Final Project Report

• Burford, J., Henderson, E. F., Kier-Byfield, S., Dangeni, and Akkad, A., (2023). Pre-Application Doctoral Communications (PADC) Projects: Final Report. Coventry: Department of Education Studies, University of Warwick. Available at: https://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/178943/ 

Briefings

For Higher Education Institutions and academic departments:

• Burford, J., Henderson, E. F., Akkad, A., Dangeni, Kier-Byfield, S. (2022). The Role of the Institution in Pre-Application Doctoral Communications: Project Brief. Coventry: Department of Education Studies, University of Warwick. https://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/169426/ 

For doctoral supervisors:

• Burford, J., Henderson, E. F., Akkad, A., Dangeni, Kier-Byfield, S. (2022). The Role of the Supervisor in Pre-Application Doctoral Communications: Project Brief. Coventry: Department of Education Studies, University of Warwick. https://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/169425/ 

For potential doctoral applicants and those working with them:

Advice Video on Searching for a Supervisor

• Burford, J., Henderson, E. F., Kier-Byfield, S. (2023). Searching for and approaching a doctoral supervisor [video resource]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAMezgpbMSA 

Professional Development Activity Kit

• Burford, James, Henderson, Emily F., Akkad, A., Dangeni, and Kier-Byfield, S. (2022) Pre-admissions doctoral communications: professional development activity kit for working with PGR supervisors. Coventry: Department of Education Studies, University of Warwick. Available at: https://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/170733/ 

Media coverage

• Times Higher Education story: How 'will you be my supervisor' emails control entry to PhD study. Available at this link.

Journal articles

• Kier-Byfield, S., Burford, J. & Henderson, E. F. (2023) ‘5 secrets they won’t tell you’: The content and rhetoric of YouTube advice videos about searching for a doctoral supervisor, Innovations in Education and Teaching International, DOI: 10.1080/14703297.2023.2279580
• Burford, J. et al. (2024). Pre-application doctoral communications: a missing dimension in research on doctoral admissions, Educational Review, DOI: 10.1080/00131911.2024.2306950
• Henderson, E. F., Akkad, A., Kier-Byfield, S., Burford, J., & Dangeni. (2024). Seeking supervisability: the inclusivity implications of doctoral supervisors’ engagement with prospective applicants prior to formal admissions. Research Papers in Education, 1–21. https://doi.org/10.1080/02671522.2024.2349989 
• Dangeni, Burford, J. & Kier-Byfield, S. (2024). Improving the clarity of doctoral admissions webpage information: a UK institutional case study, Perspectives: Policy and Practice in Higher Education, 1-8 https://doi.org/10.1080/13603108.2024.2387081

Published blog posts

• Kier-Byfield, S. (2022, July 13) Pre-application doctoral communications and gatekeeping in the academic profession. HE Education Research Census. [ViewLink opens in a new window]
• Dangeni, Burford, J., and Kier-Byfield, S. (2023, June 9) Make the tacit explicit: how to improve information on university webpages for potential doctoral applicants. SRHE Blog. [View]Link opens in a new window

• Akkad, A. and Henderson, E. F. (2023, 17 October). Just another email? The role of supervisors in Pre-Application Doctoral Communications (PADC). Guest post for ‘Supervising PhDs’ blog. [ViewLink opens in a new window] 

• Mahmood, A., Kier-Byfield, S. and Burford, J. (2024, 6 Jan). Who gets to be a doctoral researcher? Guest post for 'Research Whisperer' blog. [ViewLink opens in a new window]

Conference presentations and workshops

• Research England Visit to Warwick, 15 December 2023

'Pre-Application Doctoral Communication (PADC) projects'

• Warwick Doctoral College & Doctoral Education and Academia Research Centre (DEAR) Co-hosted Project Launch event, 29 November 2023

'Permission to apply? Sharing key findings of the Pre-Application Doctoral Communication (PADC) projects'. Event webpage hereLink opens in a new window. Watch the event hereLink opens in a new window.

• National Institute of Educational Planning and Administration (NIEPA) Colloquium Series, New Delhi, India, 22 November 2023

'Access to admissions? Inclusivity implications of prospective doctoral students’ contact with faculty and administrative staff prior to admissions – a UK-based study'

• Institute of Advanced Studies International Advisory Committee Poster Session, University of Warwick, 31 August 2023

‘Searching of a Supervisor: Minoritised Applicants and Pathways to Doctoral Study’. A PDF of the poster is available here.Link opens in a new window

• European Association for Research on Learning and Instruction (EARLI) conference, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and the University of Macedonia (Greece), 22-26 August 2023

‘Pre-application Doctoral Communications: A Participatory Workshop Exploring Institutional Gatekeeping in Doctoral Programme Admissions’. Slides for the workshop are available hereLink opens in a new window.

• Redefining cultures of excellence: Modelling change in research(er) agendas symposium, Nottingham Trent, 28 June 2023

'Pre-application Doctoral Communications: Exploring Institutional Gatekeeping in Doctoral Programme Admissions'

This talk presented both phases of the project and outlined the potential for PADC to impact inclusion agendas in research culture. Slides from the presentation are available here.

• PADC Staff Development Workshop: Education Studies, University of Warwick, 14 June, 2023

'Supervisor Development Workshop'

This workshop focused on enhancing thinking about inclusivity for supervisors active in the Department for Education Studies. Using our project briefings and activities, staff worked in groups to discuss potential scenarios, their responses and practice, and were invited to think about which recommendations would be actionable in their daily work. Slides for the workshop are available here.

• EARLl SIG 24 (Researcher Education and Careers), Online, 6 June 2023

'Pre-application Doctoral Communications: Exploring Institutional Gatekeeping in Doctoral Programme Admissions'

Presentation about the project for members of the EARLI Special Interest Group on Research Education and Careers. This presentation outlined both phases of the project and initial findings. The slides for this presentation are available here.

• Research Staff Forum Spring Seminar, Online, 14 February 2023

'Pre-Application Doctoral Communications: Implications for Research Staff at Warwick'

This presentation was delivered for research staff at Warwick to demonstrate the relevance of pre-application communications knowledge and awareness for practice across faculties. The second phase of the study, Searching for a Supervisor, was also presented. The slides for this presentation are available hereLink opens in a new window.

• Transcontinental Lab: Affect and Higher Education, Online, 12 January 2023

'Pre-Application Doctoral Communications: A Site of Affect in Higher Education'

In this presentation for international higher education researchers based in Denmark, Australia and the UK, we discussed the affective qualities of pre-application communications. Having given the attendees an outline of the study, its rationale, our methods and earlier findings, we shared longer excerpts from the data to explore their affective qualities and dimensions. We also presented the second phase of the study, Searching for a Supervisor. The slides for this presentation are available hereLink opens in a new window.

• SRHE Annual Conference: Mobilities in Higher Education, Society for Research into Higher Education, Online, 5-9 December 2022

'"It was a good email": Pre-application communications in doctoral student recruitment and the role of the potential supervisor'

In this presentation, we situated pre-application communications in the wider sphere of doctoral admissions and inclusivity in doctoral education; shared key findings about the role of the prospective supervisor in pre-application communications; identify key implications. The paper argues that pre-application communications are an important consideration in terms of inclusivity, and concomitantly that the pre-application space is difficult to regulate. The slides of the presentation is available hereLink opens in a new window.

• Researcher Education and Development Scholarship (REDS) international conference, University of Leeds, 12 October, 2022

'Losing talent in research careers from the very first contact? An exploratory study of pre-application communications in doctoral admissions at University of Warwick'

The project also incorporates the delivery of two interactive professional development activities:

• PADC Staff Development Briefing: Directors of PGR and Programme Officers, University of Warwick, 13 July, 2022
• PADC Staff Development Workshop: Supervisors, University of Warwick, 13 July , 2022

Co-hosted Doctoral College/Academic Development Centre, these two activities aimed 1) to (re)consider the roles of department/supervisor in the pre-application stage, 2) to identify changes at institutional and department levels to create a more inclusive doctoral admission process and 3) to facilitate the discussions and implementations of potential practices and changes.

• UKCGE Annual Conference: Innovations and developments in postgraduate education, University of Birmingham, 30 June-1 July, 2022

'Pre-application Doctoral Communications: A Participatory workshop Exploring Institutional Gatekeeping in Doctoral Programme Admissions'. The slides of the presentation is available hereLink opens in a new window.

• Warwick Inclusion Conference, University of Warwick, 16 June, 2022

'Exploring pre-application communications as an equity issue in doctoral education' The slides of the presentation is available hereLink opens in a new window.

This presentation shared early findings from our study, drawing out lessons for practice. We will engage participants in discussion about (a) the practices of various stakeholders in the pre-application stage, and (b) potential areas for action to address inequalities that can emerge in this process.