The latest HEFCE research looks at who goes on to postgraduate courses and when they do it. 

HEFCE find that the last recession had an impact on when students start postgraduate courses, but that disadvantaged students are least likely to go on, even allowing for a break in study.

The HEFCE publication ​‘Transitions into Postgraduate Study’ looks at the rates at which undergraduates progress into postgraduate study, and for the first time we consider how this is affected by breaks in study.

About one in eight graduates typically start postgraduate courses immediately after finishing their undergraduate degree. However, large numbers return to university after a break in study. For those graduating in 2002-03, the proportion going into postgraduate study (the transition rate) was 32 per cent after ten years.

To read the report please visit the HEFCE website here