Postgraduate Research UK Update as of November 2025

Our unique Pulse trackers and Share of Search data provide insights on thousands of prospective students interested in UK PhD opportunities. As of November 2025, we’re seeing that:

• International interest for UK PhD study sees slight growth from non-EU audiences and strong growth from the EU (tracking far above what we saw in November 2024).
  
  
• Growth from the top 15 audiences is varied, with interest predominantly up from across Europe, in particular Spain and Italy from whom we continue to see dramatic growth due to a drop in 2024.
  
  
• Despite consistent falls in interest for Biological Sciences and Engineering in recent months, they remain the two most popular specialisms for UK PGR.
  
  
• Our Spotlight this month takes a look at what motivates prospective students to pursue international study, and the differences between audiences. We see a great deal of variation which may help to shape the messaging of different recruitment campaigns. For example, Africans and Southeast Asians are the most likely groups to select skill development as a motivation, however they are the least likely to select subject interest.
  We’ve explored audiences motivations and concerns further on the blog.