FindAUniversity Marketing Conference 2022

1. #FAUMC22
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“I can’t be confident about something I don’t know
anything about”:
Ethnic minority students experiences when
considering Postgraduate Research study
Reena Kaur
MA Education and Social Justice
Student Recruitment, Access and Widening Participation

2. • SR and WP practitioner for 5 years
• Working-class students experiences of Russell Group universities
• Epistemic injustice and decolonising the curriculum
• Subject choice of ethnic minority students
• Progression of ethnic minorities into PGR study
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What led me here?

3. What is the percentage of
ethnic minorities in PGR study?
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20%
27%
25%

4. #FAUMC22
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Why aren’t ethnic minority
students progressing to PGR?
3 mins discussion

5. Suggested issues
• Institutional and individual racism
• Sense of belonging
• Family and cultural expectations
• Career and labour market aspirations
• Financial limitations
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6. #FAUMC22
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Conducting research
• Quantitative but more qualitative needed
• 7 participants from a different universities and ethnic
groups
• Questions on their experiences, future plans and
aspirations and barriers to PGR study
• Thematic analysis with direction set by participants

7. #FAUMC22
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The system isn’t designed for me
“I don’t think I belong here” – Imposter
syndrome
Qualifications and their worth
Barriers raised in the interviews
Funding limits choice
“Why on earth would I want to do that?”
PGR as a negative experience
What do I gain from PG study?

8. #FAUMC22
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“I felt like I actually needed like, a lecturer or someone who was in
the system to kind of encourage me and motivate me to go that
much further”
“I had thought I had kind of just gotten in because, you know, they
just needed black people on their course or, you know, because I
was, like, y’know widening participation”
“had like a bit of burnout and I just couldn't imagine having
to do that [again]”
Quotes from participants
“I'm struggling to do it part time, and preferably I would like to
quit my job and do it full time, but for financial reasons I can't”
“I always thought it's cause people enjoyed research, but anyone
that I've spoken to that's done a PhD just seems like it's the worst
time of their lives”
“How it could help me?... if I knew that there was a direct kind of
career development or career goal at the end of that PhD, I think
that would really influence my decision”

9. #FAUMC22
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“during the masters, I don't think there was anything kind of um
promoted about doing a PhD… knowledge is power. So, it would
have been helpful to have more knowledge”
“didn't expect PhD will engage so much, uh self-doubts and
sometime lack of support.”
“Like they’re used to struggle… So if they [students] get
something that's less than that struggle, they feel like
they're doing something wrong.”
Quotes from participants
“I now need a pay rise to kind of combat how, just how
expensive. You know the Masters degree is”
“You know, I I see that taking a bit of a toll on them and
how hard it how you know how just how hard they're
finding it… I I don't really wish that for me at the moment”
“I think a lot of people did panic masters… It's like I'm not
gonna get a job given the current economy... I'll just do
masters and I don't think everyone's built for a masters”

10. #FAUMC22
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What can we do to widen
access to PGR?
3 mins discussion

11. • WP initiatives during UG study
• Increased student support for PG
• Improved representation across all
roles in institutions
• More about opportunities and
benefits of undertaking research
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A few ideas…

12. #FAUMC22
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Any questions?
Email: s.kaur7@lancaster.ac.uk
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/reena-
kaur-8b1023170/
If you’d like to read a copy of my full dissertation
or have a chat further, please do get in touch ☺