of depression symptoms compared to the previous year and continued experiences of emotional, financial, educational, and career stressors. Findings point to the importance of institutional material and psychological structural supports over time. Keywords: COVID-19, degree progress, doctoral degree attainment, graduate education, graduate student support, graduate students, higher education, learning environments, longitudinal studies, mental health, pandemic, PhD students, postsecondary education, regression analyses, social context, statistics, student success, survey research Graduate student pathways vary by field and degree program (Austin & McDaniels, 2006; Cassuto, 2015) as well as by students’ own needs and constraints, making it complex to trace how graduate students navigate programs. The context of the COVID-19 pandemic added further complications to examining these pathways, bringing to the forefront stark disparities in experiences, support, and associated outcomes. More than 3 years into the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, the effects of the early portion of the pandemic on students and postsecondary institutions are becoming clearer. Researchers have highlighted decreased undergraduate enrollment and slightly increased graduate enrollment (National Student Clearinghouse, 2020), negative mental health effects (Healthy Minds Network & American College Health Association, 2020; Soria & Horgos, 2021; Tasso et al., 2021), and exacerbated inequalities in food and housing insecurity, employment conditions, and well-being along race and ethnicity, gender, and income dimensions (Aucejo et al., Creative Commons Non Commercial CC BY-NC: This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 License ([https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/)) which permits non-commercial use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access pages ([https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage](https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage)). Smith et al. 2020; Goldrick-Rab et al., 2020; Hunt et al., 2021; Muñiz, 2021; Rudenstine et al., 2021) . Much of the postsecondary research on student experiences ofthe pandemic has focused on undergraduates, although some studies have included certain populations of graduate students (e.g., Chiriko

FAQs

How did the study compare PhD students’ experiences over time?

It compared summer 2020 reports with follow-up data collected during summer 2021 from 422 PhD students at 12 U.S. institutions.

What mental health changes were reported between 2020 and 2021?

The study found lower, though still on average moderate, levels of depression symptoms compared with the previous year.

Which types of stressors continued during the study period?

Emotional, financial, educational, and career stressors continued to be experienced.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Adam