Grad School Group Takes on Student Mental Health

The Council of Graduate Schools and the Jed Foundation for youth emotional health and suicide prevention will partner to study and promote graduate student well-being, they said Tuesday. A report is due out by late 2020. The experiences of underrepresented racial and ethnic minorities will be a priority. A grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation will support a focus on students in the sciences, technology, engineering and math. A grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation will support work on students in the humanities.

Nancy Roy, chief clinical officer at the Jed Foundation, said in an announcement that graduate student mental health is getting more and more attention. Yet there is still “no framework focused specifically on the unique challenges and needs of graduate students.” The council and the foundation will convene an advisory committee of experts on graduate education to help drive research, create an action plan and promote evidence-based policies and procedures. The council also will survey member institutions on existing practices and challenges regarding master’s and Ph.D. students’ mental health. A student and deans’ workshop is set for next year.