Bullying in Graduate School: Its Nature and Effects

Does bullying exist in graduate school? If so, what does it look like? Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 22 graduate students from various departments at a medium-sized, Midwestern U.S. university. Grounded Theory methodology (Glaser, 1978) was utilized to gain insight into the terms and behaviors students used to define bullying in the graduate school context. Through constant comparative analysis (Stern, 1980), categories emerged that provided an understanding of the different perspectives inherent in a bully system, and the meanings attached to bullying behaviors. These findings can provide administrators and counselors with the information necessary to conduct preventative training to help students interact in a more professional, inclusive manner