Oxford's vice-chancellor on postgraduate funding
Oxford University's vice-chancellor Professor Andrew Hamilton is warning that the government policy on postgraduate funding is threaterning research in the UK.
"...There is nothing in the UK that can compare with the US government's federal loans scheme, to enable graduate students to finance their study."
Hamilton went on to observe that there is no formal system for UK postgraduate funding and less than half of students receive scholarships. As a result many students wouldn't be able to afford to do a masters or PhD. This is made worse because several disciplines require these levels of qualifications for entry.
Government cuts to university funding mean that students can lose out, and institutions are disadvantaged when competing to recruit students and academics when compared to countries with better funding.
This, along with the restrictions on overseas postgraduates and scholars, threatens to damage research excellence, investment and industry.
