A phenomenological study of university students' grieving experiences

Abstract

Grief can be a significant life transition, crisis, or transformative experience faced by many university students. Despite the prevalence and significance of death losses for university students, the topics of death, grief, and bereavement are seldom discussed in the student services and thanatology literature. The current study aims to understand the lived experience of grief for university students. This research is grounded in the Heideggerian hermeneutic phenomenological approach. Data was collected through in-depth interviews with six bereaved university students. Thematic analysis using Van Manen's methodology identified ten strategies that bereaved students used to manage their grief and study. This phenomenological interpretation offers some suggestions for university staff to support bereaved students.