r/academia is a subreddit with 107k members. The most common kinds of discussions are advice requests and pain & anger, and the community frequently discusses academia, struggling, research, hate, and job, and they frequently recommend/review pen, statistics book, and tablet.
An online community for discussing issues related to academia, faculty life, research, and institutional structures. This is NOT the place to ask questions about your homework, your particular school or professors, or to get admission advice!
Survey posts must be approved by mods in advance, must include contact/IRB info, and must be specific to academia.
Popular Themes in r/academia
#1
Advice Requests
: "What is the attitude around Chomsky now?"
8 posts
#2
Pain & Anger
: "PI expects me to write everything, but the first author won't even respond to journal revisions."
7 posts
#3
Solution Requests
: "Can somebody please download the full pdfs for these 2 articles off sage for me?"
1 post
#4
Opportunities
: "Call for Participants (18+ Canadian citizens/residents)"
1 post
Popular Topics in r/academia
#1
Academia
15 posts
#2
Struggling
14 posts
#3
Research
: "I want to teach at a university, but I absolutely do not want to do Research. Is this a realistic career path?"
11 posts
#4
Hate
8 posts
#5
Job
7 posts
#6
Phd
: "Unstable 3rd year of Phd - need fresh eyes"
5 posts
#7
Academic
: "Ever Realize Academic Research Isn't for You?"
5 posts
#8
Ai
: "My Paper Was Reviewed by an Ai. It Was Soul-Crushing"
4 posts
#9
Journal
: "State of the review in an Elsevier Journal."
4 posts
#10
Paper
: "My Paper Was Reviewed by an AI. It Was Soul-Crushing"
4 posts
Products Discussed in r/academia
Pen
9 reviews
#1
Caran d’Ache Ballpoint
5.0★ from 2 reviews
#2
Pilot G2
5.0★ from 1 review
#3
Pilot Heritage
5.0★ from 1 review
Statistics Book
4 reviews
#1
Calvin Dytham
4.0★ from 1 review
#2
Wackerly
4.0★ from 1 review
#3
Sheldon Ross
4.0★ from 1 review
Tablet
3 reviews
#1
reMarkable
4.5★ from 2 reviews
#2
Apple
5.0★ from 1 review
Flair Used in r/academia
#1
Research issues
: "How many Google Scholar citations do I need before I can get drunk and call myself a bohemian instead of a drunkard?"
10 posts
#2
Publishing
: "Springer Nature's Discover Series?"
7 posts
#3
Academic politics
: "Would it be ethical to try and reconstruct a prof's database who has deceased 20 years ago?"
4 posts
#4
Venting & griping
: "I’m worried I’m not cut out for academia and research."
4 posts
#5
Job market
: "Requesting suggestion on salary as an Assistant Professor"
4 posts
#6
Students & teaching
: "I want to teach at a university, but I absolutely do not want to do research. Is this a realistic career path?"
3 posts
#7
Mentoring
: "Unstable 3rd year of PhD - need fresh eyes"
3 posts
#8
Institutional structure/budgets/etc.
: "Decline of Ph.D. Admissions Could Imperil a ‘Generation of New Talent’ - NYT"
2 posts
Member Growth in r/academia
Yearly
+17k members(18.2%)
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About
GummySearch helps people research Reddit communities by organizing activity, growth, themes, and post-level signals into one place.
This page gives a focused view of r/academia, including current member size, discussion patterns, product reviews, and related communities to explore.
This data is synced periodically so insights stay current and useful for ongoing research.
Last updated: July 10, 2026