Graduate Student Life and Well-Being
Being a graduate student brings many personal and professional opportunities, but also challenges, from balancing course work with research or other scholarly pursuits, to building confidence in your ideas and capabilities, to the unexpected trials that happen in life. Focusing on your mental health and well-being can help you more successfully navigate past any obstacles you may face on your path toward your degree.
As a Penn State graduate student, you have access to free wellness services that are listed below.
Talk with a Graduate Student Wellness Specialist
Contact the Graduate School’s health and wellness specialist, Jacqueline Jones, for a personal discussion about wellness needs and resources. Schedule your wellness check-in to discuss:
- Faculty communication tips
- Imposter syndrome strategies
- Resource referrals
- Overall mental health check-ins
- Self-care tips and techniques
Meet Jacqueline Jones
Graduate School Services for Students
Individual Wellness Check-ins
A strength-based approach to holistic wellness and mental health promotion. Topics can include:
- Faculty/advisor communication issues
- Finding goals that are important to you
- Imposter syndrome improvement strategies
- Recognizing strengths and values
- Resources to enable your success
- Virtual breathwork and meditation sessions
Group Wellness Sessions
Sessions offered by request student groups.
- Discussions on wellness and diversity, equity, and inclusion
- Mindful movement
- Meditation and body scan sessions
- Student organization team-building activities
Graduate Student Wellness Programs
Programs are regularly offered to the graduate student community.
- Cultivating Healthy Boundaries
- Financial Literacy
- Imposter Syndrome
- Self-Care Fair
- Stress Management
Additional Resources
Emotional and Mental Health
Finding care can be tough, and as a student, you have plenty of other priorities demanding your time and energy. Your university partners with Thriving Campus to help make it easier for you to know your options for care in the broader community around campus.
Resources through CapsProvides informal, drop-in consultation for students with counselors from Penn State Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS). Sessions are free and no appointment is necessary.
This library includes informative videos about various mental health topics. Created for Penn State students by Penn State CAPS clinicians.
Step-by-step wellness packages designed to help you navigate and demystify some of the more perplexing parts of being human. Instructors and student organization leaders are encouraged to use these for extra credit/points.
Penn State Crisis Line
- 24/7 confidential service
- Licensed mental health counselors
- Phone: 1-877-229-6400
General Online Mental Health Screenings
Anonymous screenings on several areas of mental health, including depression, anxiety, academic distress, eating concerns, frustration level, family stress, and alcohol use.
Available to students at any time of day, from any location. WellTrack features a wellness assessment that students can take one time, or on an as-needed basis, to help them understand the activities associated with when they feel better and worse, and to identify patterns in their daily activities and how they are feeling.
WellTrack also includes programs that can be completed at a student’s own pace with content focused on Resilience, Anxiety and Stress, Depression, and Public Speaking. The Public Speaking program also includes a virtual reality component to simulate public speaking in a large classroom setting.
Coping tools on the site can be used to help students cope with distress.
Students can download the companion WellTrack app for iOS and Android.
Financial & Occupational Well-Being
Financial well-being is managing your resources, making informed financial decisions, and preparing yourself financially for the short- and long-term.
On-Campus resources
Explore by how you identify | Penn State Student Affairs
Career Services has a Career Resource Center and Career Resource Specialist to provide and assist you with career resources. Stop by the Bank of America Career Services Center or connect with us to ask questions about our resources.
Guide to Public Assistance Programs | Penn State Student Affairs
Many students face challenges during their college careers. If you are struggling financially or experiencing food or housing insecurity, there may be state and federal assistance programs that can help. Our office can help you determine your eligibility for these programs and navigate the application processes.
Financial Concerns | Penn State Student Affairs
Student Care and Advocacy assists students with financial issues and connects students to resources around the University. Our office tries to ensure that students are aware of deadlines, procedures, and resources that will help preserve their financial stability.
However, when students experience a personal crisis or an emergency, they may be overwhelmed by the circumstances of the situation and need short-term financial assistance. Penn State Office of Student Aid
Penn State’s single system recruiting platform for all students, alumni and employers.
The Pennsylvania State University Sokolov-Miller Family Financial and Life Skills Center’s mission is to provide students with the ability to use knowledge and skills to manage financial resources effectively for a lifetime of financial wellbeing.
Veteran Students | Penn State Student Affairs
You bring a unique set of skills and experiences to the table. Using a combination of general resources and those specific for veterans gives you leverage when searching for your next career opportunity.
Intellectual Development
Intellectual well-being is to explore ideas and experiences that stimulate learning and knowledge application
Here are some tips on improving intellectual well-being:
- Pursue meaningful activities
- Write poetry or a journal
- Reading, making artwork, playing puzzles & games
- Exploring different hobbies
- Finding opportunities to socialize, pursuing stimulating conversations with others
- Exercising, and finding excitement in pursuing new knowledge
- Limit television & computer time at home
On-Campus Resources
English for Professional Purposes Intercultural Center (EPPIC)
Are you an international student, scholar or post-doc? Are you interested in improving your academic and professional English? Join us for EPPIC workshops on advanced academic writing, speaking, interaction, and job market preparation in English in a U.S. university setting. Our workshops are organized into the following skill areas (*earn EPPIC certificates for attending these workshop series*)
The mission of the Schreyer Institute is to advance and inspire excellence in Penn State’s teaching and learning community.
Teaching and Learning with Technology:
We are a collaboration of learning innovators who discover and advance technologies that engage learners.
The Graduate Writing Center – Writing Consultations for Penn State Graduate Students (psu.edu)
The Graduate Writing Center: The GWC offers one-to-one consultations that are most useful to writers seeking ongoing support or consultations on shorter documents. Our sessions focus on principles of composition and strategies for enabling writers to independently improve their writing rather than “correcting” papers. We also provide several writing workshops each term that are open to the entire graduate student community. The GWC welcomes any graduate student attending the Pennsylvania State University, regardless of geographic location, English fluency, and/or discipline.
Visit library locations & departments across the Commonwealth & at University Park.
Welcome Guide for International Students
Welcome to the University Libraries! This page provides an introduction to our resources and services, as well as our library system. Some aspects of our library may be familiar to you, or they may be totally new.
Physical Well-Being
Physical well-being is caring for your body to stay healthy now and in the future including making intentional choices around topics such as nutrition, physical activity, self-care habits, preventive care, sleep, safety and alcohol/drug use.On-Campus resources
Yoga and Meditation
Join yoga instructor and doctoral student, Latisha Franklin, RYT 200, for yoga and meditation classes May 16 through August 8. This class meets weekly* on Mondays in 232 HUB-Robeson Center.
*No class May 30 or July 4.
Yoga supplies are provided, and no experience is necessary. All are welcome! You can watch previously recorded classes at your convenience!
Collegiate Recovery Community Peer-Support Seminars
These seminars meet in Room 105, Pasquerilla Spiritual Center, during the fall and spring semesters.
We offer services for:
• Healthy relationships and sexual health
• Nutrition/healthy eating
• Physical activity
• Sleep
• Stress (relaxation and time management)
- Community Seminars, 12-Step, and SMART Recovery Groups
On-campus 12-Step Meetings: Alcoholics Anonymous (A.A.) Meetings
This meeting is a "beginner's meeting," which means its format is more geared to those who are newer to A.A. This meeting is open to anyone with a desire to stop drinking, and it is "closed" to outside visitors.Location: When the building is open, this meeting is hybrid: In-person attendees meet in 105 Pasquerilla Spiritual Center, and the meeting can also be attended using the Zoom link. When the building is closed, the meeting reverts to Zoom only.
SMART Recovery Meeting
For information, visit the Counseling and Psychological Services website or contact Lori Strayer las192@psu.eduFriends and Family Support Meeting
This group is for students at Penn State who are affected by another's alcohol and drug use -- a parent, a sibling, a partner, or a friend. This meeting is open to students from any campus by accessing the Zoom link here.State College Area 12-Step Meeting
- A.A. Meeting List for Area
- N.A. Meeting List for Area
- Al-Anon/ Alateen Website
Lions for Recovery Affiliated student organization
WE ARE a student-run group dedicated to supporting the recovery community at Penn State through personal growth, service, and social activities. To join Lions for Recovery, Contact Meredith at mas7406@psu.edu
Contact Us
Jacqueline Jones
Associate Director, Graduate Student Life and Well-Being
Social and Community Support
Social well-being is maintaining strong and healthy relationships with others and connecting with, and contributing to, your community.
Career Services
Committed to offering a comprehensive array of programs and services that supports and facilitates career development for all students. Programs and resources are provided to assist students and alumni in specific career goals, expanding knowledge of career alternatives, understanding effective decision-making, and acquiring appropriate strategies and skills to carry out the process.
Centre Area Transportation Authority (CATA)
A Joint Municipal Authority serving the six Centre Region municipalities, Bellefonte Borough, Spring Township, and Benner Township. Our mission is to deliver safe, reliable, accessible, and affordable transportation, provided in a courteous and environmentally, fiscally, and socially responsible manner.
The Center for Sexual and Gender Diversity
Provides advice and support to graduate students on personal, academic, and co-curricular issues. There are also a variety of ways for graduate students to get involved in LGBTQ+ initiatives and culture at Penn State. Within the Center for Sexual and Gender Diversity, you can access support, find connections, volunteer, expand your knowledge and find a home within the larger University community.
Graduate and family housing
Available at the University Park campus only. Living on campus is a great way to meet and connect with other graduate students in an environment designed to accommodate single students, couples, and families. It’s also a great way to learn and grow outside of labs and classrooms. When you live with us you’ll have the opportunity to expand your network, connect with the broader campus community, make long-lasting friendships, and develop the skills essential for success in your careers.
Graduate Student Professional Association
Over the years, the GSA took the lead on numerous issues affecting graduate students, has aided in shaping the way Penn State is today, and continues to play a vital role in University life. On July 1st, 2014, the GSA officially became the Graduate and Professional Student Association to reflect its representation of all non-undergraduate students at Penn State. Today, the GPSA stands as the oldest continuously existing student governing organization at Penn State
International Student and Scholar Advising (ISSA)
Offers advising, immigration services, and training to support international students, scholars, and faculty.
Happy Valley Adventure Bureau
Includes member businesses in State College PA, Bellefonte, Boalsburg, Philipsburg and all of Centre County. Find information about the Penn State area, including hotels, bed & breakfasts, restaurants, activities, recreation, events and more!
Welcome to Off-Campus Student Support!
We serve a diverse group of over 38,000 University Park students who live off-campus or are preparing to live off-campus. There are resources to help off-campus students during the COVID-19 pandemic, such as helping them through a financial crisis, during self-isolation, with medical issues, or connecting them to other relevant University or community resources.
Penn State’s Gender Equity Center
Supports students who have been impacted by sexual violence, relationship violence, stalking, harassment, and other campus climate issues. In addition, the office works to educate the campus community about Gender Equity issues and to provide workshops and resources for the prevention of sexual violence
The Paul Robeson Cultural Center
Provides programs and support services to encourage and cultivate the appreciation and celebration of the diverse perspectives, experiences, and cultures of many under-represented communities at Penn State.
The mission of Centre Safe
Formerly Centre County Women’s Resource Center to empower survivors of sexual or domestic violence, and to work toward the elimination of such violence.
The Pasquerilla Spiritual Center
Home to the Center for Spiritual and Ethical Development at Penn State. The center offers a welcoming, safe, inclusive environment, and aims to promote an environment of appreciation and respect for religious and spiritual diversity.
Student Parent Child Care Subsidy program
Federal CCAMPIS (Child Care Access Means Parents in School) and Penn State Student Initiated Fee (SIF) funded program that helps qualifying, low-income student parents sustain their educational efforts by paying a portion of their child care costs and encouraging them to select high-quality child care.
Student Legal Services
Provides advice, referrals, document drafting, and other legal services to University Park and Commonwealth Campus students facing personal legal issues. To get started, complete our intake form or stop by drop-in hours.
RIDEpass
Mass transit program provides access to all CATABUS routes to eligible University Park graduate students for only $21 per month. Transportation Services covers the remaining cost of each graduate student mass transit pass to encourage the use of mass transit, reduce vehicle congestion on campus, and promote sustainable transportation.