Racial inequality is a prominent issue in the UK, and this extends into education.
We can see this gap at an undergraduate level, with a 22.6% difference between white and black African-Caribbean students receiving a 2:1 degree or above.
We also see this gap at postgraduate level, with black and minority ethnic students being far less likely to go on to higher research degrees, such as PhDs and professional doctorates, than white students. In fact, in 2020, only 18.1% of research postgraduate students identified as black or minority ethnic.
Despite these statistics, there is a growing community of black students pursuing doctorates in the UK. To increase our visibility and celebrate our achievements, Black Future Dr has been developed.
Black Future Dr is an upcoming podcast, funded by the SWDTP’s Impact Fund and dedicated to showcasing the experiences of black doctoral students in the UK. This includes PhD students, as well as students doing professional and medical doctorates. There will be 12 episodes in total, with each focusing on a different student studying a different subject at a different institution. Each episode will be 20 minutes long and will be hosted by Nina Higson-Sweeney (@n_higsonsweeney), a SWDTP-funded PhD student at the University of Bath. We will be discussing a variety of topics, including supervision, motivation, mentorship and non-traditional pathways.
Episodes will be released weekly starting from Monday 3rd May 2021 and can be listened to via Acast as well as on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, and Deezer.
Current guest speakers for the podcast include:
- Lateesha Osbourne, a final-year PhD student in Psychology at the University of Bath
- Rees Johnson, a third-year PhD student in Law at the University of Manchester
- Adewale Kukoyi, a second-year student studying for a professional doctorate in medicine at the University of Bristol
- Alanah Mortlock, a second-year PhD student in Gender Studies at the London School of Economics
- Emmanuel Johnson, a third-year PhD student in Education at Coventry University
- Louisa Brotherson, a third-year PhD student in Earth Sciences at the University of Liverpool
- Dave Mankhokwe Namusanya, a second-year PhD student in Sociology at Abertay University
With 5 more guests to be announced!
To keep up to date with the podcast, follow @BlackFutureDr on Twitter or subscribe to the podcast on your chosen platform.