Parenting While PhDing – Graduate School, Care Work & Academia

About this episode

The episode discusses the challenges and experiences of parenting while pursuing a PhD, highlighting the need for better support in academia.

Parenting during a PhD is rarely discussed openly in academia — yet more graduate students are becoming parents while navigating research, teaching, and the pressures of academic life. In this episode of Beyond the Thesis with Papa PhD, David Mendes speaks with Dr. Jackie Hoermann-Elliott and Dr. Jenna Morton-Aiken, editors of Parenting While PhDing. Together, they explore the lived experiences of graduate student parents and the systemic challenges that make parenting during graduate school so difficult. Drawing from their own journeys and the contributors to their book, they discuss how academia can better support students balancing research, writing, and care work. You’ll learn: • What it’s really like to start or raise a family during graduate school• Why student parents remain largely invisible in academia• How graduate students navigate graduate school stress and academic expectations while parenting• The importance of community and support networks for PhD students• Practical advice and reflections from real parenting-while-PhD stories This conversation offers an honest look at an often overlooked academic experience and raises an important question: how can universities…

People in this episode

Host: David Mendes

Guests: Dr. Jackie Hoermann-Elliott, Dr. Jenna Morton-Aiken

Topics covered

• parenting
• graduate school
• academic life
• care work
• support networks
• systemic challenges

Keywords

• PhD parenting
• graduate student parents
• academic support
• care work
• community
• stress management

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Parenting While PhDing

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