Admission to doctoral study is a crucial step in the academic pipeline, but discriminatory procedures can disproportionately impact students from ethnic minority backgrounds. We show how these policies contribute to inequity in the geosciences and propose strategies for change.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Access Nature and 54 other Nature Portfolio journals
Get Nature+, our best-value online-access subscription
$29.99 / 30 days
cancel any time
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 12 print issues and online access
$259.00 per year
only $21.58 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
References
Bernard, R. E. & Cooperdock, E. H. G. Nat. Geosci. 11, 292–295 (2018).
Dowey, N. et al. Nat. Geosci. 14, 256–259 (2021).
Dutt, K. Nat. Geosci. 13, 2–3 (2020).
NERC DEI Research in Environmental Science: Project Summaries (UK Research and Innovation, 2022); https://www.ukri.org/publications/nerc-dei-research-in-environmental-science-project-summaries
Higher Education Staff Data (Higher Education Statistics Agency, 2019); https://www.hesa.ac.uk/data-and-analysis/staff
C. Marín-Spiotta, E. et al. Adv. Geosci. 53, 117–127 (2020).
The Broken Pipeline – Barriers to Black PhD Students Accessing Research Council Funding (Leading Routes, 2019); https://leadingroutes.org/mdocs-posts/the-broken-pipeline-barriers-to-black-students-accessing-research-council-funding
Diversity Results for UKRI Funding Data 2014–15 to 2018–19 (UK Research and Innovation, 2020); https://www.ukri.org/files/about/ukri-diversity-report
Giles, S. et al. https://bit.ly/dtp-letter (2020).
Fernando, B. & Antell, G. Recommendations for Improving Racial Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion in the Department of Earth Sciences, University of Oxford (Earth Oxford, 2020); https://www.earth.ox.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/BAME-EDI-Report.pdf
Colquhoun, R. & Fernando, B. Astron. Geophys. 61, 5.40–5.42 (2020).
Dowey, N. et al. Preprint at EarthArXiv https://doi.org/10.31223/X5793T (2022).
Raji, M. et al. Unearthed. Geoscientist https://issuu.com/jpp01/docs/geo08_winter_2022_web (2022).
Dutt, K. Nat. Geosci. 13, 2–3 (2020).
Mellors-Bourne, R. et al. Understanding the Recruitment and Selection of Postgraduate Researchers by English Higher Education Institutions (HEFCE, 2014).
Closing Ethnicity Degree Awarding Gaps: Three Years On (Universities UK, 2022); https://www.universitiesuk.ac.uk/sites/default/files/uploads/Reports/closing-the-gap-three-years-on.pdf
People starting at higher education providers with high, medium and low entry tariffs. GOV.UK (29 July 2022); https://www.ethnicity-facts-figures.service.gov.uk/education-skills-and-training/higher-education/entrants-at-higher-education-providers-with-high-medium-and-low-entry-tariffs/latest
First year entrants onto postgraduate study. GOV.UK (9 June 2022); https://www.ethnicity-facts-figures.service.gov.uk/education-skills-and-training/higher-education/first-year-entrants-onto-postgraduate-degrees/latest
Mountford-Zimdars, A. et al. Perspect. Policy Pract. High. Educ. 25, 14–18 (2021).
Doctoral scheme expanded to offer opportunities for under-represented groups. Leverhulme Trust (2022); https://www.leverhulme.ac.uk/news/doctoral-scheme-expanded-offer-opportunities-under-represented-groups
WRDTP/Stuart Hall Foundation Awards (White Rose Doctoral Training Partnership, 2022); https://wrdtp.ac.uk/wrdtp-stuart-hall-foundation-awards/
Acknowledgements
The EQUATOR project is funded under NERC grant 2021EDIE004Dowey. We are grateful for additional financial support from the British Geological Survey; and for participation of the AURA, ARIES, CENTA, PANORAMA, SENSE, and OXFORD Doctoral Organisations, the Centre for the Observation and Modelling of Earthquakes and Tectonics, and the Sheffield Hallam University Department of the Natural and Built Environment. Equator has ethical approval under Sheffield Hallam University, code ER39312553. Open access (anonymous) evaluation data is available here: https://doi.org/10.17032/shu-0000000174.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Competing interests
The authors declare no competing interests.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Fernando, B., Giles, S., Jackson, C. et al. Strategies for making geoscience PhD recruitment more equitable. Nat. Geosci. 16, 658–660 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-023-01241-z
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-023-01241-z
