Growth in proportion of UK academics holding PhDs slows

Growth in the proportion of UK academics holding doctorates has slowed in recent years, figures suggest.

In its data for 2021-22, the Higher Education Statistics Agency reports the highest qualification of 145,000 full-time UK academics – and for 68.7 per cent it was a doctorate.

After a steep rise in the first half of the decade attributed to more providers requiring new staff have a PhD, it appears that this rate has been largely unchanged for the past few years.

Yann Lebeau, professor of higher education research at the University of East Anglia, said this was the result of three trends, all related to the diversification of the sector.

The growth of courses with a significant vocational nature has boosted the number of academics recruited primarily for their professional expertise, said Professor Lebeau, while many who join the profession as a second career take a long time to complete the part-time doctoral programmes they are often enrolled on.

In addition, he said, the roll-out of teaching-only contracts meant that the number of PhD holders in UK society is not necessarily reflected within academia, where, contrary to many European countries, the qualification is not legally required.

While some universities have increased their share of doctorates by 20 to 30 percentage points between 2014-15 and 2021-22, other have seen a fall of up to 15 points.

Of UK providers where the highest qualification of at least 100 full-time academics is known, Edinburgh Napier University increased its share of academics with a doctorate more than any other.

Nazira Karodia, vice-principal of learning and teaching at Napier, said the rapid rise was likely an adjustment to new hiring requirements across the sector, but that growth has tapered off because of supply, demand and budget factors.

“Whilst more data is needed to say for certain, it is likely that the rate will stabilise over the coming years, simply because there is a limited pool of potential academics pursuing doctorates at any time,” she added.

At her institution, Professor Karodia said, the continued rise was attributable to several strategic initiatives, including the university’s intensified focus on research excellence.

Northumbria University has also recorded a sharp rise in the number of PhDs among its staff in recent years, which it said was the result of a strategic drive.

“Ensuring that the largest possible proportion of our colleagues had doctorates was an important foundation for our journey and helps ensure that all our students learn in a research-intensive environment,” said Tom Lawson, Northumbria’s deputy vice-chancellor.

London Business School has the highest rate in the UK, as 95.2 per cent of its full-time academics have received doctorates.

It was followed by Royal Holloway, University of London (89 per cent) and Birkbeck, University of London (88.9 per cent).

By contrast, just 5.1 per cent possessed doctorates at University College Birmingham, 6.5 per cent at BIMM University, and 7.4 per cent at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.

A BIMM spokesperson said a doctorate was not an essential or requisite qualification for teaching staff at a creative arts institution, who are “highly qualified experts in their subject area with significant industry experience”.

A Guildhall spokesperson said the expertise of its staff was developed in settings that are often outside the academy, and their entry into the academy is through a different route than staff who move through PhD qualification.

patrick.jack@timeshighereducation.com