Fewer enrol in higher degrees

The number of students enrolled for doctoral degrees has dropped by nearly 11% in two years since grants were withdrawn for postgraduate studies.

Between 2012 and 2014, the numbers enrolled for PhDs fell from 8,826 to 7,898, according to the Higher Education Authority (HEA).

The fall followed slight increases in the years before 2012, when the Department of Education ended maintenance grants for all new postgraduates, including PhDs and masters degree students.

The biggest immediate drop — in numbers and proportionally— in 2012 was a 16% fall in numbers pursuing doctoral studies in arts and humanities disciplines. They decreased from 1,464 in the 2011/12 academic year to 1,235 and stayed almost the same in 2013/14.

The biggest overall decline has been in science, maths, and computing, where Phd enrolments are down 19% since 2012 to 2,136 last year. The fall had already begun before the grant changes, numbers having been as high as 2,755 in 2009/10, meaning they are down by 22% in just four years.

Conversely, although numbers in the sector are fairly small, there has been a 19% rise since 2012 in numbers undertaking agriculture or veterinary PhDs to 160. But those numbers are still below the 195 in 2009/10.

HEA chief executive Tom Boland said it is accepted that Ireland’s economic development has been largely based on tax and talent, but we cannot take the talent pool for granted.

“We need to ensure that Ireland retains and attracts the best possible PhD candidates from at home and abroad and that the value of that award is internationally recognised,” he said.

The 468 people enrolled on education-related PhDs in 2013/14 was just five fewer than in 2011, and up from 315 in four years. Social science, business, and law PhD candidate numbers are largely unchanged at just below 1,400 across the same period, but there has also been a 12% drop in numbers pursuing doctoral studies in engineering, manufacturing, and construction, to 1,036 in 2014.