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Posted March 6, 2012

Is postgraduate study being neglected?

According to a recent report by the 1994 Group (which represents 19 internationally-renowned UK universities) higher education reforms will cause "great and lasting" damage to postgraduate study.

This report, which was conducted to assess the future of postgraduate study, warns of severe problems in this field and is called The Postgraduate Crisis.

According to The Postgraduate Crisis report, postgraduate education has been neglected by various governments in the UK. Findings from the report reveal that the number of UK students taking postgraduate courses in the UK has only risen slightly over the last few years, meaning that the increase in these students is starting to fall behind the rising number of international students coming to the UK to study.

Chairman of the 1994 Group and Vice Chancellor at the University of Sussex, Professor Michael Farthing, says, “The government needs to think innovatively about how to fund postgraduate education.”

The Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) says that UK postgraduate students are incredibly important to the country, and warns that a decline in the number of UK students wishing to pursue postgraduate education in the UK will have an adverse impact on the UK economy.

According to the report, funding cuts, increased fees, and a reluctance by students to get into further debt having paid sizeable undergraduate fees will all contribute to a decline in UK postgraduate students.

Professor Farthing further comments, "The government's failure to address postgraduate funding has been a real error of judgement and we need to see some immediate action to avoid disaster. With public finances so tight, the government needs to think innovatively about how to fund postgraduate education.  It could take years to re-establish postgraduate courses wiped out by the falling demand lack of student funding will bring."

If you are looking for help funding your postgraduate programme, don’t forget to apply for one of postgraduate bursaries worth £500.

Do you think postgraduate education in the UK is being neglected?
 

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