WEEKEND READING: Beyond a one-size-fits-all approach to mature postgraduate research students

This blog was kindly authored by Dr Alice Beck, Senior Research Associate at the University of Bristol and Dr Helen Thomas-Hughes, Associate Professor, Director of Education, University of Bristol.

Doctoral education no longer follows a single linear route from undergraduate study.  Increasingly, people begin doctoral study at different stages in their lives, often after substantial periods in professional employment and with established family and financial responsibilities. This shift reflects wider changes in labour markets and higher education policy, which emphasise lifelong learning and workforce retraining. With reskilling at multiple points in one’s career becoming more common, doctoral study is increasingly being framed within wider discussions of UK skills needs.

Despite mature postgraduate researchers (PGR) making up 80% of the PGR population, mature students (25+) are poorly understood in the sector. Reporting and analysis commonly omit or subsume postgraduates within broader undergraduate analysis. At the same time, the financial and institutional structures surrounding doctoral study continue to reflect a narrow conception of PGRs as young, mobile, and financially unencumbered. This oversight obscures specific barriers mature students face compared to those progressing directly from undergraduate or master’s-level study.

Recent sector initiatives, including the newly announced voluntary charter for women in research, have drawn attention to the role that parental and caring responsibilities play in reproducing inequality in accessing doctoral research and research careers. The charter calls on funders to match UKRI’s new parental leave standards for PGRs. While this signals a positive shift in addressing inequalities in access to doctoral education, there is still a long way to go.

Drawing on qualitative research with mature PGRs and sector reporting, this blog highlights policy, data, and reporting gaps, as well as the practical barriers that impact mature PGRs. By doing so, we illustrate how these can restrict access to postgraduate research and limit the potential of doctoral education to meaningfully contribute to the UK skills system.

Mature PGRs in higher education policy and evidence

Mature PGR students remain poorly represented in higher education guidance, reporting and national analysis. This is partly due to the overly broad and inconsistent adoption of the mature PGR label. Generally, mature undergraduates are 21+, and mature postgraduates are 25+; however, this categorisation is not universally adopted, as some institutions do not officially recognise mature postgraduates. Further, it masks the substantial variation within the mature PGR population.

So, the 25+ threshold, while administratively useful, is analytically blunt and fails to produce a clear picture of mature postgraduate researchers or differentiate between students whose circumstances may have little in common.

Further limitations to producing a clear picture of this student group arise in the lack of robust data on mature students, with the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) presenting data in aggregate. As Hinna Abid makes clear in her HEPI blog, this both prevents detailed analysis of intersections between characteristics and barriers, such as mode of study, finances, employment, and family responsibilities, and independent analysis of trends and issues.

Some monitoring of mature undergraduate students is carried out through Access and Participation Plans (APPs), which are regulated by the Office for Students (OfS). However, as APPs are not required for PGRs, the OfS guidance for providers addresses only mature undergraduates. As a result, while a small body of work has brought mature PGR issues to the fore, sector-wide commentary remains largely negligible, often focusing instead on mature undergraduates.

This lack of differentiation between student groups in policy and reporting constitutes a significant oversight. While some challenges and barriers are shared, important distinctions require attention from higher education regulators and policymakers. Postgraduate research typically involves a far greater degree of independent study than undergraduate or taught master’s programmes, heightening the risk of isolation. Moreover, the supervisory relationship plays a central role, often serving as the primary (and sometimes sole) point of contact between a researcher and the institution.

The limited understanding of mature PGRs across the sector prohibits the development of targeted service provision that sufficiently addresses the barriers and support needs that emerge across different mature student groups. Without clear insight into this student population, universities and policymakers risk overlooking an important and potentially growing segment of doctoral researchers.

Research evidence

This blog draws on qualitative research (conducted by the authors) examining the experiences of mature PGRs at a UK research-intensive university from 2024-2025. The study involved 74 in-depth interviews with PGRs aged 26-78, alongside participatory workshops in which participants collaborated to analyse themes emerging from the research.

Participants represented a wide range of disciplinary backgrounds, funding arrangements and personal circumstances. Many had entered doctoral study after substantial periods of employment, ranging from foundational positions to professional careers in fields including healthcare, engineering, public policy, and education. Across the interviews, financial risk, structural, relational, and cultural barriers emerged as a consistent theme shaping participants’ experiences of returning to doctoral study later in life.

Barriers to mature PGRs career enhancement

Using age alone to define mature PGRs distorts the diversity within this student group and, as our research indicates, their career-driven motivations. This is particularly relevant to the Labour Government’s Industrial Strategy, which sets out a 10-year plan to drive economic growth through research, innovation, and skills development. Higher education and doctoral research are key areas within the strategy. While mature undergraduates are referred to via the Lifelong Learning Entitlement, the limited understanding of mature PGRs may hinder recognition of their potential strategic role within wider workforce and skills agendas.

68 per cent of our participants described doctoral study as a form of career transition or progression. Participants were driven to pursue a PhD to either advance their careers or build new expertise to transition into alternative or more highly skilled work, including academia, private-sector and industry research, consultancy, data analysis, and policy roles.

Concerns about future employment were prominent. Some participants noted that higher education career services are targeted at direct-entry students rather than those with professional experience. Specifically, some participants wanted career services to offer guidance on translating professional experience into research careers and on routes into academic pathways. This is not unique to the case study institution. The youth-centric culture in higher education, alongside standardised approaches to student services, is recognised as a key issue within the sector. In supporting Universities UK’s response to the Industrial Strategy, there is a clear need to invest in robust careers support for all students and ensure the mobilisation of doctoral education for career transition.

Financial barriers

Undertaking a PhD later in life is associated with some financial risk. However, the worsening economic climate in the UK threatens to amplify financial vulnerabilities for PGRs. While being older and transitioning from traditional employment are associated with greater financial stability, doctoral stipends represent a significant pay cut relative to standard wages. Increases in the cost of living and financial precarity associated with doctoral study may increasingly exclude students from lower socio-economic backgrounds from undertaking postgraduate research. This is particularly relevant for parent or carer doctoral students.

Childcare costs were frequently mentioned as a significant barrier to doctoral study. One 34-year-old female participant noted, ‘my entire stipend goes on childcare. I can only do it because of my partner.’ While government grants and financial aid are available to students with parenting and caregiving responsibilities, these are only accessible to undergraduates. Since mature PGRs are also ineligible for childcare benefits, the substantial cost of childcare presents a significant barrier, disproportionately affecting women.

This finding aligns with wider sector evidence from the GW4 Connect PGR parents report, which underscores financial precarity as a key barrier to higher education for PGRs with parent and caring responsibilities. As a GW4 HEPI Policy Note on the issue makes clear, the lack of robust data on this population inhibits responsive policy and support services. The sector must address these disparities. Inaction to do so will result in the continued exclusion of parents and carers from higher education and research pathways.

Cultural barriers and belonging

In line with recent shifts in widening participation initiatives that prioritise students’ experiences, academic and institutional culture has become a key focus for making higher education more inclusive. While such efforts have made considerable improvements, this work is far from finished and warrants continued scrutiny.

Many mature PGRs enter doctoral programmes with extensive professional experience and sector knowledge. However, participants often felt that this expertise was not recognised as legitimate knowledge within academic research contexts. Academic hierarchies that privilege traditional academic pathways may inadvertently marginalise mature PGRs whose careers have followed different trajectories. For some, this led to a feeling that academic research did not value professional knowledge and skills. This narrative has harmful implications for both the successful integration of mature PGRs’ valuable knowledge contribution and affects their sense of belonging in higher education.

Addressing cultural barriers is important not only for creating a genuinely inclusive doctoral environment but also for ensuring a diversity of perspectives are represented in academic research and the educational landscape.

Conclusion and policy implications

Doctoral education is increasingly undertaken at different life stages rather than as part of a single early-career pathway. At the same time, UK policy increasingly emphasises the importance of lifelong learning and workforce retraining. However, mature PGRs have been overlooked, with the sector failing to establish a clear understanding of a student population that represents well over half of all PGRs. For mature PGRs, especially those with caring responsibilities, financial and cultural structures neglect the needs of older students and the complex realities of adult lives, creating significant barriers to participation. While progress has been made in making higher education more accessible, further action is needed at both the regulatory and institutional levels.

Greater recognition of mature PGRs in higher education is needed across the sector. A fundamental step towards this is for the sector to begin from the premise that mature students are not a single homogeneous group. Reporting on mature students should distinguish among student groups to deepen our understanding and improve analysis. Regulators and policy bodies need to provide more granular data on this student group to inform effective policy. At an institutional level, higher education institutions’ strategy and planning should consider mature PGRs as a core component of the student body, rather than treating them as an exception to a norm designed for younger entrants. Addressing these barriers is not only a matter of widening participation and social mobility, but also paramount to ensuring that doctoral education contributes effectively to the UK’s research, innovation and skills systems.

HEPI recently published a report on the career outcomes of PhD students entitled ‘More than academia: Expanding career support for doctoral researchers’. Read it here.