We seek to understand what constitutes and influences the doctoral experience in terms of health, work-related well-being, and social interactions.
During their training, PhD candidates have to deal with the transition from student to researcher role, a large and diversified workload, as well as a myriad of relational issues. The experience of this rich and complex journey varies greatly from person to person, ranging from general satisfaction to a less than ideal experience – sometimes leading to drop-out.
As a consequence, we seek to understand the doctoral experience at different levels. We pay particular attention to psychological health and work-related quality of life during the PhD, by investigating motivation, impostor phenomenon and stress, among others. We also address the social issues related to the PhD, including relationships with supervisor(s), the sense of belonging to a scientific community, and the development of a researcher identity. These works allow us to better understand the variability of PhD experiences, and to prevent PhD candidates from potential dysfunctions or troubles.