IRISH UNIVERSITIES STUDY Report on PhD Students in the Irish Universities IUS/01

Transcription

1 IRISH UNIVERSITIES STUDY Report on PhD Students in the Irish Universities IUS/01

2 CONTENTS ABBREVIATIONS PREFACE EXECUTIVE SUMMARY INTRODUCTION DATA HEA Data Irish Universities Data Eurostudent Data PERSONAL LIFE, INTEREST AND WELL-BEING Personal Characteristics Interest and Study Satisfaction Life Satisfaction/Well-Being Life Goals Socioeconomic Background FINANCIAL SITUATION AND TIME USAGE Objective Financial Situation Subjective Financial Situation Time Usage of PhD Students EARNINGS EXPECTATIONS Descriptive Information Explaining Earnings Expectations PhD STUDENTS FROM OUTSIDE IRELAND International Students and Irish Students CONCLUSIONS REFERENCES APPENDICES Appendix 1: Additional Tables

3 Liam Delaney, Sarah A Gubbins, Sarah M Gubbins, Colm Harmon, Conor O Carroll UCD Geary Institute and Irish Universities Association 19th December

4 ABBREVIATIONS DCU: Dublin City University EPA: Environmental Protection Agency HEA: Higher Education Authority HRB: Health Research Board IRCHSS: Irish Research Council for the Humanities and Social Sciences IRCSET: Irish Research Council for Science, Engineering and Technology NUIG: National University of Ireland, Galway NUIM: National University of Ireland, Maynooth OECD: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development PRTLI: Programme for Research in Third Level Institutions SIF: Strategic Innovation Fund SFI: Science Foundation Ireland SSTI: Strategy for Science Technology and Innovation TCD: Trinity College Dublin UCC: University College Cork UCD: University College Dublin UL: University of Limerick 2

5 PREFACE This report is one of a series drafted by the Irish Universities Study (IUS) which is funded by the HEA Strategic Innovation Fund (SIF) and the seven Irish universities. The aim of this study is to collate a substantial amount of information on students and researchers and their experiences at university. It is envisioned that this information will help bridge the gap in our knowledge in this area and in doing so help policy makers in the universities and government make better informed and more effective decisions. The Expert Group on Future Skill Needs whose role is to advise the Government on future skill requirements and associated labour market issues that impact on national potential for enterprise and employment growth have made the following key proposals for 2020: 48 per cent of the labour force should have qualifications at National Framework of Qualifications (NFQ) Levels 6 to 10 - from National Certificate to PhD level. 45 per cent should have qualifications at NFQ levels 4 and 5 - Awards equivalent to Leaving Certificate Examination. The remaining seven per cent are likely to have qualifications at NFQ levels 1 to 3 (i.e. below Junior Certificate) while aiming to transition to higher levels. Irish universities strive for excellence in all areas of Teaching & Learning, Research / Innovation and Knowledge Transfer. We are competing to retain our own and attract international students. This is in a highly competitive international environment. The Strategy for Science, Technology and Innovation (SSTI) have also outlined two ambitious goals in the development of Ireland s research capabilities: To build up a sustainable system of world class research teams in terms of people and supporting infrastructure, and to double the number of PhD students. In order to achieve these goals it is important for policy makers to have a better understanding of the student population and their experience in Irish Universities. A number of surveys are planned within this study, and the surveys are to be distributed randomly across students of the seven Irish Universities: Dublin City University, National University of Ireland Galway, National University of Ireland Maynooth, Trinity College Dublin, University College Cork, University College Dublin and University of Limerick. 3

6 This report is based on the first module of the IUS survey which was collected between February and June This first module looks at areas including student demographic variables, life satisfaction, life-goals, socioeconomic status, health, time-use, and earning expectations. Over 3,700 students responded to the first round of the survey. The reports drafted based on the first round of the survey are as follows: Undergraduate Research Experience: Benefits and Good Practice Report on Taught Programme Students in Irish Universities Report on PhD Students in the Irish Universities Report on International Students in the Irish Universities One aim of further rounds of the survey is to create a student feedback system on all aspects of the students experience in university from teaching and tutorial satisfaction to satisfaction with university systems and supports. There is also a separate survey for researchers in the Irish Universities. In order to achieve the SSTI research goals mentioned earlier - to develop world class research capabilities within Ireland, and to double the number of PhD students - we need to know more about the experience of researchers in terms of their motivation, satisfaction, and opinions on how the system can be improved upon. 4

7 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY In 2005 the universities presented their vision of the future PhD student in the policy document Reform of 3rd Level and Creation of 4th Level Ireland (2005). Since then universities have been working together to develop structured PhD programmes. The Strategy for Science Technology and Innovation (SSTI 2006) sets out a target of substantially increasing the number of PhD students being trained in Irish higher education institutions and researching across different sectors in Ireland. The objective of the SSTI is to double the number of PhD graduates by 2013 with reference to the base of The universities are committed to achieving this quantitative target ensuring that the quality of PhD graduates is maintained. To inform university and funding agency policy for PhD students it is critical to have a wide range of data on this population. While there is some basic numerical data little is known about the PhD population on a wide range of areas including funding sources, work patterns, nationality and salary expectations. This document profiles PhD students in Irish Universities on a number of key dimensions using data derived from the Irish Universities Study 2008 and the Eurostudent survey 2007 as well as HEA administrative data. 5

8 The key findings from the report are as follows: The report, for the first time, profiles PhD students in terms of personal variables. The average PhD student is approximately 26 years old. Thirty per cent of PhD students come from outside Ireland. Approximately 38 per cent of PhD students are single with the remainder being married, co-habiting or in a relationship. Seven per cent of PhD students have children. PhD students in Irish universities display strong levels of interest in their topic. The mean rating on a ten-point interest scale for this group is 8.6. Over 70 per cent of students are satisfied or very satisfied with their college, with 20 per cent finding the college acceptable. They are less satisfied with their financial situation than with other areas of their lives. In terms of life goals, PhD students in Ireland place a high value on career and family, and a relatively low value on wealth, prominence, religion, making it to the top of their career, and recognition. Compared to the general population, the parents of PhD students are highly educated. However, a substantial minority of the students are educational pioneers; they have progressed to PhD level despite the fact that neither of their parents participated in higher education. One quarter of the students have older siblings who had previously completed third level. Scholarships are the main income source for PhD students, comprising approximately 60 per cent of PhD student income. Removing outliers, median monthly PhD income is approximately 1,300. Debt levels are low among PhD students, with approximately half of PhD students holding no debt and median debt levels among PhD students being approximately 200. PhD students spend, on average, 38 hours per week studying or attending classes and 8 hours per week in paid employment. PhD students who do not have a scholarship spend, on average, 13 hours per week in paid employment whereas students with any form of scholarship spend, on average, 6 hours per week in paid employment. Consequently, there is a strongly negative relationship between scholarship amount and time spent in paid employment. 6

9 Male PhD students have substantially higher earnings expectations than female PhD students. These differentials subsist, even controlling for subject area, life ambitions and age. In particular, substantially more males expect to earn more than 140,000 per year over the course of their career than females. PhD students from outside Ireland are slightly older than Irish PhD students (27.9 years compared to 26.5 years for Irish students). They are twice as likely to be married (17.9 per cent) than Irish PhD students (8.5 per cent). Scholarships account for 61 per cent of their income compared with 62 per cent for Irish students. The percentage of students reporting that they are satisfied or very satisfied with their college is slightly higher among international students (74.5 per cent) than among Irish students (72.4 per cent). Irish and international students report similar levels of interest in their topic. 7

10 1 INTRODUCTION A number of recent policies, in particular the Strategy for Science Technology and Innovation (SSTI), have set the goal of increasing the number of PhD students being trained in Irish universities and working in Irish research across different sectors. For these policies to be successful, it is important that information exists about the composition of PhD students in Irish universities and the factors that determine success in PhD studies, retention of PhD students and later life outcomes of PhD students. There are currently approximately 4,460 students pursuing a PhD in Irish Universities. To date, there has been very little research on their funding, career expectations and interaction with their institutions. To redress this gap, this document provides a comprehensive overview of the PhD student population in the seven Irish universities relying on two data-sets - the Irish Universities 2008 data-set and the Eurostudent 2007 data-set. 8

11 This document, which is one of a series of briefings from the Irish University Study (IUS), outlines the data collected from the first round of this study and focuses on some key issues for PhD students in Irish universities. In particular, we examine the financial circumstances of Irish university PhD students, looking at both self-reported financial indicators and self-assessed financial situation. Uniquely, we examine the earnings expectations of Irish PhD students both in the short-term and in the long-term and attempt to explain gender differences in long-term earnings expectations. The rest of the document is structured as follows. Section 2 outlines the data being used in the project which consists of novel data being collected online in the seven universities, along with secondary survey data and administrative data. Section 3 gives a profile of Irish PhD students in terms of demographics, study interest, satisfaction and life goals. Section 4 examines self-reported and self-assessed financial conditions among Irish PhD students. Section 5 examines and attempts to explain earnings expectations among PhD students in Ireland. Section 6 examines international PhD students in Ireland while Section 7 provides conclusions and insight into future research in this area. 9

12 2 DATA Data is derived from two main sources which are described below. We utilise HEA records to examine the extent to which our data matches the population in terms of distributions across colleges and across faculties. Eurostudent 2007 covers approximately 20 per cent of the total PhD population in Ireland while the Irish Universities study surveyed approximately 10 per cent of the PhD population. Even allowing for potential duplication between the two data-sets, this represents a sizeable sample of the PhD population and allows us to conduct rigorous analysis of subsamples in a way that has not hitherto been possible. Having said that, the characteristics of people who do not respond to surveys need to be probed in more depth. In particular, the extent to which college addresses are used needs to be examined further to better understand the sampling frame. 2.1 HEA Data Data from the HEA (2007 figures) reveal that there are approximately 4,460 PhD students in Irish universities. 31 per cent study in UCD, 19 per cent in TCD, 14 per cent in UCC, 12 per cent in NUIG, 9 per cent in UL, 8 per cent in NUIM and 7 per cent in DCU. We utilise HEA data in the report to examine the extent to which the sample data is representative of university PhD students. 2.2 Irish Universities Study Data The Irish Universities study was designed by the team in the UCD Geary Institute and administered between February and June 2008 using a web survey format. Data was collected on key baseline demographics of respondents. Data was also collected in a number of different areas including study interest, life satisfaction, life goals, financial situation, earning expectations and international students. 413 PhD students in total were surveyed across the seven universities. The distribution of the sample across the universities is displayed in Table while Table displays the distribution by field of study. Comparing the survey sample to HEA 2007 figures for the seven universities, we see that the subject distribution closely matches the HEA data. Science is the most popular discipline for PhD study with 40.3 per cent of students studying it according to HEA figures. This is a very close match to the survey sample of the Irish Universities Study at 39.3 per cent. The second and third most popular fields of study in our sample are the Humanities and Arts and Social Science, Business and Law with 22.8 per cent and 17.5 per cent of students across these disciplines. These figures also closely match HEA figures with 17.1 per cent and 13.9 per cent of PhD students studying in these respective fields. 1 Higher Education Authority (2008) Higher Education Key Facts and Figures. Dublin: Higher Education Authority. 10

13 Table 2.2.1: College Distribution of PhD Students: IUS Cumulative College Observations Percentage Percentage UCC UCD NUIG NUIM TCD DCU Total Work is ongoing to increase the representativeness and scope of the sample. At present, there is no graduate data for UL and the study team are working with individuals within the University to resolve this. Table 2.2.2: Distribution of Field of Study: IUS Sample Population Main Area Observations Percentage Percentage Education Humanities and Arts Social Science/Business/Law Science Engineering and Construction Agriculture/Veterinary Health/Welfare Other Total

14 2.3 Eurostudent Data The Eurostudent study was commissioned by the HEA as part of a European project. It was designed and implemented by the team in the UCD Geary Institute and administered between December 2006 and April Full details of the study including the questionnaire are available as a HEA report and will be published shortly. 830 PhD students from the Irish Universities were included in the study (approximately 20 per cent of the total cohort). The distribution of this group across the universities and by main area of study is displayed in Table and Table below. Table 2.3.1: Distribution of PhD Students by College: Eurostudent Cumulative College Observations Percentage Percentage DCU NUIG NUIM TCD UL UCC UCD Total Table 2.3.2: Distribution of PhD Students by Main Area: Eurostudent Sample Population Main area of study Observations Percentage Percentage Education Humanities and Arts Social Science/Business/Law Science Engineering, Manufacturing and Construction Agriculture/Veterinary Health/Welfare Sport/Catering/Services Total

15 3 PERSONAL LIFE, INTEREST AND WELL-BEING 3.1 Personal Characteristics The median age of PhD students in the Eurostudent survey is 26 years (mean of 27.14). Thirty per cent come from outside of Ireland. The IUS sample is slightly older with a median age of 27 (mean of 29.1). Again, 30 per cent of the IUS sample are from outside of Ireland. Thirty-eight per cent of the sample are single, 26 per cent are in a relationship, 20 per cent are married, 14 per cent are co-habiting and 2 per cent are divorced, widowed or separated. Only 11 per cent smoke, less than half the smoking rate in the general population. Fifty-six per cent of the Eurostudent PhD sample is female compared to 58 per cent of the IUS sample. Approximately 7 per cent of the Eurostudent PhD sample have children. 3.2 Interest and Study Satisfaction PhD students in Irish universities display strong levels of intrinsic interest in their topic. The mean rating on a ten-point interest scale for this group is 8.6. Furthermore, over 90 per cent cited interest in subject area as a key reason for choosing to take a PhD compared to, for example, approximately 50 per cent who cited getting a good job as a key reason. Over 70 per cent of students are satisfied or very satisfied with their college, with 20 per cent finding the college acceptable. 3.3 Life Satisfaction/Well-Being Levels of domain specific life satisfaction are displayed in Table 3.3.1, confirming the relatively low rates of satisfaction with finance compared to other life domains. Irish students were more satisfied with their accommodation than international students as displayed in Figure In contrast, Irish PhD students score lower on measures of satisfaction with work, studies and relationships. Married students and students living as a couple were more satisfied with their accommodation and relationships than other students. The study also assessed overall life satisfaction, health and happiness. A simple model of the variables is presented in Tables & of the Appendix. The purpose of this analysis is to examine whether there are systematic differences among PhD students in terms of gender, age, nationality and marital status. Clear differences emerged from two factors - relationship and nationality. Married students score higher on measures of life satisfaction and happiness as displayed in Figure Irish students score lower on measures of happiness than international students. 13

16 Table 3.3.1: Domain Specific Life Satisfaction (IUS) Variable Observations Mean Std. Dev Min Max Satisfaction with accommodation Satisfaction with work Satisfaction with material circumstances Satisfaction with friendships Satisfaction with relationships Satisfaction with studies Figure 3.3.1: Life Satisfaction of International and Irish PhD Students Accommodation Irish Work Material Friendships Relationships Studies International 14

17 Figure 3.3.2: Relationship Status and Happiness happy satisfied single married living as a couple divorced/ widowed/ separated in a relationship 3.4 Life Goals A number of previous papers have examined the life goals of undergraduate students but very few papers to date have examined life goals of graduate and PhD students. Using the Life Goals Questionnaire (Wilding & Andrews, 2006), we assessed the importance of 13 life domains as assessed by the PhD student sample. The results are displayed in Tables & which gives the mean response from both the Eurostudent and IUS surveys. Both sets of results are very similar and indicate a group of individuals who place a high value on career and family and a relatively low value on wealth, prominence, religion, making it to the top of their career, and recognition. 15

18 Table 3.4.1: Life Goals Among PhD Students (IUS) Variable Obs Mean Std. Dev Min Max Career Social life Contribution to society Financial security Attain prominent position in society Good relationship with family Committed loving relationship Religion Recognition Get to top of chosen career Raise own family Contributing to well-being of other people Being very wealthy Table 3.4.2: Life Goals Among PhD Students (Eurostudent) Variable Obs Mean Std. Dev Min Max Career Social Life Worthwhile contribution to society Financial security Attain prominent position in society Good relationship with family Religion Recognition Raise own family Get to top of chosen career Committed loving relationship Contributing to well-being of other people Being very wealthy

19 3.5 Socioeconomic Background The parental education levels of PhD students are listed in Table Compared to the general population, these are relatively high levels as can be seen in Figures and However, a substantial minority of the students are educational pioneers in the sense that they have progressed to PhD level despite neither of their parents having participated in higher education. In fact, almost 49 per cent of the PhD students come from families where neither parent has a third-level qualification. In total, 32 per cent of the PhD students are from families where neither their parents nor any siblings have completed third level. Table 3.5.1: Educational Level of PhD Students Parents Education Level Father Mother Freq. Percent Freq. Percent No formal qualification Primary only Group/Inter/Junior Certificate Leaving Certificate Apprenticeship without Leaving Certificate Apprenticeship with Leaving Certificate Leaving Certificate and professional qualification Third-level degree Professional qualification Both a degree and professional qualification Postgraduate certificate or diploma Masters degree PhD Total

20 Figure 3.5.1: Parental Education Levels as Compared to the General Male Population 30% 25% 20% 15% 10% 5% 0% No formal qualification Primary only Group/Inter/Junior Certificate Male population Father s Education Source: Census Figure 3.5.2: Parental Education Levels as Compared to the General Female Population 30% 25% 20% 15% 10% 5% 0% No formal qualification Leaving Certificate Apprenticeship without Leaving Certificate Primary only Group/Inter/Junior Certificate Apprenticeship with Leaving Certificate Leaving Certificate and professional qualification Third-level degree Professional qualification Postgraduate certificate or diploma Both a degree and professional qualification Masters degree PhD Female population Mother s Education Source: Census Leaving Certificate Apprenticeship without Leaving Certificate Apprenticeship with Leaving Certificate Leaving Certificate and professional qualification Third-level degree Professional qualification Postgraduate certificate or diploma Both a degree and professional qualification Masters degree PhD 18

21 We also examine the extent to which students siblings had progressed through the education system. One quarter of the students had older siblings who had completed third level. A further important variable is the extent to which the students come from peer backgrounds where higher education was prominent. This is shown in Figure As can be seen from the data, the majority of PhD students come from environments where the normal option is to progress to third level. Figure 3.5.3: Percentage of Childhood Peers who did not Complete Second Level or who entered Labour Force directly after Second Level No Secondary Entered Workforce None A few Some Most All 19

22 4 FINANCIAL SITUATION AND TIME USAGE 4.1 Objective Financial Situation The Eurostudent survey elicited information on debt, income and expenditure among PhD students. The financial situation of PhD students is broken down by these key variables. In terms of debt levels, approximately half (47.2 per cent) of PhD students do not any owe money. Two per cent of PhD students owe more than 100,000. The remaining 50 per cent of students owe up to 86,000, with the median debt level being 200 (mean of 23,000). In total, the majority of this group owe less than 1,000 and the bulk of overall PhD student debt is confined to a relatively small group of individuals. While debt levels among PhD students are low, income levels are also not very high. We exclude students who claim that their income is less than 100 per month and students who claim to have greater than 10,000 per month of income. This restricts the sample to 777 students. Median monthly income is approximately 1,300 in the universities study data. As can be seen, scholarships comprise approximately 60 per cent of PhD student income, Table Table 4.1.1: Income Sources of PhD Students (Eurostudent) Without Scholarship With Scholarship Total Family Grant Employment Scholarship Social Welfare Loan Assistance Other Expenditure patterns are shown in Table The average PhD student spends approximately 370 per month on accommodation, 220 on food, 77 on transport, 99 on other bills and 77 on clothes. Some caution should be exercised when interpreting these figures given the conceptual difficulty in bracketing different expenditure items into time periods but they give a useful summary benchmark of expenditure patterns among this group. 2 The term scholarship is used in this document to include individual scholarships (e.g. IRCHSS, IRCSET) and students funded through project grants (e.g. SFI, FP7, HRB) 20

23 Table 4.1.2: Expenditure of PhD Students Variable Observations Mean Std. Dev Min Max Accommodation Regular bills Food Clothing/toiletries Transport Medical expenses Mobile phone Alcohol Tobacco Entertainment Loan repayments Books Examination fees Study and materials Association fees Childcare Other In terms of funding, SFI, IRCHSS, IRCSET and PRTLI provides the bulk of PhD stipends. These vary from individual PhD scholarships (eg. IRCHSS, IRCSET) to stipend derived from a funding project, under SFI for example. HEA figures for 2007 indicate that 4.5 per cent of PhD students hold IRCHSS scholarships while 12.9 per cent have IRCSET funding. This is in comparison with our survey results of 5.08 per cent and per cent. HEA figures show that 22.4 per cent are supported by SFI and 14.8 per cent funded under PRTLI compared to per cent and 7.75 per cent of students supported by these schemes in our figures. The under-representation of PhD students in the sample who attribute their funding sources to SFI and PRTLI is most likely due to less awareness among these students of their funding source and this is something we will investigate further in the next round of the study. 21

24 Table 4.1.3: Sources of Funding Funded Observations Sample Percentage IRCHSS IRCSET SFI HRB Teagasc PRTLI Local Authority EPA Marine Institute Non EU Self Other Total Figure 4.1.4: Funding Sample versus Population 25% 20% 15% 10% Sample Population 5% 0% IRCHSS IRCSET SFI PRTLI 22

25 4.2 Subjective Financial Situation The Irish University Study elicited substantial information about subjective financial situation. Table below displays the frequency of running out of money, with approximately 20 per cent of PhD students running out of money every month or more often. Table in the Appendix models the frequency of this occurrence as a function of a number of variables. The results indicate that this is particularly common for younger students and also is far less likely among funded students. This analysis is replicated in Table of the Appendix for the three main measures of subjective financial strain. The results again clearly show that financial strain lessens with age, does not differ according to gender and is far more pronounced among self-funded PhD students than among grant-funded students. Table 4.2.1: Frequency of Running Out of Money Observations Percentage Cumulative Percentage Almost every week Every couple of weeks Almost every month Every couple of months Once or twice Never Total Time Usage of PhD Students It is important to assess time use as it gives an indication of the extent to which different groups of students are investing in their PhD as opposed to working in the labour market. Several studies of undergraduates have examined the effect of working in paid employment on student outcomes. However, to date, there has been little work conducted on the time-use of PhD students and none that we are aware of in the Irish context. The specific categories we examine in this section are: paid employment; time use on taught study; personal study; college activities. PhD students spend, on average, 38 hours per week on their thesis studies and research and 8 hours per week in paid employment. PhD students who do not have a scholarship spend, on average, 13 hours per week in paid employment whereas students with any form of scholarship spend, on average, 6 hours per week in paid employment. Our results therefore indicate a strongly negative relationship between having a scholarship and time spent in paid employment. 3 Studies of undergraduates and the effects of paid work on student outcomes include Ehrenberg, R.G. and Sherman, D.R. (1987), Joensen, S.J. (2007), Kalenkoski, C.M. and Pabilonia (2008), Stinebrickner, R. and Stinebrickner, T.R. (2003) & (2004). 23

26 5 EARNINGS EXPECTATIONS Earnings expectations are important because they provide information about the extent to which the respondents believe they will benefit financially from their course of study. Previous research has identified the following as possible determinants of differences in earnings expectations: talent, social background, field of study, life goals, effort or motivation and personality (Need & de Jong, 2008); expectations and experiences of motherhood (Chevalier, 2007); parental values and socialisation (Newcomb and Rabow, 1999). It has consistently been found that men expect to earn more money than women in the long term (e.g Blau & Ferber, 1991). 5.1 Descriptive Information The distribution of earnings expectations for males and females is displayed in Figure 5.1.1, using data derived from the Irish Universities Study. The distribution of maximum salary expectations over the lifetime is given in Figure It demonstrates the substantially higher life-time earnings expectations of males compared to females. As can be seen in Figure 5.1.3, there are moderately higher earnings expectations in the long run among PhD students compared to undergraduate students. Figure 5.1.1: Short Run Earnings Expectations Up to 10,000 10,001-20,000 20,001-30,000 30,001-40,000 40,001-51,000 51,001-61,000 61,001-71,000 71,001 or more Men Women 24

27 Figure 5.1.2: Long Run Earnings Expectations Up to 20,000 20,001-40,000 40,001-60,000 60,001-80,000 80, , , , , , ,001 or more Men Women Figure Differences in Long Run Expectations: Undergraduates versus PhD Up to 20,000 20,001-40,000 40,001-60,000 60,001-80,000 80, , , , , , ,001 or more Undergrads PhD 25

28 5.2 Explaining Earnings Expectations The reasons behind these large gender differences in long-term earnings expectations need to be explored further. In particular, we wished to assess the extent to which gender differences are explained by differences across field of study and differences in motivation. As can be seen in Table of the Appendix, very little of the gender effect is explained by differences in the field of study that individuals are pursuing. Furthermore, gender differences in earnings expectations are not due to gender differences in life goals such as different emphasis on family or wealth. Even the most generous of statistical specifications that include these variables explain only approximately a quarter of the gender differences in life-long earnings expectations. 26

29 6 PHD STUDENTS FROM OUTSIDE IRELAND 6.1 International Students and Irish Students As stated above, 30 per cent of the PhD students come from outside of Ireland. It is important to examine this group separately. Table 6.1 below gives a number of key characteristics of international PhD students comparing them to Irish students using data both from the Eurostudent survey and the Irish Universities Study. Table 6.1: Distribution of Key Traits Irish versus Non-Irish International Domestic Students Students Age* % Male* % of Income from Scholarship* % Married % Satisfied/Very Satisfied with College % Frequently Running Out of Money % with Children* % of PhD students studying Science Mean Study Interest *Indicates that data derives from Eurostudent Looking at personal characteristics, the average PhD student from outside Ireland is 27.9 years old, which is slightly older than the average Irish PhD student at 26.5 years. International PhD students are twice as likely to be married (17.9 per cent) than Irish PhD students (8.5 per cent). In terms of finance, scholarships account for 61 per cent of international PhD students income compared with 62 per cent for Irish students. A greater proportion of Irish students (21.7 per cent) than international students (16.7 per cent) run out of money frequently. Analysing satisfaction and topic interest, the percentage of students reporting that they are satisfied or very satisfied with their college is slightly higher among international students (74.5 per cent) than among Irish students (72.4 per cent). Irish and international students report similar levels of interest in their topic on a ten-point scale (8.61 for international students, 8.62 for Irish students). Irish students score lower than international students on subjective measures of well-being. Our analysis indicates clear contrasts on a number of variables relating to Irish and international students. It is important that universities recognise these different characteristics in formulating policy and services for international PhD students. 27

30 7 CONCLUSIONS The outcome of this study provides us with highly valuable information for the first time on PhD students. In particular, we now have baseline information on key demographic and personal characteristics of PhD students in Irish universities. The results reveal the substantial importance of the main national science and research agencies in PhD financing. Approximately 60 per cent of the sample held some form of scholarship. For these students, the scholarship was their dominant source of financing. Students without scholarships are, in general, far more likely to experience financial strain when conducting their PhD. Unlike undergraduate financing in Ireland that is dominated by both parental transfers and paid work, the latter is far more common among PhD students when scholarships are not available. Future research in this project will examine more closely the nature of financing among non-scholarship funded PhD students and examine the effect of different financing alternatives on key variables such as PhD completion and subjective strain. The difference between the long-run earnings expectations of male and female PhD students merits further study. The difference cannot be explained by factors such as personality, course of study and measures of work attitudes and is likely to be based on specific attitudes and expectations about the job market. How these expectations are formed, their accuracy and whether they are potentially self-fulfilling are important questions to resolve. The experiences of international PhD students need to be examined further. The present study indicates that international students completing PhDs in Ireland are older and more likely to be married, which in itself has implications for adjustment into the Irish system. While the difference in satisfaction levels with key life domains between domestic and international students is lower for PhD students than for undergraduate students, it is still the case that international students have substantially lower reported satisfaction with accommodation than domestic students. Several countries are now competing to attract talented PhD students. Most notably, New Zealand which introduced in 2006 an ambitious programme of subsidising international PhD students. It is important also to examine all barriers that international students face when interacting with the Irish system. Ideally, such research would also examine potential students who are considering coming to Ireland to study and also students who considered coming but did not do so. In the next module of the study, we will examine in further depth the specific experiences of international students with the Irish system. The next module of the study will develop the themes explored in this document. In particular, we will examine the effects of the structured PhD programmes and probe in more depth the relationship between the PhD student and various aspects of the college structure such as supervision, information and facilities. 28

31 8 REFERENCES Blau, F., & Ferber, M. (1991). Career plans and expectations of young women and men: the earnings gap and labor force participation. NBER working paper series. Chevalier, A. (2007). Education, occupation and career expectations: determinants of the gender pay gap for UK graduates. Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, 69, 6, Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment (2006) Strategy for Science, Technology and Innovation: Dublin: Stationary Office, Ehrenberg, R. G. and Sherman, D. R. (1987). Employment While in College, Academic- Achievement, and Postcollege Outcomes - a Summary of Results. Journal of Human Resources, 1987, 22(1), pp Expert Group on Future Skill Needs, 5th Report Tomorrow s Skills: Towards a National Skills Strategy, (2007). Higher Education Authority (2008). Higher Education Key Facts and Figures. Dublin: Higher Education Authority. Irish Universities Association (2005). Reform of 3rd Level and Creation of 4th Level Ireland securing a competitive advantage in the 21st century. Joensen, S.J. (2007). Academic and Labour Market Success: The Impact of Student Employment, Abilities, and Preferences. Stockholm School of Economics Working Paper, Kalenkoski, C.M., and Pabilonia, S.W. (2008). Parental Transfers, Student Achievement, and the Labour Supply of College Students. Revise and Resubmit for Journal of Population Economics. US Bureau of Labour Statistics (BLS) Working Papers, 2008, 401. Need, A. & de Jong, U. (2008). Personality traits and gender-specific income expectations in Dutch higher education. Social Indicators Research, 86, Newcomb, M., & Rabow, J. (1999). Gender, socialization, and money. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 29, 4, Stinebrickner, R. and Stinebrickner, T. R. (2004). Time-Use and College Outcomes. Journal of Econometrics, 2004, 121(1-2), pp Stinebrickner, R. and Stinebrickner, T. R. (2003). Working During School and Academic Performance. Journal of Labor Economics, 2003, 21(2), pp Wilding, J., & Andrews, B. (2006). Life goals, approaches to study and performance in an undergraduate cohort. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 76,

32 9 APPENDICES Appendix 1: Additional Tables Table 3.3.2: Determinants of Life Satisfaction and Happiness (1) (2) (3) COEFFICIENT Health Satisfaction Happiness Age Irish ** Gender Married ** 0.945*** Living as Couple * Divorced Relationship * Constant 3.778*** 6.770*** 7.702*** Observations R-squared Standard errors in parentheses *** p<0.01, ** p<0.05, * p<0.1 30

33 Table 3.3.3: Determinants of Domain Specific Life Satisfaction a) (1) (2) (3) COEFFICIENT Accommodation Work Material Age Irish 0.366** Gender * Married 0.459** Living as Couple 0.443** Divorced ** Relationship Constant 2.878*** 4.131*** 2.863*** Observations R-squared b) (4) (5) (6) COEFFICIENT Friendships Relationships Studies Age ** Irish Gender Married *** 0.398* Living as Couple *** Divorced * Relationship *** Constant 4.104*** 3.256*** 4.240*** Observations R-squared Standard errors in parentheses *** p<0.01, ** p<0.05, * p<0.1 31

34 Table 4.2.2: Determinants of Running Out Of Money (1) (2) COEFFICIENT Running out of money Running out of money IRCHSS * IRCSET * SFI HRB Teagasc PRTLI Local Authority EPA Marine Non-EU Other Age *** Gender Observations R-squared.. Standard errors in parentheses *** p<0.01, ** p<0.05, * p<0.1 32

35 Table 4.2.3: Determinants of Financial Strain on Multiple Measures (1) (2) (3) COEFFICIENT Running out of money Financial Situation Financial Worry IRCHSS * ** *** IRCSET * *** *** SFI HRB * Teagasc PRTLI Local Authority EPA Marine Non-EU ** Other Age *** ** ** Gender Observations Standard errors in parentheses *** p<0.01, ** p<0.05, * p<0.1 33

36 Table 5.2.1: Long-Run Earnings Expectations Regressions (1) (2) (3) COEFFICIENT Earning Expectations Earning Expectations Earning Expectations Female *** *** *** Age *** * Humanities 1.762*** 1.988*** Social Sciences 0.769*** 0.723*** Business 1.337** 1.206** Law 1.465*** 1.348*** Science Maths Computer Science 1.039*** 1.171*** Engineering 0.712** 0.638** Agriculture Health 1.172** 1.170** Other Interest Wealth Ambition Family Ambition Career Ambition 0.359*** Love Ambition Constant 6.991*** 7.096*** 5.379*** Observations R-squared Standard errors in parentheses *** p<0.01, ** p<0.05, * p<0.1 34

37 NOTES

38 NOTES

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