Abstract
Abstract Ethics can be understood as a set of virtues guiding human behavior to ensure that an individual’s actions respect and positively impact both the self and greater society. In academic research, discussions of ethics are often associated with ensuring that a study’s procedures affect research participants in humane ways. In this chapter, we reflect inward and consider the importance of applying ethical principles to the broader experience of being graduate students in applied linguistics. We consider this important since graduate students engage in different activities as part of their academic and professional development, all of which have the potential to affect themselves and others both positively and negatively. We begin by discussing three specific challenges graduate students face that pose ethical dilemmas. Next, we share examples from our own experience as graduate students in the United States, illustrating how we faced and attempted to respond to these challenges in our practice. Finally, we offer suggestions and highlight resources for graduate students to adopt a stance of reflexivity as an ethical practice to engage mindfully with their work and advocate for their own wellbeing.