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The BOARD OF GRADUATE STUDIES beg leave to report to the Council as follows:
During 2001, the Arts and Humanities Research Board (AHRB) and the British Academy both carried out major consultation exercises with regard to their policies on postgraduate support. The Board consulted widely with Degree Committees and responded on behalf of the University. The AHRB Review continues in 2002.
Thirteen Departments and Faculties applied for recognition in the Economic and Social Research Council's (ESRC) 2001 recognition exercise. Ten achieved recognition as centres at which students may hold ESRC awards for the Ph.D. and for one or more of the M.Phil. courses offered, and a further two were recognized with respect to Ph.D. courses only. The ESRC's exacting demands for research training caused several Faculties to bring forward major changes to their M.Phil. courses and led to the foundation of a joint programme of training provided across three Schools (see Section 3 overleaf).
The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) replaced its quota award system of provision of postgraduate studentships with a Doctoral Training Account scheme. Eligible Departments now receive an annual sum determined by formula, from which the number and value of studentships made to eligible (UK or EU) candidates is determined by the Department. The scheme is managed through the Board and the Schools of Physical Sciences and Technology, and, after an initial period of uncertainty, has run smoothly.
In December 2001, the Research Councils initiated a joint review of research training, seeking to establish minimum standards and examples of good practice in postgraduate education. Several Departments and Degree Committees have taken part in this exercise, the results of which will appear in 2002.
The Data Protection Act came into full force in October 2001. The Board reviewed the arrangements for the handling of students' data, including references, supervisors' reports, examination results, and examiners' reports. The resulting revision of working practices and of the Memoranda to students, supervisors, and examiners continues in consultation with the Degree Committees.
The overall number of applications for admission in the 2000-01 competition rose by just over 2% compared to the previous year (Table 1, Figures 1 and 2).
Applications from UK students fell by almost 9%, to the lowest since 1993 - a continuation of the decline from the peak in 1995. Applications from overseas students rose by 6.7%, whereas those from EU students fell by 7.5%. It is possible that awareness of the new Gates Trust awards encouraged the increase in overseas interest, but the decline in EU numbers continues last year's trend. Applications for M.Phil. courses rose by 2% because of an increase of about 5% in the number of overseas applications, while both home and EU rates continued to decline. UK demand for research courses rose marginally, but EU interest continues to wane, and is at its lowest since 1993. Again, the overall increase is due to the rise in overseas applicants of 6.5%. Applications to other taught postgraduate courses (see the footnote to Table 1) increased slightly; here the rise in overseas numbers of 13% was sufficient to counteract decreases of 19% in UK numbers and 11% in the EU rate.
The number of offers of admission (Table 2 (a) and (b)) rose sharply to a ten-year high of 3,899. This increase of 18% was principally in offers to overseas students. M.Phil. offers to UK students rose slightly, and those to EU students were almost identical to last year. However, there was a pleasing increase of more than 14% in offers made to UK students for research places. Against this, the number of offers to EU students dropped back to its 1999 level.
During 2001, the Board considered in detail applications from ten prospective students whose formal academic qualifications did not meet its normal minimum entry requirements, but for whom admission was recommended by Degree Committees.
The number of applications confirmed increased by 6% over the 1999-2000 competition. This reflects rises of 7% in confirmations for M.Phil. courses and of 5% for research courses. However, in both cases, the sharp increase in the confirmations of overseas students (17%) masks a static position for UK students and a decline in the number of EU students, particularly for research courses (-13%). The take-up rate on offers (confirmed admissions as a proportion of offers made) dropped back, but again this may be caused by the high number of offers made in anticipation of the Gates scholarships. Although the take-up rate for UK research students declined by 10%, there was a small increase in real terms (+ 3). The following table shows take-up rates in recent years:
Take-up rates (confirmed admissions as percentages of offers made)
| M.Phil. | Research | Other | Total | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | |
| Home | 60 | 63 | 63 | 76 | 81 | 71 | 55 | 57 | 47 | 67 | 70 | 65 |
| EU | 58 | 57 | 51 | 62 | 58 | 57 | 58 | 53 | 58 | 59 | 57 | 55 |
| Overseas | 43 | 47 | 45 | 34 | 40 | 36 | 35 | 41 | 42 | 38 | 43 | 41 |
| Total | 50 | 53 | 50 | 52 | 57 | 50 | 45 | 47 | 47 | 50 | 54 | 49 |
The number of graduate students coming into residence (Table 2 (c)) increased marginally, with an increase in students from Overseas masking decreases in both Home and EU numbers. The number of Home students coming into residence continues to fluctuate and should be kept under scrutiny.
The disaggregation of new entrants by School shows that the proportions of intake are similar over the last three years (see also Tables 3 and 4):
| School | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arts and Humanities | 15% | 16% | 15% |
| Humanities and Social Sciences | 35% | 32% | 33% |
| Physical Sciences | 18% | 20% | 17% |
| Biological Sciences | 20% | 19% | 20% |
| Technology | 11% | 14% | 14% |
The Board continues to make procedural changes to the admissions process. This year, the University Language Centre ran the first pre-sessional English for Academic purposes course for students whose first language is not English. This took place during September 2001, and accepted 47 students, the majority of whom had attempted one of the University's required English language tests, but not quite attained the required level. In all cases the students benefitted from exposure to the use of English in both academic and cultural contexts. The intensity of study and variety of usage raised their ability and aided preparation for study at the University. Refinement to the methods of selection of appropriate students is in hand.
The new Graduate Studies Prospectus was published in August 2001. The new format has produced a large document, which is expensive to distribute. For the first time, the Board outsourced despatch to the University Printing Service. There have been some early difficulties, particularly international postage problems associated with the effect of the events of 11 September. Planning for a further radical redesign and slimming down of the 2003-04 Prospectus has begun.
In 2001, the Board gave careful consideration to the levels of maintenance to be guaranteed by incoming Graduate Students and agreed significant increases for 2002, particularly in dependents' maintenance rates, to reflect more accurately the true cost of living in Cambridge.
The Board considered the terms of reference for the M.Phil. Review Committee and nominated the Secretary of the Board as its representative. The Review Committee expects to report in 2002.
The Board considered and commented on proposals for new one-year M.Phil. Degree courses in Geographical Research, International Studies, and a pair of new M.Phil. courses in Social Anthropology. These new courses, and some revisions to existing courses (listed below), arose largely from the requirements of the ESRC in its 2001 recognition exercise for research training in the Humanities and Social Sciences. The Board also considered proposals for two new M.Phil. courses developed as part of the CMI project, in Biosciences Enterprise and Technology Policy.
Changes to the Special Regulations for the M.Phil. Degree in the following subjects were also appoved during the year: Philosophy; Theology and Religious Studies; American Literature; Musical Composition; Computer Speech and Internet Technology; Management Studies; Chinese Studies; Criminological Research; Criminology; International Relations; Economics and Social History; Finance; Ethnomusicology; Social and Developmental Psychology; Modern Society and Global Transformation; and Biological Anthropology.
Three M.Phil. courses (Control Engineering and Operational Research, Social and Political Theory, and Sociology and Politics of Development) were withdrawn.
The Board also considered arrangements for two new M.St. courses: Computer Speech and Internet Technology, which is a part-time version of an existing M.Phil. course, and Community Enterprise.
During 2001 the Board gave attention to preparations for the introduction of a part-time route to the Ph.D., M.Sc., and M.Litt. Degrees, and proposals for the arrangements for the Degrees were set out. It was also agreed that candidates for the M.St. and M.Ed. Degrees should be eligible to seek an allowance of terms towards a part-time Ph.D. and that the Certificates of Postgraduate Study should also be available by part-time study. The proposals were circulated to University Departments, Faculties, Colleges, and other bodies to consider whether or not they would wish to admit part-time research students under the proposed arrangements. It is hoped that the new route will be available in the academical year 2002-03.
The Board gave its support to a proposed 'Scholars' Program' between the University and the National Institutes of Health of the USA, whereby a small number of exceptional graduate students from the USA, the UK, and the EU would be funded by the NIH to study for the Ph.D. Degree in Cambridge, with some research time spent in laboratories in the USA.
Three applications to study for a research degree under collaborative arrangements with another university were considered by Degree Committees and by the Board; one application was approved and an agreement with respect to this candidate was signed with Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne.
The Board reviewed its relationship with approved Non-University Institutions (NUIs) at which graduate students may spend all three years of their Ph.D. course. The Board agreed that the NUI status of any instiution should be subject to review every five years and criteria by which institutions applying for NUI status would be assessed were established. All existing NUIs were invited to apply to continue under these new criteria.
The Board reviewed the arrangements for the format of the Ph.D. thesis. In response to representations from some Degree Committees and from the Graduate Union, the Board agreed to allow candidates to submit the thesis for examination in soft-bound format but to retain the requirement for a hard-bound library copy as a condition of proceeding to the Degree. These arrangements came into effect on 4 January 2002.
The Board welcomed the Report from the Schools of Humanities and Social Sciences and Physical Sciences on the Joint School Initiative for a Postgraduate Research Methods Training Course in the Social Sciences. The Board recognized this is an important development in the provision of graduate training and as a stimulus to cross-Faculty co-operation. The Board also received the first year report of the Graduate School of the Biological and Clinical Sciences and commended the efforts of this body in co-ordinating and improving graduate provision in the three Faculties.
The Board was consulted about revisions to the constitutions of the Degree Committees of History and Modern and Medieval Languages.
The Board initiated a scheme of termly meetings between the Board's officers and the Secretaries of Degree Committees. These meetings focus on one major topic (for example, the introduction of soft-bound dissertations, or revision of the Memoranda to Graduate Students and Examiners) and have proved to be a very productive forum for consultation and the sharing of ideas and examples of good practice.
The four-year submission rate for Ph.D. Degree students this year was 70% of the total number of students who began in 1997 when, as in previous years, all candidates who withdrew within the first twelve months of the course are discounted (Table 10 (a)).
The four-year submission rate (discounting early withdrawals) disaggregated between the schools (Table 10 (b)) shows some considerable variation this year. Though there is consistency in the Schools of the Sciences, there has been a decline in Arts and Humanities, and in Humanities and Social Sciences between last year and this.
2001 was the twenty-second year of operation of the Overseas Research Students' ORS Awards Scheme. A quota of 162 nominations for ORS awards was forwarded for consideration by Universities UK and 127 new awards were offered. This represents a success rate of 78% compared to a national success rate of 65%. 31 of the new awards were made to graduate students already in residence and 96 to potential 2001-02 entrants. The competition continues to be severe. In 2001, Universities UK reduced the Cambridge quota for nominations by 10 (6%) and the number of awards made by 24 (16%).
Uncertainties about the level of funding for the ORS scheme caused major problems in the administration of the competition by Universities UK, such that the initial number of awards made nationally was far lower than usual. Strong representations from Cambridge and other institutions resulted in a partial reinstatement of the original number. However, the final results were known only in mid-August, by which time some candidates had taken up other offers. As a result of the confusion, an exceptional number of transfers to Cambridge of candidates with ORS awards has been allowed by Universities UK.
The Board has continued to make awards from its General Fund and from the Lundgren Fund to research students registered for the Ph.D. Degree who find themselves in unforeseen financial hardship. In the course of the year the Board has provided assistance to 83 Graduate Students through these various schemes and to a further 75 students who received help with thesis and other minor expenses. The Board continues to make a contribution from its General Fund to the Domestic Research Students Awards Scheme.
The General Board agreed to transfer responsibility for the Committee on Grants to the Board of Graduate Studies. It was further agreed that the administration of the Sir Bartle Frere Memorial Fund should be transferred to the Managers of the Smuts Memorial Fund (for graduate applicants) and to the Managers of the Mary Euphrasia Moseley Fund (for undergraduate applicants), and that of the Worts Travelling Scholarship Fund to the Committee on Grants, but that a transfer of the management of undergraduate applications to this fund to a more suitable body would take place in due course. Responsibility for the management of the funds disbursed by the Committee on Grants, including the Domestic Research Studentship and Millennium Scholarship Funds, has also now been transferred to the Board's office.
In 2001, the Committee on Grants awarded the equivalent of thirty full-cost Domestic Research Studentships and six Millennium Scholarships, of which half were funded by the American Friends of Cambridge University (now Cambridge in America). Twenty-nine offers of partial maintenance awards were made.
The Board noted with pleasure the success of the Gates Cambridge Trust in making 155 awards to graduate students from 51 countries.
In 2001 the Board approved fourteen candidates for the Sc.D. Degree, five for the Litt.D. Degree, and two for the D.D. Degree. They also approved seven for the Ph.D. Degree under Special Regulations (not included in the figures in Table 11).
Minor amendments were agreed to the Regulations for the Sc.D., Litt.D., Mus.D., and LL.D. Degrees whereby applicants are asked to provide a brief summary of the area of research covered by the works submitted.
During 2001 the Board considered eight new cases (nine in 2000) in the first stages of the procedure for the review of the results of examinations for postgraduate qualifications (Statutes and Ordinances, p. 415). Of these, four were candidates for the Ph.D. Degree, three for the M.Phil. Degree, and one for the M.St. Degree (the Board had previously agreed that the Review Regulations should extend to the M.St. Degree). Of these, three cases (one Ph.D. and two M.Phil.) were referred to the Review Committee. There were no cases (compared to three in 2000) for which reports were received from the Review Committee.
A case reported in the 2000 Annual Report, which had been the subject of judicial review, was heard at the Court of Appeal in March; the Court quashed the decision of the Board made in 1998 and required the case to be considered afresh by the Degree Committee concerned and the Board. The case continues.
The terms of membership of Dr J. A. Leake and Professor R. W. Carrell ended on 31 December 2000. Both were thanked warmly for their contributions. Dr P. C. Hewett was elected by the General Board to serve for four years and Dr B. Sahakian was co-opted for three years.
Professor G. A. J. Amaratunga was re-elected by the Council for a further term of four years. Professor L. B. Jeffcott, Dr L. R. Gelsthorpe, and Dr S. K. Rankin were co-opted for further terms of three years.
During 2001, the Assistant Registrary, Ms Katherine Brown, took up a post as Secretary to the Department and Secretary to the Faculty Board of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics. The Board are most grateful to her for her energetic and dedicated work, and the great deal of care and attention she paid the Board's business over the past four years. The University appointed Mr Nick Tippler as Assistant Registrary from August 2001.
30 April 2002
| W. A. BROWN (Chairman) | L. GELSTHORPE | P. F. KORNICKI |
| G. A. J. AMARATUNGA | L. GLADDEN | F. J. LEEPER |
| M. DAUNTON | P. HEWETT | S. RANKIN |
| D. R. FERGUSON | L. B. JEFFCOTT | B. SAHAKIAN |
| I. FLEMING |
Copies of the list of Graduate Students on the Register at 1 December 2001 are available from the Secretary, Board of Graduate Studies, 4 Mill Lane, Cambridge, CB2 1RZ.
NB: The Statistical Appendix is provided online in the form of an Adobe Acrobat PDF file. Notes on viewing files are provided.
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Cambridge University Reporter, Special 2 August 2002
Copyright © 2002 The Chancellor, Masters and Scholars
of the University of Cambridge.