Postgraduate students feel overlooked

Many postgraduate students struggle to meet their living costs and do not believe the current funding system works
Postgraduate students feel marginalized and worried about finances, according to a report by Unite, the student accommodation provider. Their financial situation is a key contributing factor to their feeling of being overlooked, the survey of 810 postgraduate students finds.


Only 22% feel the current funding system works. Nine out of 10 say they would prefer the sort of tuition-fee loan system that applies to undergraduates. The report highlights ongoing concerns around the cost of postgraduate study. Almost a quarter of the postgraduate students surveyed say they have taken on more debt than expected, and 28% say their funding package is not enough to meet their living costs.


Jenny Shaw, head of higher education engagement for Unite Students, says: "There is evidence from our survey that postgraduate students are feeling marginalized. "The postgraduate student experience is not well defined, nor understood, in popular culture, in the way that the undergraduate experience is. The lack of a national student finance system for postgraduates may also be a contributing factor. Only 22% would agree that the current student finance system works."


Michelle Grimley, a postgraduate international management student at the University of the West of Scotland, says that financing a postgraduate degree has been stressful. She says: "I worry every day about whether I have enough funds to get to university, pay bills and keep the house going."


Alison Jones, a postgraduate student studying political communication at the University of Glasgow, also worries about money. She says: "I'm a single mother, and have had to work 16 hours a week to pay the bills and make childcare arrangements. "It's been very tight this year, and the weekly budget is eaten up by food costs and travel expenses, as I live an hour away from uni."


The report highlighted the fragmentary nature of postgraduate life. Post grad students, it points out, do not form a homogeneous group. Gavin Taylor, student center manager at St George's, University of London, says: "Students in their mid-to-late 20s may be pursuing very diverse courses – anything from a PhD, to a second undergraduate qualification, such as a medical degree or a paramedic course.


"But essentially, students still do have needs in common. It's very important to engage with postgraduate students on an individual basis and to help identify what their wishes are." Postgraduate students say they feel separate from undergraduates, with 35% of post grad respondents saying that they do not feel integrated with students at their university.

Paul Casey is studying an MA in media and PR at Newcastle University. He says: "Undergrad students act like you don't exist when you go to society fairs. If you say you're studying an MA, undergrads generally assume you're really old and boring." The survey finds that 84% of postgraduate respondents feel changing the tuition fee system would encourage more people to study at postgraduate level.


Elizabeth Harper, who is studying for masters in English literature at the University of Manchester, says: "I live permanently in my overdraft. "There is very little money to be accessed and it's demoralizing, especially when you are competing with your friends for the measly amount that's available.


"Fewer and fewer people are going to be able to pursue postgraduate study because there is no money available to help fund them, and the tuition fees and the cost of living are only going to continue to increase."

- theguardian.com