Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic Participation in Postgraduate Research: A Thematic Bibliography

Sana Iqbal

Doctoral Researcher, Coventry University

Rochelle Rowe-Wiseman

Academic Development Lead, UCL & past Trustee of UKCGE

The thematic bibliography covers a broad range of issues and challenges related to BAME participation in postgraduate education

These include:

  • Intersectionality: Ethnicities, Nationalities, Gender, Religion
  • Career Progression: Disparities in Furthering an Academic Career After PhD for BAME Doctoral Students
  • Institutional Racism
  • History of Black Participation in Higher Education
  • Lack of BME Staff

The review revealed the following gaps in the literature:

  • No research on BME doctoral students that can present a comparison between different ethnic groups about the non-academic challenges encountered by them such as poor well-being despite the heterogeneity in BME across different ethnicities
  • Comparison between London-based and other UK-based universities in terms of what support systems are available to BME PGRs is very limited
  • In-depth study of challenges faced by BME PGRs due to their religious beliefs in academia
  • Comparison between UK-domiciled and international BME students is almost missing, especially in terms of the relationship between academic performance and their personal/​social lives (social integration)
  • No significant literature on evidence-based inclusion initiatives undertaken by different universities to foster an institution’s social and academic environments for BME PhD students. 
  • There is a need to explore the effect of one’s ethnicity on the rates of withdrawal from doctoral programmes.
We believe that greater diversity within both PGT and PGR provision generates better research, knowledge that is more reflective of current society, and is fundamental to our understanding of universities as public institutions. Ensuring inclusivity in postgraduate education is therefore at the heart of furthering our economic, scientific, and social progress 
Dr Rochelle Rowe-Wiseman, p.3
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