The devastation of mobbing is not limited to paid employees with established salaries and formal work contracts. Students building their careers and credentials also run the risk of encountering the brutal hysteria of collective attacks. In higher education, graduate students are in a particularly insecure situation with advisors, committees, and supervisors holding the power to help build up, or alternatively suppress, the student’s intellectual growth and research efforts. While workplace mobbing is an expanding field of study, little research has been done specifically focusing on the mobbing of graduate students. The resources in this section come from of a variety of sources and all touch on issues relevant to graduate student abuse and mobbing.  

The Mobs of Academe: The Chronicle of Higher Education Live Discussion

Professor Kenneth Westhues of the University of Waterloo answers caller questions about academic mobbing. Of special interest to graduate students are the questions posed by Susan and Bill.

How to Humanize Higher Education and Reduce Human Suffering

Dr. Paul T.P. Wong Ph.D C.Psych, takes an insightful look at the dysfunctional aspects of
graduate education.

Harvard faces the Aftermath of a Graduate Student's Suicide

A report following the suicide of Jason D. Altom, a graduate student in the chemistry department at Harvard. While the circumstances surrounding his death are unclear, a month after Altom's death the department approved nine changes in its graduate advising system in an effort to prevent future tragedies.

• Osberg Sues Yale for Readmission
• Yale's Reactions to Allegations
• Fresh Artistic Controversy Hits Yale

The story of Annabel Osberg, a 17 year old student expelled from the Masters of Fine Arts Program at Yale. Osberg, who is reportedly the youngest student ever admitted to Yale's graduate painting program, claims she was driven out for being "too immature and too young."

Negative Interactions with Faculty: Graduate Student Experiences

Wayne State University researchers Karen Jagatic and Loraleigh Keashly, Ph.D. examine the nature and effects of negative interactions with faculty members among 137 graduate students.

Wilfred Cude's groundbreaking publication in 1987 was one of the first to critically examine the workings of graduate education. In his 2001 publication Cude revisits his initial argument with new supporting data and insights.

Graduate Abuse: Events at UCLA

A collection of documents following events that transpired in Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures at UCLA. Special attention is paid to the abusive treatment of graduate students in the department.

Mean and Nasty Academics: Bullying, Hazing and Mobbing in Higher Education

This brief blog entry by academic coach Louise Michel features quotes from different academics, including graduate students, who have been targets of mobbing or bullying.

Student4Justice.com

Paul Jones, a graduate student in the Department of Management at the University of Exeter, was forced out of the program by being subjected to hostile treatment and being handed unfair demands with inadequate preparation. After the university's denial of his complaints, Jones has decided to seek legal justice and is using his site to expose "the darker, less well documented world of academia."