The California State University Wellbeing Alliance for Research Masters (CSU WARM)

This project will create the Wellbeing Alliance for Research Masters (WARM), a collaboration between four California State University (CSU) campuses. WARM examines how mental health and wellbeing relate to the academic success of students pursuing graduate degrees in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).

WARM is guided by three general research questions.

First, how do graduate program features relate to student wellbeing, psychosocial (or non-cognitive) variables, and academic success? The project will address this by auditing program practices and relevant campus resources, correlating them with academic performance, and with wellbeing and mental health as assessed by the app and surveys administered each semester. Analyses disaggregate the results by key demographic variables (such as gender and first-generation status) and control for potential confounds.

Second, how does engagement with the app impact graduate student wellbeing, psychosocial variables, and academic success? This involves pre/post analyses that examine how academic success indicators and survey responses vary after students begin using the app and how these metrics differ with the level of app utilization.

Third, how do targeted interventions affect wellbeing, psychosocial variables, and student success outcomes for graduate students? The project will answer this question with randomized control trials (RCTs) that compare intervention participants with a control group of non-participants, or quasi-experimental designs that control for selection biases and other potential confounds.

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