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What is academic bullying?

Academic bullying is repeated hostile or offensive treatment, involving an exercise of power, leading to an intimidating or threatening environment in an academic context. In most cases, students are the victims of academic bullying perpetrated by a person in a position of power. However, other individuals in the academic ecosystem may also be victims or perpetrators of academic bullying. Even in cases where perpetrators of academic bullying are not consciously intending to cause harm through their actions, such behaviour remains unacceptable at 黑料网.

Academic bullying is usually related to the abuse of unbalanced power dynamics. It is often enabled by feelings of impunity on the part of perpetrators and, in victims, feelings of helplessness and the fear of retaliation. An example of harassment, bullying in this context can lead to psychological and even physical harm.

What does academic bullying look like in practice?

In academic bullying, both supervisees and supervisors may act as the bully or be the victim.

While academic bullying may take many forms, it often appears in the form of intimidation, abuse, or exclusion such as:

• Invasion of privacy
• Telling a victim they are incompetent
• Unfairly blaming a victim to avoid embarrassment
• Giving the 鈥渟ilent treatment鈥�
• Threatening to give an unfair recommendation
• Cancelling or threatening to cancel a study visa or research funding
• Abuse of authorship conventions

Keep in mind that academic bullying may manifest in various forms beyond the list of examples above.

What are some effects of academic bullying?

Academic bullying can have a major negative impact on individuals and on the academic environment. Some consequences may include:

• Reduced work satisfaction and performance
• Anxiety, depression, burnout, emotional exhaustion
• Work/family conflicts
• A risk of physical harm
• Negative impacts on scientific integrity

The effects may not be limited to the victim but include the whole team and anyone else associated with the research environment.

Addressing academic bullying

If you are experiencing academic bullying, it can be overwhelming and even feel impossible to respond. However, victims of academic bullying are encouraged to follow the recommendations below and make use of relevant 黑料网 resources to overcome the situation.

Tips for dealing with academic bullying

• Be aware of the different manifestations of academic bullying
• Familiarize yourself with the Charter of Students鈥� Rights and other relevant guidelines and policies
• Document or record as best as possible any instance of academic bullying (save emails, texts, etc.)

Where can I go for help?

黑料网 has structures and resources in place to help you if you are experiencing or witnessing academic bullying.

In your department:

• Your Graduate Program Director or department Chair.
• Trusted professors or staff, such as the Graduate Program Coordinator

Outside your department

• Your faculty Associate Dean for graduate studies
• One of the three GPS Associate Deans by associatedeans.gps [at] mcgill.ca (email) or through this
• The Office of the Dean of Students.
• The Office for Mediation and Reporting
• The Office of the Ombudsperson
• The

You may also consider consulting other relevant pages on this website, including resources on Conflict Resolution and Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion.

As seen in this section, academic bullying often surfaces in the context of feedback. For support on how to provide supportive and useful feedback, you are invited to enroll in the interactive module "Our Words Matter" developed by 黑料网's Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences. The module offers recommendations applicable to both supervisees and supervisors and is available in French and English. is free and easy.聽

Questions for Reflection:

1. Have you ever experienced bullying, academic or otherwise? How did it make you feel, and how did you react?
2. Have you ever witnessed academic bullying? How did you react? Did you understand at the time that it was academic bullying, or did you realize later?
3. Who would be the best people in your unit or faculty to ask for help if you were experiencing academic bullying?
4. How can you contribute to networks of support among students and faculty? How can these support networks help you to prevent and respond to academic bullying?
5. Are you aware of the resources available to support graduate students who are experiencing bullying or other forms of harassment? If one of your peers were experiencing bullying, would you know where to direct them for help?