61% of Germany’s chemistry PhD students consider quitting their degrees
By 
Jamie Durrani2026-07-31T08:53:00
Unhealthy supervisor–student relationships driving poor mental health outcomes among chemistry researchers
Almost two-thirds of Germany’s chemistry PhD students have considered quitting their degrees, according to new research conducted by the German Chemical Society’s Young Chemists Network (JCF). Respondents to a survey organised by the JCF cited mental health issues, poor supervision and high workloads among the top reasons they had considering ending their studies. 31% of respondents claim to have been victims of abuse of power.
The JCF survey was conducted between December 2023 and March 2024, with 722 PhD students responding. The respondents worked across a broad range of chemistry disciplines, and included researchers at various stages of their PhD programmes.