UCL secures £2m to support PGT students from under-represented groups

The Postgraduate Support Scheme will fund projects at more than 40 universities nationwide designed to improve diversity of student intake for PGT programmes. UCL will be using its funding both to provide practical support to new students and also test out strategies to determine the most effective ways of increasing diversity on PGT programmes.

The range of outreach and recruitment activities to be piloted include:

• Funded bursaries to be offered (fees and cost of living) for 93 students across participating programmes;
• Childcare subsidies of £2,500 for any student on the 31 programmes taking part;
• A hardship fund that will allow departments to cover costs for students, such as professional fees, subscriptions or equipment, that might otherwise be prohibitive;
• Taster sessions to run across a number of departments with the aim of improving representation among students from lower socio-economic groups and BME students.

"Postgraduates on taught programmes are a major group within the university, and we are pleased to be able to test ways of ensuring that this cohort is as diverse as possible  in line with UCL's traditions of openness and inclusivity," said Professor Anthony Smith, Vice Provost, Education.

"We look forward to welcoming those students who will receive the bursaries funded by this scheme, and in addition to exploring ways of improving our own recruitment and retention strategies in light of the outcomes of the research we will be carrying out as part of our proposal."

"The range and innovative approaches in the schemes which universities have devised to increase take up of postgraduate courses is impressive," said Steve Egan, HEFCE Interim Chief Executive. "We will work closely with the projects to see what is working well and to communicate this widely to build strong foundations for this critical aspect of higher education."

The UCL programmes participating are as follows: Msc Spatial Planning, MSc Urban Regeneration,Msc Transport and City Planning, MSc Housing Development, MA History, MA European History, MSc Audiological Sciences, MSc Aquatic Science, MSc Environmental Modelling, MSc Urban Studies, MSc Global Migration, MA Public Policy, MA History of Art, MSc Chemical Process Engineering, MSc Computer Graphics, Vision and Imaging, MSc Computer Science, MA Latin American Studies, Msc Social and Cultural Anthropology, MSc Anthropology, Design and Development, MA Culture, Materials and Design, MSc Medical Anthropology, MSc Telecommunications / Internet Engineering / Wireless and Optical Communications, MA Publishing (Information Studies), Developmental Psychology and Clinical Practice, MSc Space Science and Engineering, Msc Biochemical Engineering.

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