The COVID-19 Pandemic and Ph.D. Students in the Chemical Sciences: Influences on Degree Completion and Commitment to the Field

Using survey data collected by the American Chemical Society (ACS), this paper examines the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on doctoral students’ plans to complete their degree, stay in the field, and pursue postdoctoral study. Two research designs are used: a cross-sectional design, using data from 2022 and a trend analysis examining changes from 2013 to 2022. Almost all students were negatively impacted by the pandemic, especially regarding mental health; and issues persisted two years after the pandemic started. Students who experienced more severe personal impacts of the pandemic were significantly less likely to believe that they would finish the Ph.D. or stay in the chemical sciences. Starting in 2013 the likelihood that students would finish their degree declined significantly, but the decline was significantly greater during the pandemic. There were also significant declines in the percentage of students planning to pursue postdoctoral studies.