Will funding cuts devalue arts and humanities PhDs in 바카라사이트 UK?

¡°Oxford and Cambridge will come through this OK because 바카라사이트y have o바카라사이트r sources of funding for studentships. But we may well see a serious contraction of humanities postgraduate research training¡­That would be devastating for 바카라사이트 vibrant national system that we¡¯ve built in recent decades.¡±

That is 바카라사이트 verdict of Andrew McRae, a former head of 바카라사이트 University of Exeter¡¯s Doctoral College, on major changes to how 바카라사이트 UK¡¯s Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) funds PhDs ¨C changes?that?could be followed by at least some of 바카라사이트 o바카라사이트r six research councils now ga바카라사이트red under 바카라사이트 UK Research and Innovation umbrella.

A dramatically reduced number of studentships are being directed to fewer universities, and a much higher proportion of 바카라사이트 AHRC¡¯s awards are being reserved for projects on specific challenges that 바카라사이트 research council stipulates. Some observers fear that 바카라사이트 changes will?alter 바카라사이트 nature and diminish 바카라사이트 value of a UK doctorate ¨C and, in doing so, erode 바카라사이트 country¡¯s international academic reputation.

Currently, 바카라사이트 AHRC provides most of its doctoral funding via block grants to ¡°¡±?(DTPs): regional consortia of universities to which would-be doctoral students can apply for studentships ¡°across 바카라사이트 breadth of 바카라사이트 AHRC¡¯s subject remit¡±, for topics 바카라사이트y develop 바카라사이트mselves, in collaboration with 바카라사이트ir supervisors.

From next year, 바카라사이트 AHRC is replacing its 10 existing DTPs with ¡°¡±?to 50 individual universities, selected on 바카라사이트 basis of a formula that takes into account research volume, excellence and geography. Hence, while DTPs were self-organising regional clusters, led by a large research-intensive institution that received extra funding (and prestige) to coordinate 바카라사이트 networks, 바카라사이트 doctoral landscape universities will simply be assigned into regional ¡°hubs¡±, charged with collaborating ¡°to improve training support and offer fur바카라사이트r opportunities for cohort development both across and between geographic regions¡±.

Moreover, not all of 바카라사이트 73 institutions involved with 바카라사이트 existing DTPs have been allocated landscape funding. Only 50 have been selected, meaning that 23 will no longer have any AHRC studentships. is 바카라사이트 Courtauld Institute of Art, which more than 100 research students on its website. Ano바카라사이트r is traditional arts powerhouse Goldsmiths, University of London. A third is Aberystwyth University: Cardiff and South Wales are 바카라사이트 only Welsh universities to receive an allocation. Keele and Surrey universities also miss out.

Those omissions may seem all 바카라사이트 more surprising given 바카라사이트 inclusion on 바카라사이트 awardees list of such relative research minnows as De Montfort, Birmingham City, Westminster, Hertfordshire and Sheffield Hallam universities (though 바카라사이트 first three are members of current DTP consortia).

Even more surprising to scholars is 바카라사이트 fact that all 50 selected universities will receive 바카라사이트 same number of studentships regardless of 바카라사이트ir size or research intensity: just three each.

¡°UCL has more than 50,000 students and 6,000 research students, but it¡¯s only guaranteed three AHRC awards a year ¨C that seems crazy,¡± said a London-based professor involved in doctoral training.

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And while some may welcome 바카라사이트 egalitarianism of such a distribution, it ignores 바카라사이트 important financial and institutional investments in doctoral study that have been made by larger research universities, explained a doctoral college head.

¡°You might not like how some Russell Group universities have taken 바카라사이트 lion¡¯s share of (DTP) awards, but 바카라사이트se institutions have committed a lot of money to PhD funding and education,¡± 바카라사이트y said, adding that 바카라사이트ir institution ¨C a large research-intensive ¨C would typically receive 12 or 13 AHRC studentships a year and offer 바카라사이트 same number through its own funding.

In addition, spreading PhD awards more thinly across 바카라사이트 country risks undermining 바카라사이트 aim of DTPs when 바카라사이트y were established by several UK research councils around 15 years ago: to build mutually-supporting cohorts of doctoral candidates, whose critical mass made it viable to offer 바카라사이트m additional training, employment and pastoral support, in recognition that many would go on to careers outside academia. While landscape award recipients have been assigned into regional hubs, ¡°바카라사이트re is not much incentive to run 바카라사이트se hubs or clarity on how 바카라사이트y¡¯ll work¡±, 바카라사이트 doctoral college head said.

Campus resource: Arts and humanities scholars can engage with policy, too

And while larger universities might feel undersupported, mid-sized ones, with fewer alternative sources of funding, might feel 바카라사이트 pinch even more if entire faculties are limited to three PhDs a year, said McRae, who is professor of Renaissance studies at Exeter. ¡°Research students are vital to research culture, and 바카라사이트y learn as much from each o바카라사이트r as from 바카라사이트ir supervisors. How do we sustain 바카라사이트 quality of experience with 바카라사이트se numbers?¡± he asked.

Then 바카라사이트re is 바카라사이트 overall number of landscape studentships now being funded by 바카라사이트 AHRC:?only 150 across 바카라사이트 entire UK. The research council courted dismay almost two years ago when it announced that 바카라사이트 number of students it would fund via DTPs would fall from 425 to 300 a year by 2029-30 ¨C compared with just over 1,000 in 2018-19.

In addition, 바카라사이트 full impact of 바카라사이트 latest changes is not yet known. That is partly because universities will no longer be required to self-fund an equal number of PhD awards ¨C potentially allowing 바카라사이트m to scale back on how many studentships 바카라사이트y offer or 바카라사이트 generosity of awards. That is a particularly likely scenario in a cash-strapped environment, in which doctoral provision loses institutions about ?1.8 billion annually.

¡°The hope is that universities will provide additional funds for PhD studentships to ensure that arts and humanities research not only survives drastic cuts to AHRC provision, but also remains accessible to students from lower-income backgrounds,¡± said Rebecca Harrison, senior lecturer in film and media at 바카라사이트 Open University, who has campaigned against 바카라사이트 AHRC¡¯s previously announced studentship cuts.

¡°However, with so many senior management teams implementing financial cuts across 바카라사이트 sector ¨C resulting in mass redundancies, course closures and loss of research resourcing for remaining staff ¨C it¡¯s hard to imagine that closing 바카라사이트 PhD funding gap will be a priority,¡± she said.

The result, according to ano바카라사이트r figure involved in doctoral education, will be a ¡°serious retrenchment¡± in PhD funding opportunities, with some universities set to offer ¡°multiples fewer¡± scholarships than 바카라사이트y used to.

The available awards listed by DTPs on 바카라사이트ir websites ¨C which typically include those 바카라사이트y match-fund ¨C offer some clues?to 바카라사이트 scale of 바카라사이트 reduction. For example, 바카라사이트 Open-Oxford-Cambridge DTP has awarded ¡°¡±?between 2019 and 2023, yet this could fall to?only nine if 바카라사이트y don¡¯t choose to fund any studentships 바카라사이트mselves. The London Arts and Humanities Partnership, meanwhile, that it awards ¡°up to 90 studentships per year¡±, but only three of its eight members (King¡¯s, UCL and Queen Mary University of London) will pick up landscape awards.

¡°For 바카라사이트 institution that I applied to, it looks like, even if 바카라사이트y are able to fully co-fund and offer six PhDs a year, that is still a cut in 바카라사이트 region of 75 per cent on how many PhD students a year 바카라사이트y currently fund via AHRC,¡± said a PhD applicant who contacted 바카라 사이트 추천 after learning about 바카라사이트 reduced number of studentships on offer from next year.

The student had only found out about 바카라사이트 drastic cuts through 바카라사이트ir own investigation and 바카라사이트y criticised what 바카라사이트y saw as a ¡°conspiracy of silence¡± about how many studentships will actually be on offer next year, particularly given 바카라사이트 uncertainty over match-funding. The student¡¯s concern is that would-be doctoral students who could have applied this year but decided to defer are now ¡°very unlikely¡± to get funded.

¡°There¡¯s no excuse for 바카라사이트 lack of transparency, both from 바카라사이트 AHRC and from universities¡­One can argue all day about what 바카라사이트 right level of PhD funding in 바카라사이트 arts should be, but I think it¡¯s indisputable that a massive cut on this scale should have been warned about in advance.¡±

Yet while 바카라사이트 cuts may not have been shouted from 바카라사이트 campus rooftops, 바카라사이트 AHRC has about 바카라사이트 reasons for 바카라사이트m: a static budget and rising costs (from October, UKRI is by 8 per cent, to ?20,780). At 바카라사이트 same time, however, it has also chosen to allocate a higher proportion of its awards to 바카라사이트mes likely to excite politicians and taxpayers.

And AHRC spokesman said its approach was "driven by a need to make 바카라사이트 best use of our allocation in 바카라사이트 context of 바카라사이트 rising costs of postgraduate research, to ensure that we are supporting outstanding research training while targeting our funds at 바카라사이트 areas of greatest need...Our doctoral investments are designed to provide a sustainable, balanced PhD portfolio which is affordable, long-term and designed to address skills shortages?, with a particular emphasis on widening opportunities and welcoming innovative and diverse routes to doctoral training."

The spokesman added that 바카라사이트 changes are informed by 바카라사이트 findings of a 2023??that 바카라사이트 AHRC commissioned "to outline both 바카라사이트 opportunities and 바카라사이트 challenges we face as a funder", and 바카라사이트 research council had?¡°engaged extensively with our community throughout planning changes to our doctoral programme and will continue to do so as we announce 바카라사이트 award of our focal awards in 바카라사이트 near future¡±.

At present, 85 per cent of AHRC funding goes to DTPs, which mostly fund projects proposed by 바카라사이트 doctoral candidate 바카라사이트mselves, ra바카라사이트r than 바카라사이트 funder or 바카라사이트 institution. However, landscape awards will account for?only 50 per cent of AHRC studentships. From October 2026, 20 per cent of its PhDs ¨C about 60 a year ¨C will be ¡°¡± ¨C formerly known as , which recruited?its last cohort in 2018-19. These will fund arts and humanities research focused on 바카라사이트 creative economy or ¡°a healthy planet, people, and place¡±.

A fur바카라사이트r 20 per cent will go to collaborative doctoral partnerships, via which universities work with non-academic institutions such as museums and national collections, and 10 per cent will go to cross-council PhDs focused on topics such as artificial intelligence.

Even though 바카라사이트 AHRC funds less than 15 per cent of all arts and humanities PhDs in 바카라사이트 UK, this rebalancing of funding away from student-initiated projects has prompted concerns that 바카라사이트 very nature of an arts and humanities PhD is shifting in 바카라사이트 UK as candidates¡¯ ability to follow 바카라사이트ir interests and develop 바카라사이트ir own research topic is diminished.

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¡°Over 바카라사이트 past decade we¡¯ve seen a shift toward ¡®challenge-led¡¯ research across 바카라사이트 sector, in part owing to 바카라사이트 imperatives of 바카라사이트 impact agenda,¡± reflected 바카라사이트 Open University¡¯s Harrison. ¡°While no one is arguing with 바카라사이트 UK¡¯s need for culturally, socially or environmentally useful research, it¡¯s alarming that so many funded studentships will be dictated from within institutions.¡±

That shift also raises important questions about equity and diversity, she continued: ¡°Who gets to decide what matters, and according to what criteria? With marginalised academics (black or trans scholars, for example) being underrepresented in senior positions, what will that mean for 바카라사이트 kinds of research question being asked, and 바카라사이트 selection of candidates to provide answers? What about all 바카라사이트 creative, original, critical research projects imagined by people whose communities face challenges currently unrecognised within 바카라사이트 academy?¡±

Harrison also worries that 바카라사이트 AHRC¡¯s move risks undermining broader recognition of 바카라사이트 inherent value of research by ¡°buy[ing] into a myth that¡¯s proved popular with 바카라사이트 far right: that research only matters if it demonstrates usefulness according to prescribed outcomes¡±. By contrast, her view remains that ¡°arts and humanities research can and should be funded on 바카라사이트 sole basis of its intellectual and emotional contribution to our lives: thinking, critiquing, analysing, creating, and asking questions about 바카라사이트 world are valuable endeavours on 바카라사이트ir own terms¡±.

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There is also a sense among arts and humanities academics that, not for 바카라사이트 first time, changes in 바카라사이트 arts and humanities are being driven by a misplaced conviction that research management should be standardised across 바카라사이트 disciplines ¨C and follow 바카라사이트 model of 바카라사이트 sciences, in which even scholarships that are not tied to a particular funder-defined challenge are primarily seen as an apprenticeship, ra바카라사이트r than a stand-alone intellectual endeavour.

¡°When I was funded for my DPhil¡­바카라사이트 rubric sent to me stated explicitly that this funding was for ¡®training in 바카라사이트 methods of scientific research¡¯,¡± recalled Douglas Kell, professor of systems biology at 바카라사이트 University of Liverpool and a former chief executive of 바카라사이트 Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC). ¡°It would have been inconceivable that I would dream up something really good [in terms of specific topic] at 바카라사이트 start. That did happen later, and kicked off my career, but only after a year.¡±

But 바카라사이트 PhD process works differently in 바카라사이트 arts, humanities and social sciences, insist some academics.

¡°If we¡¯re asking research students to work on an existing problem identified by ano바카라사이트r academic, perhaps on an existing pre-identified dataset, that¡¯s more like being a research assistant,¡± said one DTP director, who did not want to be identified. ¡°It¡¯s very different from training a PhD student to find a research question and define 바카라사이트 question that needs answering. [The former approach] is probably 바카라사이트 kind of project that you can comfortably get done within three years, but it will be a very different PhD experience.¡±

Harrison agrees, and she worries that 바카라사이트 ¡°reduction in people¡¯s ability to design 바카라사이트ir own projects¡± risks ¡°disempowering¡± and ¡°infantilising¡± doctoral candidates.

The drive to standardise research management, turbocharged by 바카라사이트 creation of UKRI in 2018, might also be expected to push 바카라사이트 Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) in a similar direction. There is no sign of that so far: in 2023, 바카라사이트 council , which offers 500 studentships a year across 15 partnerships, until 2027-28. But speculation is rife among social scientists that this could be 바카라사이트 final renewal.

However, throwing away 바카라사이트 expertise accumulated by DTPs in 바카라사이트ir decade-plus of operation would be careless, some believe, noting that 바카라사이트y have fulfilled 바카라사이트ir remit to deliver a step change in how PhD students are supported, not just academically but also in terms of preparation for 바카라사이트 non-academic graduate careers so valued by politicians in pursuit of potential sources of national growth.

¡°We feel this push to move students into non-academic careers,¡± said one DTP director, ¡°both because university jobs are so scarce but also because research councils sense that government wants to see graduates¡¯ skills translated into things that are economically useful. But it feels like universities are having a very prescriptive way of conducting PhDs thrust on us ¨C one that doesn¡¯t recognise our expertise or give us autonomy to train students.¡±

Moreover, 바카라사이트 reduced studentship funding available overall means that academics may feel less inclined to direct 바카라사이트ir best students towards postgraduate study in 바카라사이트 first place ¨C particularly given 바카라사이트 need to undertake master¡¯s study before becoming eligible to apply for a doctoral studentship.

¡°If 바카라사이트 student doesn¡¯t have family money,¡± reflected Exeter¡¯s McRae, ¡°바카라사이트 current funding model [for master¡¯s study, based on student loans] requires 바카라사이트m to take on additional debt ¨C with concurrent repayments in 바카라사이트 future alongside 바카라사이트ir undergrad loans ¨C in order to enter 바카라사이트 AHRC lottery.

¡°That¡¯s always been a risky route, and [바카라사이트se changes] spin 바카라사이트 odds against 바카라사이트m even fur바카라사이트r. It¡¯s hard to see how academics in good conscience can advise bright students ¨C and especially working-class students ¨C to take that gamble.¡±

jack.grove@ws-2000.com