Our group studies the human experiences of engineering students, faculty, and staff in relation to mental health. We work to develop proactive interventions to improve well-being. Ultimately, our group’s goal is to create environments in which all students, faculty, and staff can thrive.
We are doing this by
Collecting survey data longitudinally (collecting data multiple times over a period of years). In this study, we are examining factors for student mental health and a culture of stress.
Interviewing engineering students, faculty, and staff to learn about their experiences in engineering. What are the aspects of culture that contribute to stress?
Studying how mentors develop graduate student psychological safety in research groups: In collaboration with researchers at Virginia Tech, we are highlighting the experiences of graduate students’ psychological safety in a mixed-methods study.
Conducting workshops, both faculty training workshops and undergraduate and graduate student workshops, to expand knowledge on well-being.
Building community through hosting monthly virtual community meetings. Refer to the Mental Health and Wellness Virtual Community webpage (opens in new tab) for more information.
Resources**
- Example no-questions extension policy. This no-questions extension policy has been well-liked by students, faculty, and teaching assistants alike!
- Worksheet demonstrating preventative steps for supporting students in distress. This workshop worksheet outlines key steps for faculty who would like to prepare for supporting students who may be in distress.
- Infographic showing key actions for faculty to support student well-being. This infographic was developed after student interviews at one institution, though many of the findings likely apply elsewhere.
- Infographic showing key actions for administrators to support student well-being. This infographic was developed after student interviews at one institution, though many of the findings likely apply elsewhere.
**All resource links listed above will automatically download a PDF version of the document of interest.
Engineering Stress and Culture Surveys*
We have developed, refined, and confirmed two surveys that explore undergraduate engineering culture:
- The Engineering Stress Culture (ESC) Scale
- This scale is a 10-item measure of undergraduate student perceptions of engineering stress culture.
- The Undergraduate Engineering Stressors Questionnaire (U-ESQ)
- This is a 42-item questionnaire consisting of eight subscales that measure experiences of stressors that undergraduate engineering students often experience.
- Our publication titled Stressors and normalized stress in undergraduate engineering education culture describes the development of both scale and questionnaire in more detail.
- A brief summary of both developed measures + how to use them is available as well.
We have also developed, refined, and confirmed a survey that measures stressors in engineering doctoral programs:
- The Stressors for Doctoral Students Questionnaire in Engineering (SDSQ-E)
- This scale is a 64-item measure consisting of eleven subscales related to stressors commonly experienced by doctoral engineers. SDSQ-E User Manual
We have launched these surveys at multiple institutions; related publications are in review.
*All survey resource links open in a new tab.
To read and learn more*
- Stressors and normalized stress in undergraduate engineering education culture: development of the Engineering Stress Culture Scale and Undergraduate Engineering Stressors Questionnaire, 2025
- Joe Mirabelli, Eileen Johnson, Sara Vohra, Jeanne Sanders, Karin Jensen
- Engineering professor perceptions of undergraduate engineering student stress, 2024
- Jeanne Sanders, Eileen Johnson, Joseph Mirabelli, Andrea Kunze, Sara Vohra, Karin Jensen
- “Interdisciplinary Education,” “R&D,” and “Contamination”: Comparing the Stressors of Biomedical Engineering Doctoral Students to Other Engineering Fields, 2024
- Joe Mirabelli, Jennifer Cromley, Karin Jensen
- ”Not a Therapist”: Why Engineering Faculty and Staff Do/n’t Engage in Supporting Student Mental Health and Wellbeing, 2024
- Jeanne Sanders, Eileen Johnson, Joseph Mirabelli, Andrea Kunze, Sara Vohra, Karin Jensen
- Engineering Students’ Perceptions of Stress and Mental Health, 2023
- Karin Jensen
- Undergraduate student perceptions of stress and mental health in engineering culture, 2023
- Karin Jensen, Joe Mirabelli, Andrea Kunze, Thomas Romanchek, Kelly Cross
- Engineering Stress Culture, 2021
- Karin Jensen, Kelly Cross
*All publication links open in a new tab.
We have curated this short list of publications as a place for you to start learning about these projects. To learn more, visit the complete group publications.
Return to the Thrive Lab Research Overview.