Ramdeo, Janet ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2744-8572, Anin-Adjei, Eden and Olusola, Jeremiah (2025) Tackling the broken UG to PGR pipeline for Black students: student-centred initiatives. In: Advance HE Teaching and Learning Conference 2025, 1st - 3rd July 2025, University of Sheffield.

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Abstract

Despite systematic disadvantage in school education, young people from Black, Asian or minority ethnic backgrounds are well represented in undergraduate (UG) degrees in universities across the UK (Arday, 2017). However, these higher levels of representation do not continue past undergraduate level and the numbers of students from racially minoritised backgrounds dramatically reduce going into postgraduate research (PGR); this is especially true for students from Black African and Black Caribbean backgrounds (Leading Routes, 2019; Shilliam, 2014). Several factors contribute to the low representation of Black PGR students, including widespread experience of racism at university (EHRC, 2019), the lack of inclusive UG education consolidating a White, Eurocentric perspective as the normative perspective (Arday, 2020), and the underrepresentation of Black academic staff, particularly professors (Arday, 2020) lead to a lower sense of belonging among Black UG students (Mountford-Zimdars et al., 2015). These structural and individual inequalities within UK universities culminate in an awarding gap between White and Black students in achieving ‘good degrees’ (UUK & NUS, 2019), meaning that Black students are less likely to be awarded the entry requirements for masters or doctoral programmes. Our funded RE/OfS project looks to working with students to understand and improve student success in tackling the perceived broken pipeline of Black students entering postgraduate research opportunities from their undergraduate studies. By understanding Black PGR experiences and journeys to and during their research projects, we have curated a series of practical institutional and national initiatives for quality education (SDG4), co-created with Black PGRs, to support their experiences as contributors to knowledge and the Academy (SDG8). Our key audience would be HEIs, sharing effective practice in improving access and participation for UK students from Black backgrounds. Specifically, doctoral provision, EDI and access and participation teams would gain an important lens on tackling the UG to PGR pipeline for marginalised groups. The impact of initiatives to date has been substantial. Since the project’s launch, 25 Black PGRs have been awarded studentships, marking a significant step forward in enhancing access and support for Black scholars in postgraduate research. The representatives’ forum has empowered Black PGRs to shape project direction and influence outcomes, fostering a more inclusive decision-making process. PGR involvement in conference and networking events enhanced their academic experience and strengthened community bonds, increasing a sense of belonging. These initiatives centralised the contributions of Black scholars, driving systemic change in doctoral education and provision. As a longitudinal study, we are still in the early stages of data collection, but the impact of these initiatives is already evident. Drawing on our institutional experiences, we have found that bespoke initiatives are key to providing an enhanced Black PGR experience that paves the way to success in the Academy. Further, we found embedding the project into our Race Equality Charter Action Plan was also effective in gaining buy-in across the institution. In making these initiatives an institutional responsibility means that we were able to engage all faculties in the project. How we approached this would be a useful take-away for implementation by delegates.

Item Type:	Conference or Conference Paper (Paper)
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Black students, PhD, race equity
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > H Social Sciences (General) H Social Sciences > HT Communities. Classes. Races L Education > L Education (General) L Education > LB Theory and practice of education > LB2300 Higher Education
Faculty / School / Research Centre / Research Group:	Faculty of Education, Health & Human Sciences Faculty of Education, Health & Human Sciences > School of Education (EDU)
Last Modified:	13 Feb 2026 16:15
URI:	https://gala.gre.ac.uk/id/eprint/52487

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