“It’s Been a Long and Terrible Day”: Doctoral Students’ Experience of Stress and Coping

Research has shown that graduate students experience a host of stressors as they navigate higher education. This study was a participant-generated visual method (PGVM) project with 14 doctoral students from one research university in the northeastern United States. The purpose of this study was to illuminate doctoral students’ experiences as the world was progressing toward a post-pandemic reality. Data sources included visual image solicitation, a focus group interview, and individual memoing over one semester. Several themes emerged, including stressors related to working while in graduate school, finances, and social challenges. This study offers insights to graduate programs seeking to reduce student stress and support student success. It also offers support for the use of PGVMs to illustrate complex experiences and to connect participants in ways that could support graduate students coping with stress