Postgraduate and early career
Vocational institutions are winning the right to award PhDs, while professional doctorates are also expanding. But how compatible are academic and vocational focuses in research degree provision – and how easily can status disparities be overcome, asks Ben Upton
Early taste of academic precarity reported in biggest-ever survey of student-employees, although rectors’ conference questions reliability of a union-commissioned study
Government took away scheme ’hastily’ and ‘without convincing reason’, according to critics
Lacklustre employment for doctorate holders betrays ‘disconnect’ between academia and private sector employers, scholars say
Living allowances become key part of the recruitment pitch, as universities battle for research students and students wrestle with inflation
Working in the academy reminds Duncan Money of his brief time on a market stall. Time to swap it for a stable job that pays the bills
Fraud and fabrication are not rarities, suggests Australian survey of early career scholars
Agreement on pay hikes and better benefits for graduate student instructors would end biggest-ever job action in US higher education, although many workers dissent
Scholars split on whether reforms – part of a wider relaxation of rules on doctorates – will tackle research fraud or whether they aim at the wrong target
Broader coalition arrives without answers on a missing DKr300 million for humanities and social sciences, as universities prepare to debate lifelong learning reforms with a “gun pointed at us”
House of Lords Science and Technology Committee also criticises ‘unjustifiably high’ visa costs
Political scientist Jack Williams’ debut novel draws on his experiences as a PhD student at Princeton and Zurich
Joint programme eyes trifecta of research skills, disciplinary knowledge and business acumen
Top research universities have long cited their value in growing local economies, but massive graduate student walkout suggests a critical need to better protect the people who make the magic happen
Experts agree with vice-chancellor that financial support for doctoral candidates should be increased
Survey finds strong recovery in overall satisfaction with courses masks unease among some students about impact of big global recruitment drives
Tentative pact covers postdoctoral scholars and academic researchers, but leaves 300,000-student system in turmoil as talks continue with graduate students in teaching and research roles
Biggest-ever job action in US higher education reaches third week with hundreds of California professors promising to observe picket lines, and system suggesting it may halt their pay
Postgraduate researchers respond positively to online-offline support packages but purely online contact is less valued, finds Advance HE survey
Incoming staff and students risk losing jobs and funding over delayed checks in ‘sensitive’ fields
Data hint at progress in ‘improving the pipeline’ of female researchers
Experts warn shrinking pool of postgraduate researchers would be ‘pretty disastrous’
Walkout over wages and benefits – biggest in any US job sector this year – snarls 300,000-student system just weeks before autumn semester exams
One-off payments to those in need also among multimillion-pound package of support
PhD students with encouraging mums and dads less likely to be plagued by feelings of inferiority, survey suggests
‘Short horizons’ of grant-givers holding back early career researchers from disadvantaged backgrounds, says Glasgow principal
Survey of Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting attendees shows even those tipped for glory feel insecure and underdeveloped
Demand and quality questioned by businesses and universities as reforms leave majority of STEM courses at full length
The standardised test is graduate schools’ ideal measurement tool for the personality traits they seek in applicants, says John Gomez
New wave of funding schemes aims to counter ‘parachute research’ and brain drain
Median age at degree completion shrinks, although share of field’s graduates with job commitment does too, American Academy of Arts and Sciences finds
Huge study by Colorado researchers finds one in eight academics studied for their PhD at just five institutions
Riham Sheble claims she had to battle Warwick for study extensions
Government accused of moving goalposts over pre-election messaging, with social sciences and business master’s also set to lose out
First postgraduate students start at new HKUST campus, signalling beginning of huge changes in the area
Academics debate whether spike in interest is down to draft dodging or career reckonings prompted by upheaval
Salma al-Shehab given 34-year sentence over critical posts on Twitter
‘Under the radar’ practice of charging students to secure their places a sign of ‘increasingly deregulated admissions process’, says Jo Grady
Karl Andersson has long attracted controversy over his interest in sexually suggestive images of teenage boys, so did university investigate this?
University hopes to build more diverse faculty by enriching PhD process with skills typically acquired in prolonged postdoc slog
‘Wanking is not a research method; it is just wanking,’ says professor, as doctoral candidate chronicles how he ‘enjoyed’ provocative cartoon images of boys
While many early career academics are preoccupied with job security, the factor that most correlates with job satisfaction is a helpful boss
Post-92s and private universities more likely to offer incoming students the option of when they begin their course while Russell Group stick to traditional autumn start
Institution’s party chief dismissed in controversy over lecturers sent overseas to get doctoral qualifications
Giving adjuncts biweekly payments, internal status for permanent vacancies and tenure on promotion would all help, say Lisa Carver and Samantha King
Doctoral training centre sorry for email suggesting doctoral students work in fields and sell cosmetics to make ends meet
The doctorate must remain an apprenticeship. Better to cut PhD students’ teaching load by hiring more teaching staff, says Ruth Machen
Royal Netherlands Academy says extra funding and time cannot ‘truly compensate’ those who began their research careers in lockdown
Australia the biggest loser, universities warn, as protracted delays shepherd PhD applicants elsewhere
Large-scale study finds younger, female supervisors are more likely to produce PhD graduates who publish successfully
Even before Covid led to so many job losses among casual and fixed-term academic staff, mass insecurity was increasingly being recognised as a blight on the sector. But is there any realistic prospect of permanent contracts all round? Ben Upton examines the cases of Germany and the Netherlands
Copenhagen doctoral candidate Maria Toft explains how her campaign has led to sector-wide calls for research reform in Denmark
Manchester vice-president urges funders to address ‘low’ stipends but warns change in employment status would mean fewer studentships
New approach ‘a great outcome’ for those fearing impacts of the ‘most bone-headed idea ever’
While some fields have been exempted from a contentious imposition on international doctoral students, sector still fears overkill
European doctoral body says funders must recognise that current financial support is often insufficient for PhD researchers
Peking and Tsinghua join drive to smooth journey from undergraduate to postgraduate studies
Researchers suggest universities should do more to help researchers adapt after time overseas
UK has lost market share to research rivals despite taking on many more self-funded Chinese doctoral students, report finds
Meeting the continent’s need for more doctoral graduates is hampered by a lack of resources and qualified supervisors, says Teklu Abate Bekele
