Postgraduate Research UK Update as of June 2025

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

• International interest for UK PhD study is stable, both for EU and non-EU audiences. This is in contrast to May 2024 which signalled the beginning of a fall from non-EU audience that would last all summer - there are no signs of such as dip this year.
  
  
• International interest for UK PhD study is growing across the globe. The 10 audiences seeing the fastest growth are widespread, coming from The Americas, Africa, Europe, Southeast Asia and Western Asia.
  
  
• Autumn 2025 remains the most popular entry point for all audiences, particularly with UK Returners who are the most likely to seek immediate entry points. Interest continues to shift forwards, however, with around half of the UK Continuer and International audiences now looking at Spring 2026 and beyond.
  
  
• Our Spotlight this month explores which social media platforms influence study choice, and there is one immediate takeaway for PGR: if you're recruiting PhD students, you really do need to be active on LinkedIn. Over half of our PhD respondents (55%) selected LinkedIn as the platform that is most likely to influence them, with the next highest being YouTube at only 18%. We have further explored the insights found in the Keystone State of Students Recruitment 2025 on the blog.