PhD enrolments decline in Australia as economic pressures discourage prospective students
Alexandra Paton says she has to live frugally to survive on a PhD stipend. (Supplied)
In short:
PhD enrolments among domestic students in Australia have been declining, new research highlights.
Universities Australia says this is because the increasing cost of living pressures are making a low federal government stipend even harder to live off.
What's next?
The federal government says it's implementing a number of recommendations from higher education review, and is considering some recommendations, including increasing the stipend.
Alexandra Paton has learned to live below minimum wage for her passion.
"I've been to Tassie's beautiful, remote islands and camped overnight and seen every star in the sky," the University of Tasmania PhD candidate said.
The 27-year-old ecologist has had to live frugally, becoming a vegetarian by default because it's cheaper.
Alexandra Paton says her research into invasive species is making an impact for the next generation. (Supplied)
When she began her PhD into invasive species management, the federal government-provided stipend to support her 38-hour research week was $29,863.
"That means you've got an hourly rate of $15 an hour," Ms Paton said.
"I can do what I love and that's fantastic, I can contribute to research in an important area.
"But I'm earning less that I did when I was 14 at McDonalds."
Alexandra Paton says the stipend of a PhD student is difficult to live off, but passion for her research spurs her on. (Supplied)
Ms Paton said it was common among her PhD peers to dumpster dive and forage for food.
"They're not doing this because they're going to starve, they're doing this because they're trying to put a little bit of money in their savings account."
She said she felt like a "goblin going from job to job" taking whatever paid work she could get to augment her income.
"If the government is going to ask, why aren't people doing a PhD, why would they? It's insane. It's a terrible system."
Ms Paton is among about 40,000 domestic PhD students in Australia — a figure that new research indicates has declined in recent years.
University of Tasmania PhD candidate Alexandra Paton says the PhD system is "terrible". (Supplied)
Domestic PhD enrolments in decline
The research released by Universities Australia and the Australian Council of Graduate Research has highlighted an eight per cent drop in PhD enrolments between 2018 and 2023.
Universities Australia CEO Luke Sheehy said the trend was being driven by cost-of-living pressures and the "inadequate" stipend that PhD students received.
He said the average PhD candidate was 37 years old, with financial responsibilities like families and mortgages.
Luke Sheehy says a drop in PhD enrolments could impact Australia's reputation as an international leader in education and innovation. (Supplied)
He wants the federal government to lift the base PhD stipend to $36,000 per annum.
In 2025, the base full-time stipend will be $33,511.
"We want to make sure that PhD students, many of which are really feeling the pinch during a cost-of-living crisis, have the confidence to go and do their essential research while not worrying about putting a roof over their head or putting food on the table."
According to the report, universities are able to increase stipends to $46,653, but none had done so due to budget constraints.
Top talent could seek opportunities elsewhere, advocate says
The national president for the Council of Australian Postgraduate Associations, Jesse Gardner Russell, who is also a PhD candidate, said he was not at all surprised about the decline in students willing to take up a doctorate.
"The living support that comes from the stipend … it's not enough to properly support them in their research," he said.
"We're talking about the top talent in our country. They are looking at other opportunities, other avenues."
Jesse Gardner Russell says Australia's research output has a major role to play in the country's reputation overseas. (Supplied)
The ophthalmology researcher, whose work has been focused on how to reverse blindness in stroke sufferers, said he was doing his PhD for $20 an hour.
He compared it to a Danish international student he taught who was receiving an almost six-figure stipend in Australian dollars from the Danish government.
"We're not calling for a six-figure stipend, we're calling for a living wage that is meeting minimum wage," he said.
Mr Gardner Russell said most PhD students had to fit in other employment, often teaching at university, around full-time research.
Jesse Gardner Russell is researching the connection between the brain and blood vessels in the eye for his PhD. (Supplied)
"It's very common for PhD students to come in at 9am and be leaving at 9, 10, 11pm," he said.
As an advocate for graduate students nationally, he said PhD students across disciplines all had a role to play in contributing to innovative technology and thinking.
"In the international scene, PhD research is hugely important and as a country that calls itself the clever country I think it's really important that we support the people that are driving our reputation," he said.
He cited childcare, rent and food as the top financial struggles for PhD students, many of whom have partners and children.
He said a recent survey of University of Melbourne graduate students revealed that food security was the top concern for 73 per cent of them.
Nearly three-quarters of University of Melbourne graduate students said food security was their top concern, according to a survey. (ABC News: Mark Farnell)
But Conor Clements, who has been completing a PhD in linguistics at Macquarie University, said while it was difficult financially he was "at peace with it".
"There's definitely been times where you notice that your savings are draining," he said.
"[But] I sort of walked into this knowing that it wasn't going to be a huge, lucrative amount."
While he agreed with other students that the stipend should be raised, Mr Clements said part of the reason he was okay was he did not have a significant financial burden, like a mortgage.
"I really don't know how people manage to make that work, it must be very difficult."
Diverse outcomes for PhD graduates
An Australian survey from 2019 revealed around half of PhD graduates hoped to leave academia and work in business or the public sector once they graduated.
Universities Australia CEO Luke Sheehy said graduates contributed enormously to output and innovation.
"If Australia wants to be a successful knowledge economy with new and emerging industries, high tech and well paid industries, we need to make sure we're encouraging more students in Australia and international students to come to Australia and take PhD programs," he said.
Luke Sheehy says PhD graduates contribute to the private and public sectors. (ABC News: Keana Naughton)
"If we don't encourage more students to take PhDs and do research at our universities, we will suffer in the globally competitive race to be the best and the brightest.
"We are competing with countries like Singapore, South Korea, Canada and the European Union who are investing heavily in research and development, and investing in research and development means more PhD students."
Australian government report recommends stipend rise
In November 2022, the Australian government commissioned the Australian Universities Accord, a broad review of the higher education sector.
Its report, released in February last year, contains 47 recommendations, including raising the PhD stipend.
Federal Education Minister Jason Clare didn't rule out implementing that particular recommendation in the future.
"The government is implementing 31 accord recommendations in full or in part and we are continuing to consider the other recommendations of the accord," he said.