Resource library

This guidance and support from The University of Leeds as a portion of the Yorkshire Consortium for Equity in Doctoral Education (YCEDE) addresses the legal and practical things to consider when proposing or implementing positive action within doctoral recruitment.

Presented by Generation Delta, these training resources emerged directly from the Workshops organised by this project and held around the country between 2022 and 2025 to understand and enhance the experience of racially minoritised women students at the postgraduate research level. They are designed with the needs of these women in mind, but we hope they will help all those wishing to pursue a research career in higher education.

In this report, Dr Senthila Quirke and Dr Alex Standen present the findings of a survey regarding the support and development available to doctoral researchers who become Graduate Teaching Assistants (GTAs) in UK universities, and offer recommendations to improve their experiences.

In part two of this series based on a UKCGE interview with Dr Gillian Houston, former chair and vice-chair of UKCGE, Gill discusses the viva within its contextual bounds – analysing the different modes of examination that other countries enact, how the viva fits into different degree forms, attributes examiners look for while carrying out the viva, and how PGRs can better prepare themselves of the modern day viva. 

This resource is a continuation of part one of the discussion with Gill, focused on understanding the process, positives, and challenges of the viva. This dialogue comes as a discussion of Gill and Ingrid Lunt’s recent article publication titled, The final examination of the UK PhD: fit for purpose?

In this series, Dr Gillian Houston, former chair of UKCGE, discusses her recent publication The final examination of the UK PhD: fit for purpose?, written with Ingrid Lunt and published in July 2024. Gill is currently an independent researcher, having completed her own PhD in 2018 focused on the processes, attributes, and outcomes of the PhD examination in the UK. Gill is a long-standing member of the UK Council for Graduate Education’s governing body, latterly as chair and vice-chair, completing her term of office in July 2021. Her research work focuses on the topic of doctoral education and assessment.

In part one of this interview-based series, Gill discusses the processes of the viva, discussing the challenges and positives of the final PhD examination.

This study on conceptions of ideal doctoral attributes was undertaken as a portion of the Yorkshire Consortium for Equity in Doctoral Education (YCEDE), one of the 13 Research England-funded projects on racial equity and widening access to postgraduate education.

Stan is an Honorary Life Member of the UK Council for Graduate Education and an Honorary Member of the Association of Professionals in Doctoral Education. He authored the UKCGE Good Supervisory Practice Framework and was the architect of the Research Supervision Recognition Programme. He was also the founding chair of its Research Supervisors’ Network and compiler of its Research Supervisor’s Bibliography. In this interview, Stan discusses the major changes to the supervisory landscape since the past edition and the potential trajectory of the sector of the next couple of years.

The UK Research Supervision Survey is the UKCGE’s national survey offering those involved in research supervision an opportunity to share their experiences of supervising doctoral candidates.

Professor Gale Macleod and Dr Fiona O’Hanlon from University of Edinburgh reflect on their experiences going through the UKCGE Research Supervision Recognition Programme in this Q&A. They reflect on RSRP as experienced and early career supervisors, with both Professor Macleod and Dr O’Hanlon having received Full recognition. Their reflections touch on the importance of reflective practice in supervision throughout career stage and the critical nature of community in reflection.

This interactive workshop, developed by Transitions and Transformations: The Black Researcher’s Journey — one of the 13 Research England-funded projects focused on racial equity and access to postgraduate education — and Diversity Minds, is part 4 of a series aimed to help with mentoring schemes in schools and departments, focused on positive action in mentoring.