Admissions and doctoral access

This resource addressing accessing and entering into postgraduate study was created by Generation Delta, one of the 13 Research England-funded projects focused on racial equity and widening access to postgraduate education, to address entering into PGR studies. 

Research suggests there are notable differences in approaches to doctoral admissions and the criteria employed to select doctoral candidates. Through interviews with 65 academic staff involved in doctoral admissions at the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, this paper examines how these different approaches to admissions play out in different disciplines, driving the disciplinary divergence in conceptualisations of the PhD and, in turn, admissions practices. 

This guidance and support from The University of Leeds as a portion of the Yorkshire Consortium for Equity in Doctoral Education (YCEDE) addresses the legal and practical things to consider when proposing or implementing positive action within doctoral recruitment.

The template addressing project planning was created by the Yorkshire Consortium for Equity in Doctoral Education (YCEDE), one of the 13 Research England-Funded projects focused on racial equity and widening access to postgraduate education.

This blog post on affirmative action in US universities and colleges was written as a portion of the Yorkshire Consortium for Equity in Doctoral Education (YCEDE), one of the 13 Research England-funded projects focused on racial equity and widening access to postgraduate education.

This study on conceptions of ideal doctoral attributes was undertaken as a portion of the Yorkshire Consortium for Equity in Doctoral Education (YCEDE), one of the 13 Research England-funded projects on racial equity and widening access to postgraduate education.

Equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) remains an important topic for the postgraduate sector. This resource includes key facts and figures on widening access and participation for historically underrepresented communities in postgraduate education as the UKCGE prepares for the 2nd UKCGE Conference on Equity, Diversity and Inclusion in Postgraduate Research focused on Race and Ethnicity.

Louise Banahene PFHEA MBE is the Director of Educational Engagement and Student Success at University of Leeds. Louise is an experienced higher education leader with a focus on equity, access, and inclusion in student journeys. Her experience led her to be awarded an MBE in 2018 for services to Higher Education. She was awarded the Principal Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy in 2021.

This document was created by YCEDE and outlines the constraints and enablers to improving equity in doctoral admissions, as well as suggesting potential initiatives to address these challenges. There is a separate document available for CDTs/​DTPs.

This document was created by YCEDE and outlines the constraints and enablers to improving equity in doctoral admissions, as well as suggesting potential initiatives to address these challenges. There is a separate document available for Schools & Departments.