Report reveals worrying lack of support for disabled doctoral students

Only a third of Stem PhD students feel they receive sufficient support to be on an equal footing with their non-disabled peers according to a new report by Disabled Students UK (DSUK) and Pete Quinn Consulting.

The proportion of postgraduate research students (PGRs) with a declared disability has increased significantly over the last five years and this group now makes up 20% of the PGR community. But despite growing numbers of disabled students entering the research sphere, there has been little study into how institutions and funders can effectively support these individuals within the sector. Correspondingly, disabled postgraduates consistently rate their experiences more negatively than their non-disabled peers in student satisfaction surveys.