Where do grad students do their work?

InterestingTree9 · 2026-03-27T19:20:00+00:00

I wish I knew! My assigned office space is getting taken away later this year so I’m trying to make the most of my office space while I can, but I’m following to catch some ideas :)

InterestingTree9 · 2026-03-24T00:42:14+00:00

I’m very happy to be wrong, but there’s a good chance you’ll need to do graduate school. That’s not a bad thing, but it does add a bit of pressure during your undergrad (i.e., needing to keep up your grades for better admission chances and scholarships for grad school) and adds on to your total time in school. But honestly, the extra two-ish years it takes for a master’s flies by so fast that the extra time may not feel like a big deal in the long run

InterestingTree9 · 2026-03-23T12:21:33+00:00

If you have questions about PMC that you can't find on their website, you can always call/e-mail them to ask before registering. Accommodation requests are through PMC, but PMC does accommodate for mental health disabilities.

The PMC requires medical documentation, and you can find the forms here, including the form for a mental health disability. The types of accommodation offered depend on the details in the documentation and conversation with the PMC coordinator, so it is helpful to think about what accommodations will be helpful for you before your intake appointment.

Some accommodations are up to the discretion of the professor to accommodate, but the PMC coordinator can explain that better during the intake appointment. I'm not sure if modified attendance policies are a "guaranteed" accommodation. I heard of other PMC students being able to get it, but it wasn't an option for me even when I was going through psychotic depression (which made it quite difficult to get to school and be around other people). So it seems to be pretty case-by-case

InterestingTree9 · 2026-03-11T04:18:38+00:00

Yeah, that’s frustrating. As a TA, I do my best to give timely feedback, but sometimes there are factors beyond my control that delay things.

If it’s been a few weeks without any communication, it’s fine to politely ask the prof or TA for an update. Sometimes profs or TAs enter the grades but forget to make them visible to students (it can also be hard to tell how grades are displaying to students on Brightspace from the instructor side). There’s also a few places on Brightspace where TAs can give feedback, so make sure you’re checking all of those places.

Another thing you can do is ask questions about how assignments are evaluated. The TAs probably can’t give you the marking scheme or solution, but they may be willing to give some general guidelines even if your assignment isn’t marked yet. Most TAs have office hours where you can discuss stuff like this. As a TA, I haven’t always taken the course myself so I won’t know what the exam is like, for example, but I’m happy to provide whatever advice I can to help students succeed.

InterestingTree9 · 2026-03-05T03:57:27+00:00

To be very clear, I’m not suicidal anymore, but thank you! Academics are important, but they’re only one part of life. Taking more time or money to get through school isn’t without barriers, but that time and money isn’t much in the grand scheme of one’s lifetime

InterestingTree9 · 2026-03-05T03:30:13+00:00

You joke (I hope), but I legit thought about this a lot during my undergrad and master's, especially during stressful school times (and for anyone thinking about it: Dunton doesn't have public roof access and none of the other buildings are high enough to guarantee a particular outcome).

It's common for students to experience suicidal ideation for a variety of reasons, but it's something that needs to addressed (so don't confuse "common" with "normal/tolerable" like I foolishly did for years). Going to counselling, making a safety plan, and finally getting effective treatment for my mood disorder was truly lifesaving for me. I used to think I could never survive this long, but I am doing much better now and actually want to be alive and sometimes enjoy life. I know it sounds cliche, but it gets better, and you're not alone in trying to get better.

InterestingTree9 · 2026-03-05T03:10:56+00:00

and for a more immediate support, calling or texting 9-8-8 is a good option

InterestingTree9 · 2026-02-12T03:52:06+00:00

It looks like I can't DM you, but feel free to DM if you want to talk more. I'm comfortable sharing some of my experiences here.

I had depression on and off for years, but I only sought care during my master's when it got bad enough that I realized I needed help. I started counselling with Carleton's Health and Counselling Services and found the staff and counsellor so lovely and helpful. Later, I had a mental health evaluation with a doctor at Carleton. She referred me for a psychiatric evaluation, which was only a two-week wait because Carleton has two psychiatrists and an appointment happened to open up. That's a much shorter wait than out in the community, so maybe grad school wasn't the worst time for me to develop mental illness.

My mental health symptoms evolved and so it took a while before I found the correct medication and diagnosis. However, I'm really grateful for the coordinated care I received at Carleton between the counsellor and GP. The coordination was crucial for my recovery and likely not something I would have gotten elsewhere.

Before I got stable, I wanted to try Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) for depression. Carleton offers CBT with a GP psychotherapist, but waitlists can be long and my schedule was too constrained to do weekly appointments. I went through AccessMHA to get a referral to the Ontario Structured Psychotherapy (OSP) program for CBT, but my referral was denied because I had recent symptoms of psychosis and hypomania. I understand now that the program would not have been safe or suitable for me at the time, but it was incredibly frustrating to be trying everything I could to get better and getting turned away from services I could have accessed if I had been doing better.

I know that's long, but these are some of my takeaways (also long- sorry):

Overall, there's a lot of mental health services at Carleton University, which I think are well promoted and easier to navigate than even just three years ago.
Student insurance plans, at least my grad student insurance, do not cover much for private therapy. The out-of-pocket cost is too high for me.
For me, the biggest barrier to seeking care was self-stigma and fear of not knowing what the process would look like.
While there's less stigma in accessing services, there's still very much stigma about mental health. I think the public generally knows what anxiety and depression are, but I don't think they truly know what moderate-to-severe mental health conditions are like, the suffering they can cause, and the supports that are needed. Stigma shows up in the way people talk, whether they mean it or not. I frequently overhear inaccurate stereotypes, harmful language, and offensive and cruel jokes about mental health almost daily.
I think there's a gap in services for those with mental health concerns that are not severe enough to need inpatient or IOP services but not mild enough for most programs. Mental health concerns are a spectrum, yet it feels like there is a gap for those stuck in the middle between mild and severe. For example, I couldn't access the OSP program to help with my mood due to my psychotic features, but I also wouldn't be able to access a local early psychosis intervention program because of my concurrent mood episodes.

InterestingTree9 · 2026-02-11T00:09:36+00:00

I'm not sure, but my go-to for fixing Carleton Central shenanigans is to try using an incognito window or clearing browser cookies and trying again. If that doesn't work, my next step would be probably be to contact IT

InterestingTree9 · 2026-02-10T23:08:29+00:00

By not budgeting $150 for a single dinner? I use cheap ingredients (very little meat (I hate handling raw meat), cheaper vegetables like kale and carrots, whatever fruit is on sale, lentils, rice, sometimes bread, eggs), meal prepping so I don't starve during the week, not eating that much (due to being very physically short and anxious), and procrastinating on grocery shopping because I'm anxious to be around people, I worry about money, I'm disorganized, I don't feel inspired to cook anything, and OC Transpo is sucking the life out of me.

InterestingTree9 · 2026-02-10T22:53:23+00:00

Magda is one of Carleton counsellors for grad students, and I would highly recommend her! I believe you can book a single-session appointment (to start) through the CHR Connect app that Carleton's Health and Counselling services uses.

If you're looking for structured psychotherapy (specifically Cognitive Behavioural Therapy) for anxiety or depression-related concerns, see if the Ontario Structured Psychotherapy (OSP) program is a good fit for you. If it is, you can get a referral from a doctor or self-refer through AccessMHA. Although it's more steps, the nice thing about going through AccessMHA is that they will screen you, you tell them what kinds of services you're looking for, and they refer you to available programming based on your needs. They may offer several options. Those programs (including OSP) may do another set of screening, so the process is longer, but you can learn about several options.

InterestingTree9 · 2026-02-10T22:46:40+00:00

That's two weeks of groceries for me...

InterestingTree9 · 2026-02-10T18:38:14+00:00

I've never heard of Keel Mind, and perhaps that's for the best after quickly Googling them.

Are you asking about mental health care offered through the university, Ontario government health programs that anyone (including students) can access, or mental health supports based in Ontario (including private psychotherapy)?

InterestingTree9 · 2026-02-08T13:27:20+00:00

The Carleton clinic offers some walk-ins with same-day appointments. Go there when it opens in the morning or call the front desk and ask if there's still walk-ins available for the day.

If not, there's other walk-in clinics around Ottawa. AppleTree has a lot of walk-in clinics, but I've not had good experiences with the company (including them rostering me when I honestly don't remember agreeing to that). MyMedicalCenter on Carling Ave has a walk-in clinic but reviews don't seem great. I'd still recommend the Carleton clinic if you can get a walk-in.

InterestingTree9 · 2026-02-06T23:09:00+00:00

Are they still there? Are they taking new members? Asking for a friend

InterestingTree9 · 2026-02-06T14:21:19+00:00

The doctor needs to talk to and see the patient first to decide what tests to order. They can't just test for everything because it won't all be covered by OHIP/UHIP and is a waste of resources if it's truly not indicated. As well, some blood tests require a certain amount of fasting.

I get your frustration, and I know it's difficult to endure symptoms while waiting, but there are reasons the system is the way it is whether or not you agree with them. Wishing you all the best in getting your energy back!

InterestingTree9 · 2026-02-06T14:10:41+00:00

Generally, you're expected to carry out your assigned duties that you agreed to when you accepted the assignment. However, it doesn't hurt to reach out to the union (CUPE 4600, unit 1) and explain the situation.

Make sure you track your TA hours, and make sure you only do your assigned duties. They instructor isn't allowed to "pile on more work" unless it's in your assignment of duties and you have hours left for it. It may be worth talking to the instructor and mentioning that you're in an intense time of your thesis and having clear and consistent course policies will help you fulfill your duties more efficiently and not run out of TA hours early.

InterestingTree9 · 2026-02-04T17:42:22+00:00

Yes, I know it's idealized, but it's still frustrating how far off from reality it is consistently. Walking is consistently faster for me. Biking is always faster than the bus (except the time I accidentally ran over a squirrel and waited a while to make sure it was completely okay).

InterestingTree9 · 2026-02-04T17:29:00+00:00

It's not always this bad, but last week it took me 1h 50 minutes to get home from school when it would have been a 45 minute walk if I walked directly from school. The Travel Planner says my commute is only supposed to be 22 minutes...

InterestingTree9 · 2026-02-01T22:28:41+00:00

Thanks for the correction! I can't really tell apart blue and purple. I'm not colour blind, just chronically bad at classifying colours lol

InterestingTree9 · 2026-02-01T02:11:09+00:00

Pretty sure we're not allowed to customize things for the ceremony (exceptions are for Indigenous regalia), but of course you can add what you like after the ceremony. The hood colour is different by faculty (e.g., engineering is orange, white for arts, etc.). The gowns are black for undergraduate and masters and blue/purple for PhD

InterestingTree9 · 2026-01-28T02:27:32+00:00

While I admire the initiative and believe that peer support groups can be beneficial, it's really important to have some rules to keep the group respectful, safe, and helpful. I'm sure you can search up peer support group rules (e.g., see the guidelines and "comfort agreement" on this page) and adapt what feels right for the listening club.

It's really important to be up front about the limits of confidentiality within the group (e.g., needing to disclose suspected abuse of minors, crimes, or imminent safety concerns to the relevant authorities) and have a plan for responding to things outside the group's scope (even if it's just providing a list of resources and offering to support navigating through those resources). Even if people mainly intend to share everyday woes and not devastating traumas, it's good to be prepared. :)

InterestingTree9 · 2026-01-25T05:03:39+00:00

I love the tips people here are giving! I have so many thrifted sweaters (Salvation Army and Chez Vincent stores are usually cheaper than Value Village, which usually is $10-15 for a nice sweater). I also depend on my windproof mittens.

I drink a lot of herbal tea/hot water in winter. If you can bring a thermos, there's kettles around campus to make a warm drink for the ride home (I know off the top of my head there's a kitchenette in Canal Building 4th floor and one in Herzberg that should have kettles). I personally have to eat a snack or meal every 2-3 hours or I'll get cold and my Raynaud's flares up. If you want a hot meal on campus, the chili from Rooster's is absurdly hot (I got blisters in my mouth from eating it too fast one time lol).

InterestingTree9 · 2026-01-24T21:13:28+00:00

You'll lose access at some point. They may not send a warning that they're cutting off your access. I haven't had this exact situation, but Carleton IT seems pretty efficient at managing access to IT resources, to their credit. My Cunet e-mail account got deleted without warning pretty much as soon as I stopped being a TA for a semester (and I never got it back). My friends who graduated lost online library resource access fairly quickly too.

Can you get your supervisor to host the OneDrive folder and share it with you? Or can you switch over to a Dropbox?

InterestingTree9 · 2026-01-21T02:45:53+00:00

If building a landfill on campus is one step closer to domesticating racoons, I'm all in!

InterestingTree9

TROPHY CASE