More than academia: Expanding career support for doctoral researchers
Think tank: HEPI
Author(s): Charlotte Fawcett
July 16, 2026
This report from UK think tank examines careers provisions available to UK PhD students.
A new report published by the Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI) examines careers provisions available to UK PhD students. Supporting PhD students into a wide range of careers, both academic and non-academic will benefit the UK economy, in particular the research and development sector.
The number of PhD students in the UK has continued to increase, but academic roles are not keeping pace, one of the factors driving greater post-PhD career diversity. While some progress has been made, more support is still needed to prepare PhD students for a wider range of career paths.
More Than Academia: Expanding Career Support for Doctoral Researchers (HEPI Report 204) by Dr Charlotte Fawcett shows that a third of PhD students are dissatisfied with career guidance from their supervisors. Additionally, more than a third of respondents feel that their supervisor does not make time for frank conversations about their career and only 27% think their supervisor has useful advice for careers outside of academia. Despite this, the question remains, are supervisors those best positioned to provide careers advice or is better signposting required instead?
While many PhD students continue to seek work in academia (with 46% choosing it as their first-choice sector, despite increasing competition for academic roles), students highlight the need for more information about the range of careers available to them and the career trajectories of alumni.
Although a growing number of resources have been established, both institutionally and more widely, areas for improvement in PhD careers provision remain, including tracking doctorate holders. Furthermore, perceptions that non-academic career routes equate to failure persist amongst PhD students. Given that so many PhD students later work in and lead a wide range of sectors, changing this perception of non-academic careers is of critical importance. This will ensure that PhD students are ready to pursue a range of different careers, benefiting the UK labour market. rep
