2026 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

There has been increased attention to the mental health of graduate students in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics fields, particularly following the COVID 19 pandemic. Research shows that concerns such as stress, anxiety, depression, and suicidal thoughts are common among graduate students, with those in STEM often experiencing additional pressure due to competitive and chilly academic climates. Nearly half of STEM graduate students in the United States are international, and many pursue degrees in mathematics and computer science. International women in STEM graduate programs face further challenges related to gendered and racialized experiences, limited support, and barriers to belonging, all of which can shape their overall wellness.
Despite growing interest in graduate student mental health, little research has examined wellness among international women of color in STEM. This study explores how international women of color graduate students define and understand wellness through their lived experiences. Using a qualitative approach, we conducted semi structured interviews with five international women of color enrolled in STEM graduate programs in the United States. Guided by the eight dimensions of wellness framework, this pilot study focuses on three dimensions, intellectual, physical, and environmental wellness. Reflexive thematic analysis was used to examine how participants conceptualize wellness in the context of graduate education.
Findings indicate that participants define intellectual wellness through learning, engagement, confidence, and balancing academic goals with mental well being. Physical wellness was described as an ongoing negotiation between bodily needs and the structural demands of graduate school, including time for rest, movement, and self care. Environmental wellness encompassed comfort and joy in daily spaces, safety and support from community, and emotional responses to environmental and climate related conditions. Together, these findings highlight wellness as a multidimensional and lived experience shaped by academic structures, bodily needs, and surrounding social and physical environments. By centering participants’ definitions of wellness, this study contributes a nuanced perspective to engineering education research and informs future work examining wellness more holistically among international women of color in STEM.