Doctoral programme enrolments fall 9% in five years

The number of students enrolling for PhD and other doctoral programmes has dropped by 9 per cent in the past five years, new figures show, prompting calls for more financial support for postgraduates.

The Higher Education Authority (HEA), in partnership with the representative bodies for universities and institutes of technology, launched on Tuesday a new National Framework on Doctoral Education, which seeks to guarantee consistency in the quality of PhDs obtained in Ireland.

But it warned that measures were needed to try to reverse the decline in doctorate enrolments from 8,641 in 2009/10 to 7,898 in the last academic year.

Financial support for postgraduates was cut in the December 2011 budget so that postgraduate students enrolling from September 2012 no longer qualified for maintenance grants but could get fee grants on a means-tested basis.

One of the biggest drops has been in the area of science, mathematics and computing, with a 22 per cent decrease in new enrolments over the past five years. This is attributed partly to the fact that computer and science graduates are quickly snapped up by employers – in a loss to the university talent pool.

The lack of additional scholarship or research funding from either Government or industry has also hindered the growth of postgraduate numbers.

Largest decline

The figures show the largest decline in enrolments have been in services (25 per cent), agriculture and veterinary (18 per cent), humanities and arts (15 per cent) and engineering, manufacturing and construction (11 per cent).

Social science, business and law has remained unchanged, while, health and welfare has bucked the trend with an 11 per cent increase in doctoral enrolments. Education is also up – by 49 per cent – to 468 enrolments in 2013/14.

HEA chief executive Tom Boland said: "It is accepted that Ireland's economic development has been largely based on tax and talent. We cannot take the talent pool argument for granted, however.

“We need to ensure that Ireland retains and attracts the best possible PhD candidates from at home and abroad and that the value of that award is internationally recognised.”

Because it takes up to six years between enrolment and graduation, there is still a positive growth trend for PhD graduations but this is expected to move into the negative as the current student cohort works its way through the system.

The new quality framework seeks to ensure not only consistency across institutions in awarding standards but also that PhD students are equipped with transferable skills such as communications and ability to work in teams.