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In the Pre-Application Doctoral Communications (PADC) project (www.warwick.ac.uk/PADCLink opens in a new window) we researched the ways in which communications that swirl about before a doctoral degree applicant may have implications for who can even access the application stage. This new paper specifically focuses on narrative interviews with student participants who self-identified as minoritised, and their supervisor seeking journeys, showing how early contact with potential supervisors opens up and closes down the possibility for doctoral subjectivity formation.

The project is part of the DEAR Centre's programme of research on in/equalities in doctoral education and was authored by Emily F. Henderson Evan Z. Sophia Kier-Byfield James Burford

Full citation and link to the OPEN ACCESS paper here:
Henderson, E. F., Zheng, E., Kier-Byfield, S., & Burford, J. (2026). ‘She says she would like to know more about me’: minoritised applicants’ inclusion, exclusion and subjectivity formation in the pre-application stage of doctoral admissions. Research Papers in Education, 1–25.

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02671522.2026.2735575Link opens in a new window