Description of Study Participants
The study interviewed 16 respondents (Table 1), which included six civilians and 10 active-duty students. In addition, six students were male while 10 were female. Of the 59 survey respondents (see Table 1), the majority were active-duty (71.2%), Ph.D. (81.3%), White (72.0%), and married (55.9%) students while about a third (39.0%) were male. There were more active duty (69.1%) compared to civilian duty (23.5%) married respondents. Similarly, there were more active duty(42.9%) compared to civilian duty (29.4%) male respondents.
Table 1
Study Respondent Demographics by Active-Duty Status
In-depth Interviews | Civilian (N = 6) | Active-duty (N = 10) | Total (N = 16) |
Male | 0 | 6 | 6 |
Female | 6 | 4 | 10 |
Quantitative Survey | Civilian (N = 17) | Active-duty (N = 42) | Total (N = 59) |
Male | 5 (29.4%) | 18 (42.9%) | 23 (39.0%) |
PhD | 17 (100%) | 31 (73.8%) | 48 (81.3%) |
White | 13 (76.5%) | 30 (71.4%) | 43 (72.0%) |
Married | 4 (23.5%) | 29 (69.1%) | 33 (55.9%) |
*This includes one respondent in the Certified Nurse Anesthetist program |
While the following results are a smaller piece of a broader study, Quantitative and qualitative findings are triangulated along the following themes: graduate education context, understanding of well-being and stress, perceived stress, and factors influencing stress.
Graduate Education Context
The graduate education context is described using the following themes: Students’ perspectives of i) their pre-enrollment expectations and ii) current impressions of their program.
Pre-enrollment Expectations
Interviews suggested that civilian students expected challenges and demands on their time. They used descriptors like “hard” and “intense” to describe their expectations of their graduate program. Civilian students expected that their schedules would revolve around a constant flow of work and compared going to school to working a full-time job.
…[My] expectations were definitely that it would be a lot of work. It would be pretty hard, you know.
(Jasmine Olivine, PhD Student, Civilian)
My expectations of the workload was like, 24/7. I probably would be working all the time. I was aware of the kind of true stereotype of students working themselves to death. So I had fully expected working during the week and also on the weekends and things like that and just not having too many boundaries around, what my workload would be basically.
(Misty Cerulean, PhD Student, Civilian)
Similarly, active-duty students also anticipated a high workload upon entering graduate school. They believed that they would manage multiple tasks such as writing, reading, studying, and orating multiple presentations. They were used to the rigidity and structure of military life and they did not anticipate their graduate education experience would be problematic. They assumed that the faculty were the “experts” and the authority figures. They also assumed that because they were focusing on coursework, they would not have the demands that typical military service members would have, and that their time could be used as a reprieve:
.. .because I was doing the Army for the last four years, and for me, like anything else would just be easier... .when I expected to be able to hold over my time, which is a bonus and just not have to deal with the stressors that the army brings up. So, like everything that I'm doing now is way more manageable than while I was doing actual military things .
(Karen Johoto, PhD Student, Active-Duty).
Notably, while the active duty students assumed they would have hectic schedules, some of them based this on previous graduate school experience:
Having been to graduate school prior, I had a pretty good idea. of what the expectations were and what the workload was going to be doing at USU. Doing it in person, I expected the workload to be quite a bit higher just because you're not only doing the reading and the writing requirements, but you're also listening to the lectures and conducting yourself on practicum and things like that.
(Rodney Ketchum, PhD Student, Active Duty)
Many active-duty students did not expect to be concerned about their military assignment because they were receiving education as part of their assignments. While they noted administrative factors, readiness, and physical training tests that intersected with their military experiences, they were able to focus on their graduate school experiences. A few active-duty students, however, noted that being in the military was more defined compared to being in graduate school.
[Balancing military obligations with graduate school is] easy because this is my duty assignment. You know, they say you're gonna go to school for two years so I show up in uniform and go to school. So it's extremely easy. You gotta maintain your medical readiness. So I have to You know, go to the dentist and have to do my physical. I have to do my physical fitness test, but I mean those things are easy here at USU. …. It's extremely easy to be a service member and full-time school. At the same time, because school is my assignment.
(Blaine Cinnabar, Master’s Student, Active-Duty)
Current Impression of Graduate Program
Civilian students focused more on the culture of the program rather than its difficulty. Some noted student collaboration and faculty support as pluses for their program. Some also noted that they received individualized attention from faculty as opposed to seeing students as a group. Other students noted the lack of communication within their department which they felt was unexpected.
I think some of them [expectations] matched up, but the big one was that I really relied on my peers, a lot more than I expected. The first couple years in classes, they were really important to my success. Basically, we worked together and we supported each other studying for hours, every single day together. . .I never thought of myself as a group study person then grad school certainly changed that.. .
(Whitney Goldenrod, PhD Student, Civilian)
Active-duty students largely described that their program met, or, in some cases, exceeded their expectations, also noting student collaboration and faculty support. Some mentioned that their program could have had a stronger military focus while others noted that some of their peers were impacted by a rigorous routine and financial difficulties.
All of my expectations were met or exceeded between the collaboration of my peers, and then the faculty have been insanely incredible. The only thing that didn't meet my expectations, which is a good thing, is that it's not as military focused as I thought it would be, whereas I was expecting something like an Air Force Academy, where everything is very structured and very focused on the military. This is more a graduate university that has an emphasis in military studies, which I think, is an incredible way to do it. . .
(Rodney Ketchum, PhD Student, Active-Duty)
Students’ impressions of the graduate program in the interviews were somewhat corroborated by survey data. While the majority (80.7%) of both active-duty and civilian students surveyed spend over 40 hours a week on their graduate degree, only less than a third (27.1%) described themselves as overworked. In this sense, while students reported they spend most of their time on their graduate degree; this did not mean they were overworked. However, based on the interviews, this did not mean the students did not experience stress, but they did not perceive this stress as being “overworked.”
Table 2
Survey Respondents’ Workload by Active-Duty Status
| Civilian (N = 17) | Active-duty (N = 42) | Total (N = 59) |
Spends over 40 hours a week on a graduate degree | 13 (76.5%) | 34 (81.0%) | 47 (80.7%) |
Describes themselves as overworked | 4(23.5%) | 12 (28.6%) | 16 (27.1%) |
Understanding of well-being and stress
Well-being
Civilian students described well-being as “mental, physical, and emotional” health and drew this concept from a technical understanding of how well-being ought to be maintained. Some students described that their ability to manage stress also factored into how they defined well-being.
“Yeah, I think I would define it as “physical and mental health” which I also know can be vague in terms as well. So, I think each individual sort of defines what health is for them in their own way, but I understand well-being is really both of those components together. . .
(Jasmine Olivine, PhD Student, Civilian)
Civilian students mentioned the notion of “friends” when describing their ideas of well-being. They also emphasized various leisure and physical activities.
Examples would be: taking the time to do things for yourself - both productive and unproductive things. Doing your household chores and going to the gym. But also, you know, seeing your friends and taking a break. I think the key to that is also vocalizing to the people that support you when you need help
(Erika Celadon, PhD student, Civilian).
Active-duty students also described overall “balance” between various aspects of health including mental, physical, and spiritual types of well-being. Some included “faith” as part of well-being. In particular, active-duty students also highlighted the importance of sleep as a strong component of well-being. Some also spoke about how well-being must be maintained long-term or “longitudinally”.
“It’s a whole body concept. so like physically, mentally, spiritually. .. in line with your values. I think maintaining those over a long period of time too is like. .. you can be good, physically, but can you maintain that?. .. I think maintaining those over a long period of time too. .. .
(Janine Fuschia, PhD Student, Active Duty).
Stress
The civilian students described the physiological and emotional manifestations of stress. Civilian students defined stress as feeling “uneasy” with “physiological consequences.” For another student, stress was described as “something irritating.”
Um, stress for me comes in a lot of different ways and forms. For me, it can be physical manifestations where I can feel the butterflies in my stomach; my heart rate [increases] that's generally a couple, you know, days before a big presentation, that stress. And then there's, like, overall prolonged periods of stress where I'm planning experiments, trying to collect data, preparing for a presentation. .. that's, maybe a couple weeks out. . .
(Whitney Goldenrod, PhD Student, Civilian).
On the other hand, active-duty students associated the term “stress” with the idea of “being overwhelmed.” Some of these students also mentioned that stress existed outside or within “normal” bounds while others also mentioned that stress can be “controlled” or “uncontrolled.” They also mentioned how the environment factored into stress and described stress as a result of specific stimuli, providing examples of stressful situations.
I think stress is when you feel overwhelmed when you take on more than you should.. .. Because sometimes there are going to be challenging times. When you may have multiple assignments or have lots of readings, those times are going to be there. So, I think stress is when you don't know how to handle them effectively. Yeah. So that's how it contrasts when you have more on you than what you don't know…
(Blaine Cinnabar, Masters Student, Active-duty).
Perceived Stress and Factors Influencing Stress
In the interviews, students reflected on the role of their program, personal responsibilities, family, friends, and coworkers on their experience of stress.
Program
Civilian students noted that the program “significantly” impacted their stress. This was because some did not see the connection between various aspects of the curriculum or perceived clear communication about various processes within the program. Some students perceived this lack of communication as “confusion” which was distressing and exacerbated their stress.
[The program causes stress] significantly because it's a very small program, and not really feeling like there's a connectedness or a mentorship within the program. And like I said earlier, the mismatch of like,. .. what you think you taught me and then what you tested me on, you know, there's you know kind of that mismatching and not a lot of attempts to kind of rectify that at least, not that those I think. .. “
(Agatha Indigo, PhD Student, Civilian)
To an extent, the civilian students also described the program's culture, including notions of lifestyle factors. For example, some students described how an ethos of “not being able to work hard enough” and losing sleep impacted their experiences with the program. A minority of civilian students described the workload specifically as something that factored into how they experienced stress.
I think graduate student culture is probably the big one.. .I think there's this weird perception that students need to be overworking themselves to such an extreme. If you're not sleeping two hours a day, and you're sleeping more. .. that’s ridiculous. You're not working hard enough. There's this over glorification of [that]. Just like being an overachiever and overworking yourself, that contributes to my stress. . .
(Erika Celadon, PhD Student, Civilian).
Active-duty students largely did not perceive their program as stressful, but, rather, were either indifferent to stressors and did not see them as a “big deal.” They largely accepted the workload and different aspects of the program, specifically, noting that the program offered different avenues of support to its students, including the availability of supportive resources, students, and faculty.
Um, they [the program] didn't really add any stress, You know, my classmates, we get along really well. So, we support each other; we encourage each other. You know, if somebody's having an issue with any particular assignment or a topic, You know, we kind of come together or give examples, or we may help them out with that topic. Give some additional support or, you know, try and help them understand whatever that concept is. So they don't necessarily add any stress, definitely help reduce stress if necessary because that's a group of folks, you can definitely go to. . .
(Blaine Cinnabar, Master’s Student, Active-Duty)
Personal Responsibilities
The majority of civilian students reported that their family and home responsibilities were other obligations. This included partners, parents, children, the elderly, and other familial responsibilities, such as finances. However, other civilian students noted the general stressors associated with being a graduate student and balancing that responsibility with extracurricular activities.
“I mean, I have my children, my household, aging parents, you know, finances that cross all of that.. .”.
Agatha Indigo (PhD Student, Civilian)
Civilians used words like “a lot” and “significantly” to describe how these obligations impacted their daily experiences. A minority of civilian students considered the positive and negative aspects of how these obligations impacted their experiences, but most of the civilian students underscored the importance of having to navigate stressors in their lives, including diminished finances.
“So a lot of these other obligations can turn financial, especially since we're not really able to take another job or anything like that income financial stress can kind of impact my ability to sit down and do work because it's either ‘I do this graduate student work,’ or fulfill my other obligations but also trying to balance everything because my primary income is coming from my stipend. . .”.
Misty Cerulean (PhD Student, Civilian)
On the other hand, active-duty students did not feel stressed by their finances.
Um, I don't think it's [finances] really a factor because school is free. So I'm not trying to pay off student loans. I'm getting my same military check. So, not really a stressor, you know, managing money and budgeting like normal.
(Blaine Cinnabar, Master’s Student, Active-Duty)
Family
Civilian students saw the family as mostly supportive. They usually used the words “supportive” and “understanding” to characterize their relationships with their families. Some students were able to communicate their concerns, and “vocalize” their concerns, with their family. Others reported that their family members gave them strength. A minority of students, however, mentioned that their families negatively impacted their lives.
I think they're helpful. They try to be helpful there. Their lives are different than mine. So it's not a direct relatability, you know, there's not a lot of direct relatability. But I mean, the friends that I have at school. they definitely can relate and understand because they're going through the same thing. . .But the rest of them are either, they've not gone to graduate school, or they're so far removed from it. . ., it's maybe hard for them to imagine trying to do it as a mom.
(Agatha Indigo, PhD Student, Civilian)
In contrast, many active-duty students saw their families as external obligations. Some reported that they were parents and that they did not have time for themselves because of family. Others reported that family significantly impacted their time away from school and struggled to maintain their time. Some were able to prioritize family and relented on connecting with them.
…So yeah, just being the mom of young kids because they need me all the time and you know. When I go home, it's not my time. It's not for me. I can't just go home, study, and relax. There's no such thing. Even on the weekends. so that is a big factor in terms of stress in daily life.
(Sabrina Saffron, Master’s Student, Active Duty).
Friends
Civilians reported that friends were also seen as supportive because they experienced similar lifestyles. Interestingly, some noted that they did not have relationships with others outside their work, so their coworkers became their friends, while others mentioned they did not have coworkers so their friends were largely their peers. Civilian students saw their friends as sources of support, and they also largely understood how civilian students experienced stress. Friends did not exacerbate stressors.
A lot of my friends actually work a lot too, so I guess it's really similar in that sense in that I don't do a lot with friends because I don't have a whole lot of time to do stuff with them, and they also don't have a lot of time either. So, like, we don't do a lot together but one, I mean, it is very, um, distressing. I guess to do things with it, if it's just like, let's get coffee. . .
(Loreli Lapras, PhD Student, Civilian)
A minority of active-duty students prioritized their families, and, consequently, were unable to maintain their friendships, some active-duty students identified their significant other/partner as “their friend” and some differentiated their peers as “classmates.” In other words, active-duty students conflated their familial ties with friendship. Some active-duty students perceived their friends as supportive, but some also reported that their friends did not understand their workload.
Um, well, I'm 40 years old so my wife was my best friend. So I guess I really don't like hanging out with other people. As far as friends, I mean I have my classmates but you know, we support each other. We have fun. We talk about upcoming assignments. We support each other as far as studying, so other than that I don't really have a huge friend support network. You know, it's really my wife, you know, and my brother and parents.
(Blaine Cinnabar, Master’s Student, Active-Duty Student)
Coworkers
For civilian students, coworkers were either lab mates or their colleagues in internships. Civilian students reiterated that workers were largely labmates and that they generally saw their “coworkers” as helpful peers. They also noted that they reported that their coworkers ameliorated their stress.
I think like my class, like the people in my lab, they always are very helpful because whenever I'm stressed. I don't know how to do something. .. I can ask them, ‘How do I do this? What should I do?’ Not that I've gone to them for advice so many times, [but] I think about lab-related stuff like this and they're always really helpful. I guess I kind of consider the students co-workers but like some of the other people in other labs, that kind of thing.
(Lorelei Lapras, PhD Student, Civilian)
Some active-duty students described coworkers as classmates or peers by noting that they were “friends.” In this situation, “coworkers'' minimized stress, especially when stress largely came from military administration. However, this was not necessarily the case as a minority of active-duty students recounted experiences where their classmates exacerbated certain stressors often due to a lack of teamwork and transparency.
Coworkers would be the same as friends in this instance. .. They were undergoing the same thing I was and talking to them about it made me and them realize that we were all kind of having the same issues which helped lessen the impact. But we were all still feeling the stress from that specific situation. Yeah.
(Rodney Ketchum, PhD Student, Active-Duty)
Table 3 describes how surveyed civilian students highlight stressors differently than their active-duty counterparts. Civilian students (70.6%) felt more noticeably and severely stressed than their active-duty counterparts (64.3%). More active-duty students saw their studies or grades as a source of stress (76.2%) than their civilian counterparts (64.7%). Less active-duty students saw finances as a source of stress (67.7%) than their civilian counterparts (26.2%). Less than half of both civilian and active-duty students reported that family issues were not the primary sources of stress (44% overall). About half of civilians and half of active-duty students saw work or military-related issues as sources of stress. Few respondents noted health or faculty relationships as sources of stress (30.5% and 27.1% respectively).
Table 3
Survey Respondents’ Perceived Stress and Stressors by Active-Duty Status
| Civilian (N = 17) | Active-duty (N = 42) | Total (N = 59) |
Felt noticeably or severely stressed this academic year | 12 (70.6%) | 27 (64.3%) | 39 (66.1%) |
Sources of Stress | | | |
Studies or grades | 11 (64.7%) | 32 (76.2%) | 43 (72.9%) |
Financial pressures | 11 (64.7%) | 11 (26.2%) | 22 (37.3%) |
Family issues | 7 (41.2%) | 19 (45.2%) | 22 (44.1%) |
Work or military-related issues | 9 (52.9%) | 20 (47.6%) | 29 (49.2%) |
Health | 9 (52.9%) | 9 (21.4%) | 18 (30.5%) |
Relationship with (some) faculty | 5 (29.4%) | 6 (26.2%) | 16 (27.1%) |