Postgraduate and early career

Academic says glut of gloomy research on postgraduate welfare could have unhelpful impact

Exceptional times require a more proactive and holistic approach to designing programmes for early career professionals, says Stephane Shepherd

Only losers focus on excellent science. Better to cook the books, spin the wheel and trust to cronies, say Robert de Vries and John Jerrim

Crowded job market is only one reason for surge in applicants

Thousands of PhD dissertations by Durham University available on Kindle services following mass scraping of online repository

Research finds that having just one scholar from an underrepresented group has a positive impact on academic goals of doctoral students in the same department

Three professors shortlisted for Times Higher Education’s Research Supervisor of the Year award discuss their approach to mentoring

It makes no sense for universities to control all pre-specialism, hospital-based training, says Fistra Janrio Tandirerung

Male PhD students reporting higher levels of psychological distress than women, survey says

Distributing financial aid based on identity or academic attainment leaves many poor people excluded from the academy, says Ryan Coogan

Visa applications to Australia put in too-hard basket, as waiting times approach 30 months

Professors accused of misconduct brought down by online complaints

Assessment comes after visa figures suggest surge in demand from India despite pandemic

The PhD viva is one of the most demanding situations students will find themselves in – and now this process has moved online. Alison Baverstock offers tips for chairing a Zoom viva that is as stress-free as possible for all involved

Learned society calls on UKRI to boost support for those hit by travel disruption

Event hears calls for improved careers services in universities to help steer PhD students and postdocs on opportunities

Scientists ask why major journal published findings that female mentors may be bad for your career, even after reviewers pointed out flaws in the paper’s methodology

Stalled research driving students into poverty and bleak career prospects, paper warns

Survey of taught postgraduates suggests many were unhappy with handling of move online 

Extra funding will be prioritised for those in final year or those with ongoing support needs, with other students urged to adapt their projects to existing deadlines

THE’s new Careers Clinic series brings together the great and the good of higher education to answer a burning careers question

Bleak economic outlook is swaying PhD candidates towards a university career despite sector difficulties, indicates a survey of UK research students

Those who make the loudest noises about equality can be among the most myopic about the evils of academic inbreeding, says Bruce Macfarlane

Sydney PhD graduate reflects on how his surprise disability gave rise to an academic career and better prospects for fellow sufferers

Civilised adults should not have to demonstrate that they can stand up to bullying before being offered a job, says an anonymous academic 

Many early career researchers saw their working hours fall, but one in nine scientists worked 60 hours a week, says Vitae study

Students and academics doubt government directive will shift long-standing power dynamic

No matter how hard they work, thousands will be dumped out of the labour market during the pandemic, say Harry Pettit and Alexandra Dales

Today is World Mental Health Day, and Matthew Flinders argues that although changes in individual behaviour can help, systemic change is really needed to ease the mental health burden on academics

Women on fixed-term contracts twice as likely to have moved forward or delayed plans to start a family compared with permanently employed

Urgent action is needed to help doctoral candidates whose research has been halted by Covid-related travel bans, says Lorena Gazzotti

Several institutions will not be enrolling doctoral students in autumn 2021 because of the pandemic

Figures from latest Education at a Glance report show low share of women among international doctoral students    

Pilot scheme to promote diversity in doctoral study will also include anonymisation of applications

Studying for a master’s or PhD does not necessarily lead to higher earnings, UK study finds

The normalisation of burning out should no longer be accepted, say academics who have experienced it, particularly with coronavirus exacerbating the problem

Job security, research funding and work-life balance for young academics have all been worsened by the pandemic, say four academics  

Latest Education at a Glance report says that impact of pandemic on international recruitment is about more than fee income 

Study finds economics PhD students who sought extra comments and seminar presentations published in higher impact journals   

Experts see move to allow applicants from beyond Europe to apply for UKRI funding as a key plank of the UK’s post-Brexit research base

Strength of supervision more important than prior ability in determining doctoral performance, Australian study indicates

Survey finds that rates of depression and anxiety more common among low-income, female, ethnic minority, LGBTQ and arts students

Assessing doctoral candidates’ published papers instead would teach more useful skills and improve morale, says Noam Schimmel

Fees are likely to have been set before the Covid-19 crisis, but the change could help university finances if student numbers fall  

Early-career and female researchers experience the greatest mental health toll, Australian surveys find

Administrators must stop asking faculty of colour to do more than our fair share and then punishing us for it, says Josh Hiller

Short-term financial squeeze could litter sector with aborted projects and careers, report warns

The Research Australia report has exposed the fault lines in health research funding, says Ross Coppel 

National Science Foundation’s new emphasis in postgraduate funding seen as backsliding on diversity

Managers must acknowledge that supervising some types of doctoral candidates is more labour-intensive, say Roger Watson and David Thompson

Australian expert highlights evidence indicating that good grades do not necessarily translate into success in doctoral training

Falling staff-student ratios and low quality in some graduate programmes are prompting concern that more will mean worse, says Zhang Ruomei

UKRI says research organisations will have ‘greater financial incentive’ to invest in supporting scholars

Physical events are not going away but they must open up and embrace the best of the digital world, says Jim Woodgett

Incentives draw students wary of Covid-19 and overseas visa hassles 

Aspirants are convinced they can succeed against the odds because they have always succeeded in the past, analysis of ‘quit lit’ suggests

Most doctoral candidates show ‘clear preference’ for academic career despite high exit levels from sector, finds Higher Education Policy Institute study

As online teaching increases, cutting casualised and short-term staff will cost more down the line, conference hears

Young scholars’ lack of reputation and digital prominence risks seeing them excluded from online conferences, says Scott Rich

The ability for PhD students to research previous students’ experience with particular examiners could reduce bad practice