The Graduate Union (GU) has launched a campaign to address highly competitive PhD supervision culture in Cambridge, aimed at mitigating a prevalence within the graduate student population of mental health issues stemming from intense study.

The campaign, ‘Graduate Rights: Changing the culture of PhD Supervisions’, is aimed at “accountable and responsible PhD supervisions”. For Nikita Hari, vice-president of the GU, this is a “key priority” for the year.

The campaign targets “toxic and abusive supervision culture”, placing emphasis on combatting unhealthy dynamics between supervisors and research students, which GU has argued may cause or worsen mental health problems.  

The 2018 CUSU Big Cambridge survey found that 55% of postgraduate students have suffered from mental health problems in the last year.

A 2017 study in Nature magazine found that for over 5,700 students surveyed globally, of the quarter of PhD students listed mental health as a concern, 45% sought help for anxiety or depression caused by their studies.

Hari told Varsity that “beyond abusive and irresponsible supervisors, poor supervision can mean little time with their supervisor, poor or non-existent feedback, undue stress and work-life imbalance leading to an unhealthy way of life”.

Hari plans to improve the ‘code of practice’ (CoP) for research students, creating “better and clearer conflict navigation procedures for PhDs and dissemination of information to post-graduates about the University services”.

“They cope with this against an unhelpful media backdrop that too often vilifies our students for seeking help”

On their website services such as the Students’ Unions’ Advice Service, the University Counselling Service and the Sexual Assault and Harassment Advisor are listed among others.

There is an existing CoP for research students that Hari describes as an “important governance document” that “defines the roles and responsibilities of PhD supervisor and PhD student”.

The GU’s campaign will “focus on changing the supervision culture through four parallel approaches: changing the inadequate and unfair guidelines and research practices, improving convoluted conflict navigation procedures and increasing information sharing of university services”.

GU has been lobbying to introduce a contract system for PhDs – which Hari told Varsity is “aimed at creating a contract between the University… and students to ensure accountable and responsible PhD supervision” – with the Pro Vice-Chancellor, Board of Graduate Studies, and Education Policy Office. The team have been successful in including a signature page in the Code of Practice for the next academic year.

A University spokesperson said: “The University of Cambridge and its colleges take student mental health very seriously”, arguing, “the level of support available to students at the University of Cambridge is unparalleled in most other universities”.

However they also noted that “Cambridge has unique challenges that other universities don’t face”, citing the tougher courses packed into shorter terms, and the higher expectations of students.

They also added that students “cope with this against an unhelpful media backdrop that too often vilifies our students for seeking help”.

The GU hopes that their campaign “will ensure good working practices, accountability from supervisors and the departments in ensuring a fair and healthy working environment”.

• This article was updated to include additional information on the GU’s campaign, and to amend the headline to be more representative of the main objective of the campaign, on 21st September.