This study of 2111 undergraduates examined the impact of online science courses on their anxiety. More than 50% of students reported experiencing at least moderate anxiety in online science courses. Aspects of online learning that increase and decrease anxiety are identified, and actions that instructors can take to lessen anxiety in online science courses are offered.

This interview study of 24 undergraduates with depression examined how depression affects student cognitive domains when learning science online and how aspects of online science courses affect student depression. The study yielded recommendations about how to create inclusive online science courses for students with depression.

Depression is a top mental health concern among college students, yet there is a lack of research exploring how online college science courses can exacerbate or alleviate their depression. We surveyed 2,175 undergraduates at a large research-intensive institution about the severity of their depression in large-enrollment online science courses. The survey also explored aspects of online science courses that exacerbate or alleviate depression and we used regression analyses to assess whether demographics predicted responses. Over 50% of undergraduates reported experiencing depression and LGBTQ+ students, financially unstable students, and lower division students were more likely to experience severe rather than mild depression compared to their counterparts. Students reported difficulty building relationships and struggling to perform well online as aspects of online science courses that exacerbated their depression and the flexible nature of online courses and caring instructors as aspects of online courses that alleviated their depression. This study provides insight into how instructors can create more inclusive online learning environments for students with depression.

This study of 1179 undergraduates with depression examined whether students revealed their depression to their online science instructors and the reasoning behind their decisions. Few students revealed their depression, but perceived that if they did, they would benefit by receiving accommodations but risk instructor judgment.

Depression is one of the top undergraduate mental health concerns and disproportionately affects students who are underrepresented in science. As such, understanding how different science learning environments, such as online education, affect students with depression is integral to creating a more diverse and inclusive scientific community. However, no studies have examined how the online science learning environment affects students with depression. In this study, we investigated how the online learning environment affects depressive symptoms in undergraduates, as well as how students’ depression affects their experience learning online. We conducted semi‐structured interviews with 25 undergraduates with depression pursuing a fully online Bachelor of Science degree in Biological Sciences at a large research‐intensive institution in the United States. We probed how, if at all, aspects of online science courses affected students' depressive symptoms and examined how students’ depression affected their experiences in online science learning environments. Specifically, we explored how depression affected students' attention and memory, language, executive function, problem solving, as well as their reasoning and social function when they were engaged in online learning. Using inductive and deductive coding, we found that social isolation, lack of communication with instructors, difficulty accessing help, and the fast pace of online science courses exacerbated some symptoms of students' depression. Conversely, the flexibility of completing coursework when and where students wanted and a reduced fear of being negatively evaluated by others in class helped alleviate some students’ symptoms of depression. Primarily, we found that students’ depression could make learning more challenging by making problem solving and written communication more difficult. This study provides insight into how instructors can create more inclusive online learning environments for students with depression.