Postgraduate Research UK Update as of October 2024

Our unique Pulse trackers and Share of Search data provide insights on thousands of prospective international students interested in UK PhD opportunities. As of October 2024, we’re seeing that:

• UK Share of Search from non-EU audiences continues to recover after the recent fall, while interest from the EU continues to be stronger than last year.
  
  
• UK Continuers are predominantly focused on Autumn 2025. Whereas Returners and Internationals are still more likely to seek 2024/25 entry, particularly Spring 2025.
  
  
• Positive Sentiment rises for International audiences for the first time since May. The Domestic audience sees a slight rise in ‘uncertainty’.
  
  
• Our Spotlight this month explores the likelihood of our PhD audiences to seek January entry points. Similar to PGT, we find that generally African and South Asian audiences are the most likely to seek January entry, particularly those from Pakistan and Ghana where more than half of the audience are interested in January 2025.