University tops survey results for post graduate research

The results from the Postgraduate Research Experience Survey showed that 86 per cent of postgraduate research students agreed or strongly agreed that they were satisfied with their research degree experience.

Director of the Graduate School at the University of Portsmouth Dr Darren Van Laar said: ‘This is the first time we have been allowed to show how our university compares to others.’

The University of Portsmouth’s result is four per cent higher than the national average.

Dr Van Laar added: ‘We are extremely proud to say we are in the top 25 per cent of universities overall and our students are significantly more satisfied overall than the sector average.’

The survey assesses over 57,000 PhD students from more than 100 UK universities on satisfaction across a number of factors including supervision, how they are progressing on their degrees, their professional development and their experience of ‘research culture’.

Pro Vice-Chancellor Research and Innovation Professor Pal Ahluwalia said: ‘These results, combined with the recent Teaching and Excellence Gold rating, demonstrate that we have excellence embedded in our teaching all the way from undergraduate through to research programmes.

‘Our research students are really the engine of research within any university and so it is essential to us that they are happy and well looked after.’