Postgraduate Perspectives

Postgraduates with parental or caring responsibilities and neurodivergent postgraduates made their voices heard!

This summer, the University Graduate School led “Postgraduate Perspectives”, an innovative research project.

Funded by the Alumni Impact Fund, an initiative run by the Development and Alumni Relations Office (DARO) that makes innovative projects possible thanks to generous donations from University alumni, “Postgraduate Perspectives” sought to better understand the experiences, needs, challenges, and wants of postgraduates with parental or caring responsibilities, and neurodivergent postgraduates so that the University Graduate School and associated teams can provide them with better support and improve their postgraduate experience.

“Postgraduate Perspectives” was made up of several stages, including research into what universities across the world are doing to support neurodivergent postgraduates and postgraduates with dependents, meetings with staff who work with and support these students, data analysis, and the completion of a ‘cultural probe’ – a hands-on activity pack designed to let students share their genuine thoughts and ideas.

The University Graduate School would like to thank the 20 postgraduates who took part in the project. Postgraduates from each of the University’s five Colleges took part, with distance learners and campus-based students alike sharing their experiences.

“Postgraduate Perspectives” has revealed lots of different ways that the University Graduate School can help to improve the experiences of postgraduates with parental or caring responsibilities and neurodivergent postgraduates – if you fit into one of these groups, watch this space for upcoming initiatives and events!

For now, please see our brand-new webpages about support for PGRs with parental or caring responsibilities and support for neurodivergent PGRs, which have been inspired by “Postgraduate Perspectives”!