Details of Activity
The College aimed to investigate a drop in the proportion of female postgraduate students on Bioscience through holding focus groups. It concluded that a lack of confidence represented a significant barrier to female undergraduates to apply for this course. Actions implemented to tackle this included peer support, an increase in the number of female speakers and participation in the University’s pilot Sprint Programme. The peer support programme saw forty members volunteer in the academic year of 2014/15. On the Bioscience course, the department increased the number of female speakers at its events to 46%, with the aim of providing positive role models for female postgraduate applicants. Five female undergraduate students took part in the pilot of the University of Exeter ‘Sprint Programme' in October 2014, which offered specific training in career planning and confidence.
Outcomes
The College saw a positive increase in the representation of female students between 2012/12 and 2014; the number of female students on Geography and Bioscience postgraduate courses increased from 51% to 66%, respectively.