More PhD students experience serious stress symptoms

The vast majority of PhD students at Aarhus University are satisfied with their supervisors (95 per cent) and the academic benefits of the programme (89 per cent). However, some PhD students also appear to experience severe symptoms of stress during their PhD programme. 

This is shown by Aarhus University’s survey of the quality of the PhD programme, which the university conducts every four years.

Almost one in four PhD students – 23 per cent – often or almost always experience severe symptoms of stress. The examples in the study are isolation, heart palpitations, stomach ache, depression, restlessness and memory loss. 26 per cent experience it sometimes, while it rarely happens to 24 per cent.

Since AU first conducted the PhD survey in 2013, the number of students who experience stress symptoms often or almost always has increased every time the survey has been conducted. In 2013, 13 per cent often or almost always felt this way, in 2017 it was 17 per cent, and in 2021 it was 20 per cent. 

AUPA IS AWARE OF THE PROBLEM 

Stine Munkholm Jespersen is chair of the PhD association at AU, AUPA, and she believes that stress symptoms in everyday life are very worrying. The association is already focusing on the problems of stress, but it’s difficult to pinpoint the causes, she explains. 

"Stress experienced by PhD students in connection with their work is a topic we have discussed at AUPA, and which we talked about at our most recent conference. There has been a focus on this since the last study was published in 2021. We have been aware that this is a problem. The question is, what is it that causes students to become stressed? It's a little difficult to tell from the study," she says.

LOOK AT THE FRAMEWORK

Stine Munkholm Jespersen points out, among other things, that this may be due to the amount of so-called duty hours, which are the 280 contractual hours that a PhD student must work for their department each year in addition to their PhD work. Here, 53 per cent respond that the workload comes at the expense of their PhD programme. However, 84 per cent also respond that they find the 280 hours per year over the three-year course to be instructive. 

The AUPA chair also mentions the change of research environment that is part of the PhD programme, where the PhD student must spend a period of time at another research institution. Here, 40 per cent respond that they experience challenges in becoming part of the new research environment. 

However, because PhD programmes are so diverse, it’s very difficult to identify an overarching problem, explains Stine Munkholm Jespersen. 

"How you approach a PhD programme is incredibly individual. We all have different supervisors and different courses. Some have a lot of teaching, some have almost none. Some do a lot of experiments, others mainly sit with their books," she says.

According to Stine Munkholm Jespersen, it may be useful to begin by looking at the framework for a PhD. 

"To find out whether this is due to specific parts of the PhD framework. It could be the change in research environment or duty hours. There are things we have in common. If it’s the framework, we must see if that is where changes need to be made. Or if something needs to be made clearer," she says.

Head of Graduate School: "The figure must be zero"

Helene Nørrelund, chair of Heads of Aarhus University Graduate Schools and head of the graduate school at Health, is also aware of the relatively high number of PhD students who experience symptoms of stress. 

"We have previously launched initiatives in response to the stress figures. However, we must acknowledge that we have not yet reached our goal. The ambition is that no one should have physical symptoms of stress. That’s just the way it is. That number should be zero," Helene Nørrelund says. 

Number of Stressed PhD Students has Increased Despite Several Initiatives by AU

The fact that the figure has risen every time the survey has been conducted is not due to a lack of willingness to solve the problem, according to Helene Nørrelund. 

This is quite complex. I would argue that it isn’t a lack of willingness to do something about it. It's probably just really difficult to figure out what the solution is," she says. 

Like AUPA, she emphasises that the group of students needs to be characterised in more detail. She points out that the work will begin in the coming months and that she hasn’t yet had the opportunity to delve into the figures. 

There can be an incredible number of factors that determine this. The next few months will be spent figuring out what we should do and how we should deal with the figures from the survey. We have a lot of work ahead of us," Helene Nørrelund says. 

PhD students have a lot to accomplish

Without wishing to downplay the problems associated with severe stress symptoms, Helene Nørrelund points out that the PhD degree programme is demanding. 

"It's a balance. The PhD degree programme is the highest academic degree. An elite education. You can't get through a PhD process without being under pressure. But physical symptoms of stress are over the line," she says.

Among other things, Helene Nørrelund points out that the amount of teaching can become a burden and that the environmental change within the programme is a challenge for some students. PhD students have to achieve a great deal in the three years of the programme, she explains, and research is unpredictable by nature, with continuous unforeseen changes. 

It’s also a period during which you aren’t guaranteed subsequent employment. There is career uncertainty," Helene Nørrelund says.

Overall satisfaction 

As mentioned, there are also many positive results in the study. This is pointed out by both Helene Nørrelund and Stine Munkholm Jespersen. Helene Nørrelund points out that the vast majority of PhD students are satisfied with their education, including the academic benefits, research environments, supervision and various elements of the programme.

"It's extremely positive. They are well integrated into their environments, they receive the guidance they need, and their supervisors are available," Helene Nørrelund says.

This is also the view of AUPA's Stine Munkholm Jespersen, who is in the first year of her PhD programme. 

"We are generally pleased that the students are happy with their supervisors and their courses in general. This is positive and a development that must be maintained," she says.

Among other things, the number of students who say they feel lonely during the day at their workplace has fallen to 16 per cent from 23 per cent in 2021. This is positive, they both emphasise. 

According to Stine Munkholm Jespersen, there can be lonely moments as a PhD student, but that isn’t the norm. So says Helene Nørrelund, pointing out that there’s an element of loneliness in working on one's own PhD project, but that it doesn’t have to be a human loneliness. 

“There is a certain loneliness associated with working on your own project and being responsible for it. We place great importance on demonstrating the ability to carry a project through from scratch. This can lead to professional isolation," Helene Nørrelund says. 

Between now and April 2026, the results of this year’s PhD student survey will be discussed by the graduate schools and the Heads of Aarhus University graduate schools, with the involvement of AUPA and AU Career. The Heads of Aarhus University graduate schools will then follow up on the results, and the AU Research Committee will review the results in May 2026. The results will also be included in the international evaluation of PhD schools in 2026. 

We look forward to being involved in the conversation about this. We won’t be sitting on our hands. We need to work on it and develop it further, Stine Munkholm Jespersen says. 

60 per cent of the students responded to the survey. That is 15 per cent less than in 2021.

This text is machine translated and post-edited by Lisa Enevoldsen