Postgraduate Students

Postgraduate study can be vastly different to undergraduate experience both socially and academically, it can also present unique difficulties, such as:

• Mental health: 30% of Master’s Students and 40-50% of PhD students experience mental health problems. Rates of depression and anxiety are up to six times higher among postgraduate students than the general population.
• Financing and financial support: Postgraduate taught courses saw a 10% increase in Masters fees when postgraduate loans were introduced, meaning the maximum loan available to domiciled students leaves little to nothing to live on after fees. For example, there is a complete lack of government funding equivalent to the fee/maintenance undergraduate bundle for postgraduate research students. https://russellgroup.ac.uk/media/5059/20rg-submission-to-he-commission-final-2-april.pdf
• Gender imbalance: female to male ratios of postgraduate students currently stand at 60:40 overall, according to a recent HEPI report. https://www.hepi.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Postgraduate-Education-in-the-UK.pdf
• Mode of study: just over half of UK-domiciled postgraduate starters were studying full time (53%) in 2020, meaning 47% were studying part-time, likely to balance other responsibilities such as work to fund studies or caring responsibilities for dependents (HEPI).
• International students and diversity: only 60% of postgraduate students are from the UK, with international students making up the majority of Masters studies (53%). (HEPI) There is also a decreased diversity within the UK’s international postgraduate cohort following the 2008 financial crash, Brexit and the abolition of post-study work visas. (HEPI)

There are lots of societies and activities you can get involved with, such as the below and many more, find the full list here:

Postgrad Society brings together postgraduates across all departments at the University of Liverpool. They aim to provide a network of support to encourage friendships and improve wellbeing in our community. You can join them for a range of different events.

IPH PGR society aims to bring together PGR students from the Institute of Population Health.

Guild Advice

Free, independent, non-judgemental advice on a range of topics including academic issues, wellbeing, accommodation, and university life:

PGR specific resources from Advice including appeals, plagiarism, dishonest use of data and PGR progress: https://www.liverpoolguild.org/advice/pgr

University of Liverpool PGR Toolbox:

Tools for research students to maintain records of their professional development during their research degree including

• Records of Supervisory Meetings
• A PGR Portfolio of Activity

https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/pgr-development/toolbox/

University of Liverpool PGR Wellbeing Page:

The Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences have put together information and links to internal and external resources to support the wellbeing of PGR students at Liverpool – most of this information is relevant to all students in any faculty. https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/humanities-and-social-sciences/postgraduate-research/pgrwellbeing/

UCU Postgraduate Employment:

UCU resources on postgraduate employment in teaching roles including the Postgraduate Employment Charter, a project between the UCU and the National Union of Students (NUS) calling for universities to recognise PG’s roles as employers and what this invokes: https://www.ucu.org.uk/postgradcharter

Postgrad student-led and focussed campaign wins include:

• Supporting UCU’s PGR Manifesto – Following a Change It submission and discussion at Guild Summit, students decided the Guild should support the UCU’s Manifesto to recognise PGRs as staff. By giving PGR’s full rights as staff, they become entitled to the same rights as those they work with and share responsibilities with.
• Securing Postgrad Bursaries – PGT fees have skyrocketed throughout the Uni sector. The Guild managed to secure more than £300,000 worth of new bursaries for current Liverpool-based and working-class students seeking to study on a Masters’ programme at University of Liverpool from 2019/20. These are the first significant bursaries for Home/EU Master’s students at University of Liverpool and should make Postgraduate study more accessible.