The UK Council for Graduate Education’s BAME Participation in Postgraduate Research Working Group has published the first edition of a thematic bibliography focusing on BAME (Black Asian and Minority Ethnic) Participation in Postgraduate Education.

The thematic bibliography covers a broad range of issues and challenges related to BAME participation in postgraduate education including:

• Intersectionality: Ethnicities, Nationalities, Gender, Religion
• Career Progression: Disparities in Furthering an Academic Career After PhD for BAME Doctoral Students
• Institutional Racism
• History of Black Participation in Higher Education
• Lack of BME Staff

The thematic bibliography is the result of a comprehensive literature review by Sana Iqbal, a doctoral candidate at Coventry University currently undertaking a work placement with the UKCGE.

The review revealed the following gaps in the literature:

• No research on BME doctoral students that can present a comparison between different ethnic groups about the non-academic challenges encountered by them such as poor well-being despite the heterogeneity in BME across different ethnicities
• Comparison between London-based and other UK-based universities in terms of what support systems are available to BME PGRs is very limited
• In-depth study of challenges faced by BME PGRs due to their religious beliefs in academia
• Comparison between UK-domiciled and international BME students is almost missing, especially in terms of the relationship between academic performance and their personal/​social lives (social integration)
• No significant literature on evidence-based inclusion initiatives undertaken by different universities to foster an institution’s social and academic environments for BME PhD students. (How can the universities in the UK present stats related to their BME/ ethnic minority body on their websites? Advice/​suggestion: https://www.affordablecollegesonline.org/college-resource-center/doctoral-programs-women-of-color/)
• There is a need to explore the effect of one’s ethnicity on the rates of withdrawal from doctoral programmes.

Download the bibliography >

Contribute to the Next Edition of the Thematic Bibliography

If you are aware of literature that has been omitted from this edition of the Thematic Bibliography or that will begin to fill the gaps identified by this review please email references to: owen.gower@ukcge.ac.uk

Acknowledgement

The UK Council for Graduate Education gratefully acknowledges the research of Sana Iqbal (PhD Researcher, Coventry University) in producing this resource. This research was made possible through the generous support of Coventry University and their Research Residencies programme.

About the UKCGE’s BAME Participation in Postgraduate Research Working Group

The UKCGE’s BAME Participation in Postgraduate Research Working Group was created with the following aims:

• To deepen our understanding of the statistical patterns in BME participation at PGR level.
• To draw up a literature review on what is known about BME participation.
• To make policy recommendations on the basis of this analysis.
• And to identify, share and celebrate effective practices that have encouraged and supported BME participation in postgraduate research.

The working group is staffed by the following members:

• Dr Rochelle Rowe-Wiseman | Academic Development Lead University Colleg London
• Professor Rosemary Deem | Vice-Principal and Dean of the Doctoral School, Royal Holloway University of London
• Dr Jason Arday | Director of Student Recruitment and Experience, and Senior Teaching Fellow at the Centre for Education Studies University of Warwick
• Dr Karis Campion | Research Associate | Centre on Dynamics of Ethnicity (CoDE), The University of Manchester
• Dr Aviah Sarah Day | Research Assistant on Sexual Violence at Festivals Project, Durham Law School, Durham University
• Professor Uvanney Maylor | Institute for Research in Education, University of Bedfordshire
• Professor Lubna Nasir | School of Veterinary Medicine, College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow

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