Postgraduate and early career

House of Lords Science and Technology Committee also criticises ‘unjustifiably high’ visa costs 

Political scientist Jack Williams’ debut novel draws on his experiences as a PhD student at Princeton and Zurich

Joint programme eyes trifecta of research skills, disciplinary knowledge and business acumen

Top research universities have long cited their value in growing local economies, but massive graduate student walkout suggests a critical need to better protect the people who make the magic happen

Experts agree with vice-chancellor that financial support for doctoral candidates should be increased

Survey finds strong recovery in overall satisfaction with courses masks unease among some students about impact of big global recruitment drives

Tentative pact covers postdoctoral scholars and academic researchers, but leaves 300,000-student system in turmoil as talks continue with graduate students in teaching and research roles

Biggest-ever job action in US higher education reaches third week with hundreds of California professors promising to observe picket lines, and system suggesting it may halt their pay

Postgraduate researchers respond positively to online-offline support packages but purely online contact is less valued, finds Advance HE survey

Incoming staff and students risk losing jobs and funding over delayed checks in ‘sensitive’ fields

Data hint at progress in ‘improving the pipeline’ of female researchers

Experts warn shrinking pool of postgraduate researchers would be ‘pretty disastrous’

Walkout over wages and benefits – biggest in any US job sector this year – snarls 300,000-student system just weeks before autumn semester exams

One-off payments to those in need also among multimillion-pound package of support

PhD students with encouraging mums and dads less likely to be plagued by feelings of inferiority, survey suggests

‘Short horizons’ of grant-givers holding back early career researchers from disadvantaged backgrounds, says Glasgow principal

Survey of Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting attendees shows even those tipped for glory feel insecure and underdeveloped

Demand and quality questioned by businesses and universities as reforms leave majority of STEM courses at full length

The standardised test is graduate schools’ ideal measurement tool for the personality traits they seek in applicants, says John Gomez

New wave of funding schemes aims to counter ‘parachute research’ and brain drain

Median age at degree completion shrinks, although share of field’s graduates with job commitment does too, American Academy of Arts and Sciences finds

Huge study by Colorado researchers finds one in eight academics studied for their PhD at just five institutions

Riham Sheble claims she had to battle Warwick for study extensions

Government accused of moving goalposts over pre-election messaging, with social sciences and business master’s also set to lose out

First postgraduate students start at new HKUST campus, signalling beginning of huge changes in the area

Academics debate whether spike in interest is down to draft dodging or career reckonings prompted by upheaval

Salma al-Shehab given 34-year sentence over critical posts on Twitter

‘Under the radar’ practice of charging students to secure their places a sign of ‘increasingly deregulated admissions process’, says Jo Grady

Karl Andersson has long attracted controversy over his interest in sexually suggestive images of teenage boys, so did university investigate this?

University hopes to build more diverse faculty by enriching PhD process with skills typically acquired in prolonged postdoc slog

‘Wanking is not a research method; it is just wanking,’ says professor, as doctoral candidate chronicles how he ‘enjoyed’ provocative cartoon images of boys

While many early career academics are preoccupied with job security, the factor that most correlates with job satisfaction is a helpful boss

Post-92s and private universities more likely to offer incoming students the option of when they begin their course while Russell Group stick to traditional autumn start

Institution’s party chief dismissed in controversy over lecturers sent overseas to get doctoral qualifications

Giving adjuncts biweekly payments, internal status for permanent vacancies and tenure on promotion would all help, say Lisa Carver and Samantha King

Doctoral training centre sorry for email suggesting doctoral students work in fields and sell cosmetics to make ends meet

The doctorate must remain an apprenticeship. Better to cut PhD students’ teaching load by hiring more teaching staff, says Ruth Machen

Royal Netherlands Academy says extra funding and time cannot ‘truly compensate’ those who began their research careers in lockdown

Australia the biggest loser, universities warn, as protracted delays shepherd PhD applicants elsewhere

Large-scale study finds younger, female supervisors are more likely to produce PhD graduates who publish successfully

Even before Covid led to so many job losses among casual and fixed-term academic staff, mass insecurity was increasingly being recognised as a blight on the sector. But is there any realistic prospect of permanent contracts all round? Ben Upton examines the cases of Germany and the Netherlands

Copenhagen doctoral candidate Maria Toft explains how her campaign has led to sector-wide calls for research reform in Denmark

Manchester vice-president urges funders to address ‘low’ stipends but warns change in employment status would mean fewer studentships

New approach ‘a great outcome’ for those fearing impacts of the ‘most bone-headed idea ever’

While some fields have been exempted from a contentious imposition on international doctoral students, sector still fears overkill

European doctoral body says funders must recognise that current financial support is often insufficient for PhD researchers

Peking and Tsinghua join drive to smooth journey from undergraduate to postgraduate studies

Researchers suggest universities should do more to help researchers adapt after time overseas

UK has lost market share to research rivals despite taking on many more self-funded Chinese doctoral students, report finds

Meeting the continent’s need for more doctoral graduates is hampered by a lack of resources and qualified supervisors, says Teklu Abate Bekele

Experts say fleeting effect of amending Germany’s fixed-term contract law shows need for wider career reforms

PhD student says her legal defeat raises important questions about duty of care owed to students who face harassment

La Trobe prolongs blackout on Russell Street bomber Craig Minogue’s dissertation, citing concerns over ‘identifying material’

The King’s College London president says universities are ‘not in any way toxic places’

Population declines and employment shifts key factors, but universities also seen ignoring non-teaching career pathways

Multiple small grants from trusts and charities can lend research projects credibility, opening bigger doors down the line, says Sophia Labadi

The University of Leeds vice-chancellor discusses why UK higher education should go Dutch and the national scandal that drew her to academia

Academics call for rethink of latest Australian security intervention

Demonstrators push back against ‘exploitation’ of those struggling at the bottom of a sector seen as increasingly casualised

Funded postgraduates could face real-terms pay cut running to four figures this autumn as UK stipends fail to keep pace with inflation