FOI2023/00115: PhD Drop Out Rates
Case reference FOI2023/00115
Published 3 July 2023
Request
Request Received: 8 March 2023
FOI Act 2000 Request
Anecdotal evidence suggests that overseas full-time PhD students in receipt of PhD scholarship funding from foreign governments / industry and self-funded, home (UK domicile) full-time PhD students make strenuous efforts to ensure that their PhD theses are delivered promptly. Having individually invested large sums of money, or having been funded by foreign governments, who in turn have a lien on the students post-PhD completion, there is a deep personal commitment to ensuring completion of the PhD programmes that may be missing within (some) other PhD scholarship funded students.
Recent FOI Act enquiries sent to several UK universities has uncovered concerns that UK universities are not keeping detailed or adequate records of PhD drop-out rates and completion rates. Without such records being kept, and analysed by the universities and the scholarship funding bodies, concerns then arise over future PhD scholarship allocations by the UKRI / Councils.
There is I suggest growing evidence that within some universities and some academic disciplines, PhD students supported by UKRI / UKRC funding grants of approximately £60,000 have failed to complete their PhD research projects and have (a) withdrawn from the PhD research programmes after drawing down all scholarship funds but without having submitting their PhD theses for examination, and (b) other PhD students having received 3 years PhD funding fail to deliver their completed PhD until 6-7-8 years. Data provided by the Department of the economy within Northern Ireland in 2018 indicated that within NI, 15% of all PhD students withdraw from their PhDs and only 15% of students completed their PhDs within four years. If evidence within NI and the anecdotal evidence provided by some other PhD students is confirmed by statistical data, then concerns materialise in relation to the adequacy of the administration, management and supervision of large tranches of UK treasury / taxpayer's funds and in relation to the monitoring of the PhD awards process, the selection of PhD scholarship students and the adequacy of the supervision provided by the UK universities who are recipients of some £14,000 in fees from the UKRI / UKRC PhD scholarship packages.
FOI Act Question 1
How many full-time Home (UK domicile) and overseas PhD students undertaking PhD research in UK universities funded by each of the research councils (named below) have withdrawn or dropped-out of their PhD programmes without submitting their PhD theses for examination in each of the following years:
FOI Act Question 2
How many full-time Home (UK domicile) PhD students undertaking PhD research within UK universities, funded by the Research Council (named below) have failed to deliver their PhD theses for examination within four-years of commencing their PhD) over the last ten years)?
FOI Act Question 3
How many full-time overseas (UK domicile) PhD students undertaking PhD research within UK universities, funded by the Research Council (named below) have failed to deliver their PhD theses for examination within four-years of commencing their PhD (over the last ten years)?
FOI Act Question 4
Please provide links to all generic, statistical details of PhD drop-out and completion rates included within any annual reports or other reports within which the UKRI / individual Councils have investigated PhD value-for-money / best value practices / drop-out rates over the last ten academic years.
Sent to the following Institute / Research Councils for FOI Act replies:
1 - UKRI
2 - AHRC
3 - ESRC
4 - STFC
5 - EPSRC
6 - RE
Response
Response Sent: 6 April 2023
Full details of this response are provided in the attached document.
Documents
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