{"id":25650,"date":"2025-07-22T10:20:06","date_gmt":"2025-07-22T14:20:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/pharm\/?page_id=25650"},"modified":"2025-07-22T10:20:06","modified_gmt":"2025-07-22T14:20:06","slug":"the-institution-edit","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/pharm\/graduate-program\/mental-health-wellness\/the-institution-edit\/","title":{"rendered":"The Institution Edit"},"content":{"rendered":"
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What do universities need to be doing to improve graduate mental health?<\/h2>\n
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With 1 in 2 PhD students experiencing mental health issues1<\/sup> during their PhD, something has to change. Often the\u00a0onus is on the PhD student to ‘fix’ themselves.\u00a0We look instead at what universities can do to help.<\/p>\n

Train the Trainer<\/h3>\n
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Being a good academically does not necessarily mean you are good\u00a0at running a research group. Supervisors need training in management, mentorship and people skills to ensure bad habits do not impact\u00a0their own PhD students.<\/p>\n

Tailored Support<\/h3>\n
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Students undertaking a PhD experience very different stressors to\u00a0their undergraduate conterparts. Specific training on how to deal with poor PI\/student relationships, general resilience should be considered as well as having trained professionals available that\u00a0understand the stresses and strains of a PhD program.<\/p>\n

Be Accountable<\/h3>\n
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A large focus is placed on undergraduate satisfaction, with less weighting placed on postgraduates. Surveys to understand where the pain points are for PhD\u00a0students to help improve their situation should be conducted.\u00a0Exit interviews should also be considered allowing students to voice concerns after leaving the institution.<\/p>\n

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Reimburse Quickly<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Often students have to pay for conferences and travel out of pocket and have\u00a0to wait a month or more to be reimbursed. This\u00a0process needs to be quicker, or hardship funds need to fbe established to help those in need (or do away with\u00a0the PhD student paying altogether).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Create a Community<\/h3>\n
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A PhD can be very isolating,\u00a0and even more so having moved country to start a PhD program. Creating a sense of community by hosting social events can work towards helping this.\u00a0Help for international students on how to adapt to a new culture is important.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Provide Skills<\/h3>\n
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With the majority of PhD graduates\u00a0never ending up as an academic, and persuing other careers, it is essential that PhD students get opportunity\u00a0to train in other skillsets that are transferable across sectors. More importantly the dedicated time to actually develop these skills to minimize feeling of guilt taking time away from PhD research.<\/p>\n

Diversify<\/h3>\n
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Role models from all backgrounds are essential to help PhD students with things like imposter syndrome, yet academia is typically lacking in diversity. This, along\u00a0with limited jobs in academia, leads to people from under-groups being more disheartened and leaving academia.<\/p>\n

Dignity and Respect<\/h3>\n
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Procedures and support should be in place for those that report sexual\u00a0harassment. All reports should be taken seriously and treated with discretion. PIs that have been proven to have committed\u00a0sexual misconduct should be removed from the institution indefinitely.<\/p>\n

Work \/ Life Balance<\/h3>\n
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When self-worth can be so intrinsically tied to research output, it is\u00a0easy for PhD students to feel they have to\u00a0work 24\/7, with pressure from themselves or the PI directly. The department can help by\u00a0promoting work-life balance and actively encouraging students to take time away from their studies, such as running wellbeing walks.<\/p>\n

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Self Harming? Suicidal Thoughts? Need help?<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n