Who Provides PhD Study?

Postgraduate Study: Thoughts from the Experts

1. University Status

There is considerable, and perhaps inevitable, rivalry and snobbery around the university structure as each institution seeks to establish its credentials particularly as far as research and research degrees are concerned. This connection between research degrees and perceived status is mirrored across the world, indeed many countries (e.g. Japan , France , Mexico ) restrict to an ‘elite' group of universities the right to award research degrees. In the UK all but a handful of the very newest universities are able to award research degrees. For many however it is a minor, if important element of their overall business.

2. World Ranking

In world ranking terms only the universities of Cambridge and Oxford regularly appear in the top 10 and for those of you who are striving to research at the very best may like to consider the opportunities offered by these world leaders. Similarly, the UK universities that regularly appear in the top 50 are noted in Table 1.

Table 1: World Ranking of UK Universities (taken from the top 50)

3. Top Ten UK Universities (for awarding doctorates)

It is also worth noting that over half of all doctorates awarded each year in the UK are awarded by 14 institutions, reflecting the significant concentration of activity in the major what we might call research institutions, the top ten
of which are seen below in Table 2.

Table 2 - Top Ten UK Universities in Terms of Doctorates Awarded

4. Gaining a Doctorate Abroad

Of course the opportunities for research degree study are not confined to the UK – for many it is a case of the world being your oyster as research and research degrees are now global activities. For many students the lure of far away places to study, offer real attraction not only intellectually but in terms of broadening life experiences; for example, the Universities of Washington, Vancouver and Grenoble offer sporting challenges for the keen skier as well significant intellectual learning environments. Importantly however, you should be aware of the different characteristics and programmes that overseas universities can offer and the regard with which their degrees are held. It is most definitely not the case that research degree study is a uniform business across the world or indeed across Europe .

Howard Green and Stuart Powell (see contributors) November 2006