61% of Germany’s chemistry PhD students consider quitting their degrees

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.

61% of the survey respondents said that they had considered discontinuing their PhD studies. Of these students, 64% cited mental health concerns and 44% cited inadequate supervision as reasons for wanting to leave their research programmes. Failed experiments (41%), workload (37%) and poor work environment (33%) were the next most frequently cited reasons, while loss of interest in their project and financial difficulties were also reported by significant numbers of survey respondents.

The survey’s organisers point out that the results reflect trends seen internationally and across many subject areas, noting the widely recognised mental health crisis in graduate education, and the link between supervisory relationships and students’ mental health.

The JCF survey data showed that regular meetings with their supervisor, constructive feedback and respectful communication all strongly correlate with higher satisfaction levels among PhD students. Students with an active second supervisor reported slightly higher levels of satisfaction with their supervision.

As a result, the survey organisers recommend that supervisors conduct regular, goal-oriented meetings with their students, and that their institutions should provide mandatory training in leadership and management for new supervisors. They also recommend that the involvement of a second supervisor, ideally from another research group, should be required.

Abuse of power

Among the most striking results from the survey, is that 41% of the respondents reported conflicts with their supervisors, mainly due to work atmosphere and workload. 80% of respondents reported working more than 40 hours per week, while around one in six said that they work more than 50 hours each week.

31% of respondents noted an abuse of power by their supervisor. Of these, the most common abuses involved pressure to work outside regular hours (54%), coercion to work beyond legal limits (54%), and public humiliation by a supervisor (42%).

A quarter of survey respondents claimed to have experienced or witnessed discrimination in the working environment – around two-thirds of these instances were based on gender, while around a fifth were related to nationality or ethnicity.

Noting the ‘alarmingly common’ instance of problematic behaviours and power dynamics within research groups, the survey organisers say that institutions need to establish independent, confidential reporting mechanisms for students and ensure that trained staff are available to offer guidance and support. They also recommend mandatory training in diversity and respectful conduct, with visible support from department leaders. A further recommendation is that institutions should adopt policies that support healthy work–life balance to protect researchers well-being and prevent burnout.