Chapter 3: A Descriptive Phenomenological Study of the Factors Influencing Multinational Female Graduate Students’ Academic Productivity During the Covid-19 Pandemic: A Feminist Perspective

The current chapter explores the factors influencing multinational female graduate students’ academic productivity (AP) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Using descriptive phenomenology, the results show that a mix of internal and external changes brought about by the pandemic impacted their motivation, attention, and focus toward completing their degree. Those interviewed explained that internal motivations included an increased focus on needing to conduct research that interacted with the external benefit of experiencing decreased expectations from their mentors and universities. However, for some, mental pressures and external responsibilities resulted in less attention being paid to their work while needing to maintain “onground” expectations. The chapter concludes by suggesting ways universities and mentors can provide greater support to aid multinational female graduate students in their educational journey.