Socioeconomic status and class dynamics

The following is the script of a keynote lecture given by UKCGE’s Chair, Dr Rebekah Smith McGloin, as part of The Bob Burgess Memorial Lecture series. It took place on Friday July 4th 2025 at the ARC, University of Glasgow.

Equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) remains an important topic for the postgraduate sector. Higher Education providers are aiming to increase access, participation, and success for populations who are historically underrepresented in academic spaces. Conversations about EDI in the postgraduate sector are often motivated by the contrast between undergraduate and postgraduate statistics: postgraduate education is lagging behind in widening access and participation. Below is a list of 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.

Dr Rebekah Smith McGloin (Nottingham Trent University) and Professor Julie Sheldon (Liverpool John Moores University) provide an introduction to the EDEPI Project, which is helping to increase access and participation in doctoral education. There are some useful tools and resources, linked below, which have emerged from the work and which are free to access.

This framework is an output from a Collaborative Enhancement Project supported and funded by the QAA.