Postgraduate researchers hardest hit by cost of living concerns

Postgraduate researchers are more concerned about cost-of-living pressures than their undergraduate peers, with international students in particular more likely to report that financial difficulties are impacting their studies.

Results of the annual Postgraduate Research Experience Survey 2025 conducted by Advance HE show 34 per cent of those polled said that the cost-of-living crisis was impacting them “a lot”, compared with the results of other surveys that found 27 per cent of undergraduate students, and 23 per cent of postgraduate taught students said the same.

The report, which mainly covers institutions in the UK and some in Australia, noted that 40 per cent of PGRs are international students, who are especially “susceptible to financial concerns” because of the higher fees they pay, and the costs associated with moving abroad.

Some funders, such as UK Research and Innovation, have increased stipends in recent years but students said more needs to be done to support those on PhDs, especially in London.

Students from the UK were least likely to report being impacted “a lot” by high living costs, cited by 31 per cent of respondents. In comparison, 48 per cent of students from South America said they had been heavily impacted, followed by 43 per cent of those from North America, and 42 per cent from Africa. 

The findings are “significant”, the report says, and show that providing financial support and advice is “especially critical at PGR level”.

“International students, in particular, are likely to be managing high fees with high levels of paid work or, in other cases, difficulty finding work. Hence this provides clear evidence for HEIs to focus resources on maximising the support they can provide through careers advice, financial guidance and general wellbeing resources.”

Jonathan Neves, head of research and surveys at Advance HE and author of the report, told Times Higher Education: “There’s not been a huge amount of discussion around the cost of living and postgraduate researchers more generally, and it just shows PGRs are affected as well.”

There needs to be “definitely more attention” paid by universities to the impact of financial pressures on PGRs  and the sector more widely, he said.

“Often the view of students is thinking about the undergraduate perspective, which is obviously really important but I think it will hopefully be helpful to postgraduate research provision to be able to show that postgraduate researchers are at least as much, if not more, finding that the cost of living issues are affecting their experience,” Neves added.

Overall, the report was positive. Satisfaction was at its highest level since 2011, reaching 83 per cent. 

The research found evidence that opportunities for PGRs are increasing, reflected in the proportion those reporting that they had the chance to undertake an internship, attend an academic research conference, present a paper or poster at a conference, submit a paper to an academic journal or do teaching work.

The proportion of PGRs who had considered leaving their studies was the lowest in recent years, falling to 25 per cent, down from 26 per cent last year.

Some progress has been made on research culture, with 63 per cent saying they are satisfied with this element of their experience, although it remains one of the poorest-performing factors in the survey.

Just 62 per cent of respondents said their institution “values and responds to feedback from PGRs”, and only 65 per cent said they felt a sense of belonging.

Furthermore, the gap between satisfaction rates of disabled and non-disabled PGRs showed little improvement, with 85 per cent of non-disabled students reporting being satisfied with their course compared with 74 per cent of those with a disability. In 2024, these figures stood at 85 per cent and 72 per cent respectively.

Disabled students are also less satisfied with feedback, feeling a sense of belonging, and feeling part of a community of PGR researchers. 

Neves added: “There needs to be collective attention on the experience and the provision for postgraduate researchers with a disability. In the midst of another set of very positive results where a lot of these measures have possibly moved forward slightly, the gap between those with a disability and those without is still significant”.