Teaching and Research Skills Development

Session: M10 - Roundtable: Graduate Life and Mental Health

Date: May 31, 2017 | Time: 03:45pm to 05:15pm | Location: POD-370 (Podium Building)| iOS / Outlook

Chair/Présidente: Sarah Shoker (McMaster University)

Discussant/Commentatrice: Sandra Yao (University of Ottawa)

Participants & Authors/Auteurs:

The intersection between graduate education and mental health has received mainstream attention by publications like The Globe and Mail, The Guardian, and The Chronicle of Higher Education. These publications are a response to a growing body of research that highlights how rates of mental illness in academic staff are 3 to 4 times higher than the general population (see: Winefield 2003) and how there is a “culture of acceptance” that surrounds mental illness in academia (Academics Anonymous 2014). Yet though the conversation about mental health is expanding, university administrations and faculties have been slow to provide material support for graduate students and, in some cases, cite neoliberal measures like cost-cutting to reduce or eliminate funding. These structural barriers extend to teaching and create additional strains on undergraduate education. Incorporating both experiential and academic knowledge, panel participants will explore the structural challenges that have prevented graduate mental health from being properly addressed. The panel also identifies mental health as a policy gap that academic associations and student governments should take seriously. This panel hopes to be participatory in nature, and we welcome audience feedback, questions, and comments. A list of policy suggestions will be identified and introduced to the CPSA’s Board of Directors.