Early signs suggest that the number of PhD students in the UK is set to fall, a vice-chancellor has warned.
Sector leaders have warned that such a development could be “disastrous” for higher education in the UK.
Mark Smith, vice-chancellor of the University of Southampton, told Times Higher Education that PhD students were “an essential part of the research and innovation landscape”.
He said that there were several indicators that suggested that PhD student numbers could drop, including significant cost pressures on their two major funders – UK Research and Innovation and universities themselves.
