PCMS submission to consultation on state supports for PhDs

The Physical, Chemical and Mathematical Sciences submitted a response to the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science consultation on State supports for PhD researchers in March 2023.

The committee’s full response is in the PDF document attached. These are the main points made:

Challenges faced

1.  Cost of living crisis. The current standard (SFI and IRC) PhD Stipend is well below the minimum living wage.
2. Housing crisis. Postgraduate researchers struggle to find and afford housing near their institution.
3. Working conditions. PhD researchers have no mechanism for sick leave, pensions, maternity leave or other essential worker protections.
4. Limited funding options for PhDs in areas without immediate applications.
5. Additional challenges for international PhD researchers such as visa fees, relocation costs which are not covered by research grants.

Proposed solutions

1.  Increase stipends to match the minimum living wage.
2.  Incentivise universities to build postgraduate housing. In the short term, consider reallocating some of the existing undergraduate housing to PhD students.
3. Make PhD researchers entitled to worker rights.
4. Expand the number of grants in areas that have been under-represented in the last decade, including basic research, to attract and retain talented individuals.
5. Make provisions in research grants to cover costs that apply specifically to researchers coming from abroad.

The opinions expressed in this consultation response represent the opinions of the PCMS committee and are not necessarily the opinions of the Royal Irish Academy.