Background to the project

There is a paucity of research regarding the experience of disabled PGR students, and more specifically neurodivergent students, undertaking post-graduate research (PGR) studies in the United Kingdom (Ellis et al., 2021). This project aims to utilise co-creation practice to explore the learning experience of PGR students at Warwick. Following on from the recruitment of student co-creators, resources will be produced in partnership to support further staff and students working and studying at Warwick.

Literature has reported that neurodivergent individuals can experience unique challenges when pursuing post-graduate study, such as a PhD (Ayres, 2022). For example, individuals with ADHD may struggle with sustained focus or time management and strategies which were once helpful for undergraduate studies, may not work as effectively for postgraduate research studies. Individuals with autism may struggle with social interactions and find it difficult to build relationships with their supervisors or peers.

Despite these challenges, neurodivergent PhD students also bring unique strengths and perspectives to academia (Bertilsdotter Rosqvist et al., 2022). For instance, individuals with ADHD may have high levels of creativity and the ability to ‘think outside the box’. In contrast, individuals with autism may have exceptional attention to detail and pattern recognition skills. Furthermore, individuals with dyslexia may have excellent problem-solving skills.

Based on our previous research (Jutley Neilson et al., 2021) and ongoing discussions with PGR supervisors at the University of Warwick, we report that supervisors may have a lack of knowledge and understanding of neurodiversity, or they are unsure of how they can best support neurodivergent PGR students.

Compounding this issue at Warwick is the central provision of Disability Services, which can be heavily focused on undergraduate (UG) students, and the Doctoral College, which offers limited written guidance on best practices to support neurodivergent PGR students. This issue is not unique to Warwick, but it is widespread across the UK. While universities provide training programs for staff and mentor support (academic and mental health) for neurodivergent students, many are geared towards UG students. Some students have reported dissatisfaction with the provision, and PGR supervisors report a lack of training and central support to support them. Even noting these challenges, guidance on how to best support neurodivergent doctoral students is sparse, and supervisors find UG guidance does not always provide the ‘best fit’ for PGR students, due to the nature of their studies.

An interview extract from the neurodiversity student experience project below captures frustrations faced by neurodivergent PGR student and their supervisors.

“My supervisors are keen to support me and remind me to tell them if I need anything from them or to work in a specific way, but they do not have specific knowledge/training/understanding of ADHD and so it really is for me to inform and educate them. They are wonderful, but I would love it if the uni provided neurodiversity training for lecturers so they are better informed about how to support and offer suggestions to students.” (Amiya).

There has been growing recognition of the challenges faced by neurodivergent PhD students, but little is known about how the effectiveness of the current provision. Therefore, our study aims to create a PGR resource to support neurodivergent PGR students and their supervisors. We will used co-production and action research approaches to create this document with neurodivergent PGR students and supervisors. We will evaluate this resource through engagement and feedback. Training for supervisors and a publication will be created.