Parenting While PhDing – Graduate School, Care Work & 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 create environments where researchers can thrive both as scholars and as parents?

 

📘 Parenting While PhDing (Book) Learn more about the book Parenting While PhDing, edited by Dr. Jackie Hoermann-Elliott and Dr. Jenna Morton-Aiken. The book brings together advice narratives and lived experiences from graduate student parents navigating academia. ➡ https://www.rutgersuniversitypress.org/parenting-while-phding/9781978843769

👩‍🏫 Dr. Jackie Hoermann-Elliott Associate Professor of English at Texas Woman’s University, researcher in embodied learning and academic writing. ➡ X: https://x.com/DrJackieWrites

✍️ Dr. Jenna Morton-Aiken Writing program leader and scholar at Brown University’s Sheridan Center, working on pedagogy, writing, and academic mentorship. ➡ X / Twitter: https://x.com/writejma

 

🎧 Listen now and share this episode with a colleague navigating graduate school or academic parenthood.