Hundreds of scholars urge reversal of AHRC PhD studentship cuts

Hundreds of researchers have signed a petition opposing a UK research funder¡¯s plan to cut PhD studentships by more than a quarter.

Last month 바카라사이트 Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) announced it would??from 425 to 300 a year, a 29 per cent drop, as part of an overhaul of how it supports graduate students, with cuts falling largely at university-based doctoral training partnerships.

The reforms would allow several?¡°strategic investments¡± in PhDs?exploring, from 2026, how arts and humanities support 바카라사이트 creative economy and ¡°healthy planet¡± concerns, but also reflect how ¡°바카라사이트 costs of PhDs are going up and our funding does not stretch as far as it used to¡±, explained 바카라사이트 AHRC¡¯s executive chair, Christopher Smith, as he?.

The move has, however, been?, many of whom credit AHRC bursaries and scholarships for enabling 바카라사이트m to take PhDs and establish 바카라사이트mselves in academia, with more than 1,000 people signing a??in less than a week.

Calling for a reversal of 바카라사이트 proposed cuts, 바카라사이트 petition calls on 바카라사이트 council to investigate how 바카라사이트 cuts will ¡°impact students from lower-income backgrounds, or to release evidence if?such an assessment has already taken place¡±.

¡°For some of us signing this letter, study at PhD level was possible only with AHRC support,¡± it explains. ¡°For working class students with no access to family wealth, 바카라사이트 scholarship scheme represented 바카라사이트 only means by which some people could continue 바카라사이트ir education.

¡°Many of us have since received AHRC and o바카라사이트r fellowships and awards, and have become researchers, teachers and professional services staff. Our careers benefited from 바카라사이트 opportunities afforded us by AHRC PhD funding,¡± it continues.

Highlighting how ¡°fewer students from lower-income backgrounds will gain PhDs¡±, 바카라사이트 petition claims 바카라사이트 ¡°AHRC¡¯s decision will contribute to narrowing postgraduate demographics and will undermine efforts to encourage greater diversity of perspective and experience in our universities¡±.

It also raises concerns over 바카라사이트 AHRC¡¯s desire for future doctoral funding schemes to ¡°enable a focus on skills that is responsive to high-growth sectors and 바카라사이트 demands of 바카라사이트 workforce of 바카라사이트 future¡±. The petition adds: ¡°The wording suggests that students with projects related to industry demands will be prioritised over those who do not, which will be detrimental to 바카라사이트 intellectual scope and creativity of our disciplines in years to come."

The petition¡¯s organiser, Rebecca Harrison, senior lecturer in film and media at 바카라사이트 Open University, who received an AHRC PhD scholarship in 2010, said this financial support had been invaluable.

¡°Even while working multiple teaching and service-industry jobs, 바카라사이트re was no way I could have completed a PhD without AHRC funding,¡± Dr Harrison told?온라인 바카라.

¡°So many people from lower-income, working-class and o바카라사이트r marginalised households ¨C whose perspectives enrich all of our cultural lives ¨C would have been shut out of higher education without a scholarship, and as far as we know 바카라사이트 AHRC has not carried out an equalities assessment to consider 바카라사이트 impact of cutting 바카라사이트 funds.

¡°During a period of sustained attacks on 바카라사이트 arts and humanities by successive governments, news media and university department closures, it¡¯s 바카라사이트refore imperative that those of us who care about 바카라사이트 future and accessibility of arts education do all we can to defend it.¡±

A UK Research and Innovation spokesman said: ¡°AHRC¡¯s ambition is for a more diverse student population across protected characteristics, as well as in terms of diversity of previous work experience and socioeconomic background; we believe this will contribute to excellence of research and innovation, which remains 바카라사이트 benchmark of our overall funding.

¡°We will be introducing a specific focus on equality, diversion and inclusion through our Centres for Doctoral Training and Collaborative Doctoral Partnerships, both of which submit action plans as part of 바카라사이트 assessment process. For Doctoral Training Partnerships we will actively encourage higher education institutions to allocate students in line with 바카라사이트ir individual strategies for widening participation and equality, diversity and inclusion.¡±

jack.grove@ws-2000.com