You are responsible for demystifying the hidden curriculum
Recently, five more copies of A Field Guide to Grad School were shared with prospective and current PhD students in the United States, bringing our total number of newsletter book winners to 112! Recipients included: Julianna Gerold, Ray Groshan, Raya Nashef, Angela Qian, and Eran Moore Rea. If you are a prospective or current PhD student in the United States and are interested in receiving a copy of A Field Guide to Grad School, be sure to enter the book giveaway linked below. More information on how to do this is at the end of the newsletter.
We all have a shared responsibility in demystifying the hidden curriculum and ensuring transparency in academia. This post is inspired by a recent talk I gave, on behalf of Dr. Tissyana Camacho and me, at the Inclusive Academy Symposium at Princeton University. A huge thank you to Princeton for doubling down on their commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion—and to the organizers and participants who made the symposium so unforgettable.
If you’d like to see an example of the work Tissyana and I have done to demystify the hidden curriculum, check out my April 2024 post about our successful Hidden Curriculum Pre-conference, held ahead of the Cognitive Development Society’s meeting in Pasadena, California.
What Is the Hidden Curriculum?
The hidden curriculum refers to the set of unspoken rules, unwritten expectations, and informal knowledge that shapes academic success. It’s not listed on syllabi or websites—but it still exerts immense influence over students' experiences. Examples include knowing how to ask for a letter of recommendation, how to navigate vague feedback like “this writing needs more depth,” or how to identify strategic research collaborations early on. Students who enter academia with insider knowledge, whether through family, mentors, or prior exposure, have an advantage. Those without it are often left trying to catch up.
Importantly, the hidden curriculum reflects existing power structures. It privileges those already in the know and often reproduces inequalities along lines of race, class, and gender.
Naming the hidden curriculum is a crucial first step in challenging it.
What Barriers Are Introduced by the Hidden Curriculum?
The hidden curriculum creates tangible, structural, and cultural barriers. To illustrate them, we want to share a series of vignettes based on real, common experiences.
Lack of Mentorship Networks
In her first year of grad school, Maya assumes her advisor will be her only mentor. She doesn’t realize it’s common (and essential) to build a network of mentors across teaching, research, and personal development. As a result, she feels isolated when her advisor is unavailable and struggles to get perspective on her work.
Takeaway: Students from well-connected backgrounds often benefit from informal mentoring networks. Others may not even know those networks exist. Without access to broader mentorship, students like Maya can become siloed, missing critical opportunities for advice, support, and professional development.
Misaligned Priorities and Burnout
Louis says "yes" to every request: joining committees, guest lecturing, mentoring undergrads. He believes saying yes will show dedication. What he doesn’t know is that service, although important, often carries less weight than research when it comes to evaluations for funding, fellowships, or jobs.
Takeaway: Without guidance, students and early-career scholars can misread what activities are most valued in academic advancement. Without insider coaching, many talented students overcommit to undervalued labor, burning out before they ever get a fair shot at advancement.
Missed Opportunities and Informal Gatekeeping
Priya hears about a summer fellowship from classmates after the deadline has passed. She had no idea it existed. Information about the opportunity was shared informally among faculty favorites, not announced publicly.
Takeaway: Gatekeeping often happens through informal, relational channels that not everyone can access. Critical opportunities are not always publicly posted or equally shared. Those already embedded in networks get the scoop; others miss out altogether.
Unclear Academic Expectations
John submits what he believes is a strong paper, only to get vague feedback: "Needs greater contribution." He has no idea what that means in practice and feels too embarrassed to ask.
Takeaway: Expectations around academic writing and contribution are rarely made explicit and are assumed to be universally understood. Students without early exposure to disciplinary norms often struggle, not because they are less capable, but because the rules are hidden and shifting.
Limited Professional Visibility
At her first conference, Serena stays quiet during sessions. She’s unsure how to introduce herself or frame her work. Meanwhile, peers with mentoring in "how to network" leave with new collaborators and speaking invitations.
Takeaway: Visibility isn’t just about doing good work, it’s about knowing how to talk about your work, where, and to whom. Professional socialization is rarely taught but is crucial to advancement.
Institutional Politics and Strategic Service
Gabriel volunteers for service roles he believes are meaningful but finds out later they carry little influence. Strategic committee assignments (i.e., curriculum, hiring, graduate admissions) were never offered to him.
Takeaway: Understanding which roles "count" often depends on insider advice. Without it, early-career scholars may invest their time in service that goes unrecognized, while others climb through better-informed choices.
Imposter Syndrome and Self-Blame
Anna is the only first-generation student in her program. When she feels confused, she assumes it’s because she doesn’t belong, not realizing others are equally lost but more comfortable asking for help.
Takeaway: Lack of transparency about struggle feeds the myth that academic success is innate. When we don’t talk openly about failure and confusion, it isolates and discourages those who need community most.
Emotional Labor and Invisible Work
George, one of few faculty of color in his department, is constantly asked to serve on diversity panels, mentor marginalized students, and represent the department. These contributions are rarely counted toward tenure or promotion.
Takeaway: Scholars from marginalized backgrounds shoulder disproportionate emotional labor, often without institutional recognition. This depletes the very scholars institutions claim to support and reproduces inequities in career advancement.
What Are the Outcomes Associated with the Hidden Curriculum?
The consequences of these barriers are not random. They predict who thrives and who leaves:
Who Becomes Faculty: Faculty are up to 25 times more likely to have a parent with a Ph.D. (Morgan et al. 2022).
Prestige Concentration: Among tenure-track professors at U.S. PhD-granting institutions who earned their doctorates from U.S. universities, 1 in 8 received their PhDs from just 5 elite institutions (Wapman et al., 2022).
Limited Socioeconomic Diversity: Higher education still heavily favors middle- and upper-class students (Morgan et al. 2022).
Underrepresentation of Faculty of Color:
Only 7% of faculty are Black, 6% Hispanic, and less than 1% American Indian/Alaska Native or Pacific Islander (U.S. Department of Education, 2023).
Faculty of color are overrepresented at lower academic ranks (assistant professors, lecturers) and underrepresented at senior ranks (full professors) (U.S. Department of Education, 2021).
First-Gen Attrition: Only 24% of first-generation students earn a bachelor’s degree within six years compared to 59% of continuing-generation students (FirstGen Forward, 2024).
The hidden curriculum creates a self-reinforcing cycle. Access to informal knowledge isn’t just a bonus; it shapes career outcomes, whose work is elevated, and whose contributions are marginalized.
How Can We Demystify the Hidden Curriculum at All Levels?
Systemic change is needed. But individual action matters too.
As Students:
Normalize asking questions, even “obvious” ones: I think there are probably others wondering this too, so I’m just going to ask…
Share what you know with your peers: I’m not an expert, but I can tell you how I approached it, if that would help.
Advocate for greater transparency in your programs: There’s a lot of great info floating around, but it’s hard to find unless you know how to ask. Could we create something more centralized?
As Postdocs:
Narrate your processes out loud: writing, revising, networking: Here’s how I usually approach a revise and resubmit…
Talk honestly about struggles, not just successes: The first time I responded to peer review comments, I almost cried. I didn’t know this level of critique was normal.
Proactively reach out to mentor grad students: I’m here if you ever want to talk–whether it’s about research, career stuff, or just surviving the semester.
As Faculty:
Make expectations explicit: I’ve found that expectations are often left unsaid, and that just adds unnecessary stress. Let me tell you what I’m looking for.
Advocate for formalized mentoring structures: We’re helping students 1-on-1 figure out the job market. Let’s create a professional development class so all students receive feedback.
Normalize uncertainty and share the messy process behind "finished" work: When I was a student, I had no idea how people actually got published. Let’s walk through what that looks like.
As Members of the Academic Community:
Create open spaces where knowledge-sharing is expected and welcomed: This community doesn’t run on competition–it runs on collaboration.
Talk about process, not just polished outcomes: You’re seeing the polished version. Here’s what it looked like before the edits.
Mentor freely, without gatekeeping: Here’s what I wish someone had explained to me when I was in your shoes.
Transparency shouldn’t be a privilege, it should be a right.
Conclusion
The hidden curriculum doesn’t reflect that we are unprepared; it reflects that the system is not transparent. You can’t know what no one teaches you and when knowledge stays hidden, it leaves people behind.
We’re here to change that.
To name the invisible.
To share what we’ve learned.
And to build an academic community where no one has to figure it out alone.
Oh, did you find all of the words? access, equity, navigate, transparency, bias, phd, uncover, justice, privilege, unwritten
How to reach me: You are always welcome to email me (letstalkgradschool@gmail.com). You can also find me on Bluesky @bskybymidge.
Want to support my #hiddencurriculum efforts? Consider “buying me a coffee” via Ko-fi. All funds will be put back into my Marginalia (formerly Let’s Talk Grad School) initiatives (i.e., webinars, buying/mailing books, etc.). Learn more about my efforts here.
Let’s give away some books: Readers located in the United States are eligible to enter the book giveaway to receive a copy of A Field Guide to Grad School by Dr. Jessica Calarco. To do so, complete this survey and note that you only have to complete it once to be entered in all subsequent giveaways! I do hope to expand the reach of the giveaway; however, at the moment, the shipping costs are too great to scale. If you’d like to talk about ways your institution could secure an electronic (or hard) copy, please let me know.
Wishing you all the best!
Margaret