The number of PhD students winning UK research council funding has fallen sharply in recent years, according to data that shows that domestic candidates are increasingly being squeezed out by international applicants.
Figures obtained by Times Higher Education show that UK Research and Innovation funding councils supported 5,580 doctoral starters in 2021-22, down 18.4 per cent on the 2018-19 total of 6,835. Figures for 2022-23 indicate an even sharper drop – down 28.3 per cent to 4,900, although UKRI said that this tally could increase as research organisations submit further details of new recruits.
The declines are particularly steep among British students. In 2018-19, UKRI supported 4,815 doctoral candidates from the UK alone, but by 2021-22 this had fallen by 29 per cent, to 3,420. The 2022-23 figure provided, 2,840, indicates a 41 per cent drop over five years.
The shifts coincide with UKRI’s decision to extend full PhD studentships to international students, which came into effect in 2021-22. The previous year, when they were eligible for fees-only awards, 345 students from outside the UK and the European Union started PhDs in the UK. This then tripled to 1,020 in 2021-22 and, according to the 2022-23 data, 1,055.
