biostudies-literatureUnknown25(1)Steele AImpostor phenomenon is a pervasive experience amongst doctoral students with negative consequences on mental health and persistence in graduate school. While the psychological consequences of impostor phenomenon are well known, there are open questions about how structures in graduate education (e.g., policies and practices) inform doctoral students' experience with impostor phenomenon. In this study, we interviewed 20 biology doctoral students at two R1 institutions about their experiences with impostor phenomenon during graduate school. We used an abductive qualitative content analysis approach to identify the structures that contributed to their impostor feelings and understand how these structures may lead to impostorism. In our analysis of the interviews, we applied the framework of iCBE life sciences educationar2https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/S-EPMC12930258biostudies-literatureEmbedded Gatekeeping, Comparativeness, and Hidden Curriculum Create Feelings of Impostorism for Biology Doctoral Students.PMC12930258Reid JWLane AKSteele ABoutouli GDSwanson LfalseEmbedded Gatekeeping, Comparativeness, and Hidden Curriculum Create Feelings of Impostorism for Biology Doctoral Students.Impostor phenomenon is a pervasive experience amongst doctoral students with negative consequences on mental health and persistence in graduate school. While the psychological consequences of impostor phenomenon are well known, there are open questions about how structures in graduate education (e.g., policies and practices) inform doctoral students' experience with impostor phenomenon. In this study, we interviewed 20 biology doctoral students at two R1 institutions about their experiences with impostor phenomenon during graduate school. We used an abductive qualitative content analysis approach to identify the structures that contributed to their impostor feelings and understand how these structures may lead to impostorism. In our analysis of the interviews, we applied the framework of i2026-01-01T00:00:00Z2026 Mar2026-07-16T23:20:18.594Z2026-07-12T03:11:13.674ZS-EPMC129302584152919010.1187/cbe.24-11-0264