Lisa de Vries, research associate in the Faculty of Sociology at Bielefeld University and BGHS member, has published the article „Hürdenlauf zum Doktortitel. Ein Überblick der Belastungswahrnehmung von Promovierenden in Nordrhein-Westfalen“ (Hurdle race to the doctorate. An overview of the stress perception of doctoral students in North Rhine-Westphalia), based on the results of her master's thesis.

Despite the relevance for public, media and higher education little is known about the stress perception of PhD students in Germany. Based on an online survey with 572 PhD students in North Rhine Westphalia this paper focuses the question which factors are causing perceived stress for PhD students. Furthermore, the influence of individual characteristics and the doctoral situation are investigated. The results show that the time frame of the doctorate and the professional perspective are causing perceived stress for PhD students. However, the financial situation is a lower burden. Furthermore, it is shown that different variables could influence the stress perception of PhD students.

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 Here is the direct link to the paper.