New research reveals how living costs disproportionately affect parent carer postgraduate researchers, constraining participation, wellbeing and access to doctoral education. 

Recent findings from the Postgraduate Research Experience Survey (PRES) highlight the extent to which postgraduate researchers (PGRs) are affected by rising living costs. In the 2025 survey, 72% of respondents reported that financial concerns had negatively affected them, with more than a third describing a significant impact on their studies. 

While these headline figures are important, they risk masking where pressures are most acute. PGRs are not a homogeneous group. Research at the University of Bristol shows that parent carer PGRs experience distinct forms of financial strain, shaped by the additional costs of childcare. We found that increasing financial pressures affected respondents’ wellbeing and limited their participation within doctoral education. 

If universities want doctoral education to remain accessible to a diversity of students across the life course, they need to recognise and respond to the challenges parent-carer PGRs face. 

The childcare support gap  

Sector reporting highlights that for many parent-carer PGRs, childcare is one of the biggest financial challenges of doctoral study. 

In England, eligibility for free childcare hours and Tax-Free Childcare is linked to minimum income thresholds. Although funded doctoral researchers may effectively meet these thresholds, stipends are not classified as earnings, leaving many parent-carer PGRs ineligible for support. 

This policy gap is particularly significant given that childcare costs in the UK are among the highest in the world. Without access to financial support, many parent-carer PGRs face additional financial pressures at a time when living costs are rising. 

The GW4 childcare campaign has sought to address this issue. Their policy note calls for postgraduate researchers to be included in existing childcare support schemes and highlights the lack of reliable data on parent-carer PGRs as a barrier to developing effective policy responses. While the campaign has helped raise awareness of the issue, many parent-carer PGRs continue to face significant challenges in accessing childcare support. 

The research 

A three-year study at the University of Bristol explored the experiences of and support for mature and parent carer PGRs. The research involved a survey exploring mature and parent carer PGRs perceptions of institutional support and the impact of increases to the cost of living. In total, 78 parent-carer PGRs across nine institutions responded. 

Childcare as a structural barrier 

Our findings showed that financial pressures, particularly childcare costs played a powerful role in shaping parent carers’ doctoral experiences. Many respondents reported that stipends were insufficient to meet household costs and childcare expenses, leaving them reliant on partners’ incomes, family support, or in cases, resulting in some accumulating debt. As one respondent explained, “I have built up significant credit card debt…as my stipend did not cover the costs of childcare after my bills were paid.”  

The impact of increasing financial pressure is not experienced equally. Single parents, those without wider family support, and families with children who have additional needs face particularly acute challenges. These inequalities disproportionately affect women and can have long-term implications for progression into research careers.  

Priced out of participation  

For many of our respondents, the financial strain of childcare limited participation in the activities that are central to doctoral development and progression. 

Respondents described regularly weighing the academic value of opportunities against immediate childcare costs and family needs. As a result, many had reduced or missed activities that support research development, including conferences and seminars (51%), networking events (42%), training courses (36%), international collaborations (19%) and fieldwork or laboratory time (14%).  

For some, even the cost of travelling to campus had become prohibitive. One respondent noted that: “As petrol costs have gone up so much, I have cut back the visits I make to my university.” 

Financial pressures as an accessibility issue 

Doctoral study is already associated with high levels of stress and uncertainty. For parent carers, financial concerns are often layered on top of responsibilities for children’s wellbeing and family stability. 

Respondents described fears about housing security, mounting debt and meeting essential household costs. These concerns affected their sleep, mental wellbeing, and their ability to engage with their research. 

Many also reported low confidence in institutional support and felt universities did not fully understand the realities of combining research with caring responsibilities. This was reflected in highly negative Net Promoter Scores of -88 for institutional understanding and -89 for support services. 

These experiences require attention as they may determine whether parent-carer PGRs can remain in doctoral education at all. 33% of respondents had either seriously or briefly considered suspending or withdrawing from their studies due to financial concerns, compared with 25% reported in PRES. 

When researchers cannot afford to continue and do not feel supported by their institution, doctoral education risks becoming less diverse, losing the valuable perspectives and experiences that parent-carer researchers bring. 

Supporting parent-carer PGRs: from evidence to action 

While the findings demonstrate that financial challenges are widespread across the PGR community, these are not experienced equally. 

Our research highlights the detrimental impacts of rising living costs on parent carer PGRs that demand urgent attention if doctoral education is to genuinely be accessible to a diversity of learners. Addressing these challenges will require action across the sector, with improving access to financial support for parent-carers as a key priority. Central to this, and in supporting the GW4 campaign, is the need for better data on parent-carer PGRs. Without robust evidence, it’s difficult to understand how many postgraduate researchers would benefit from childcare support, or to strengthen the case for extending access to childcare-related benefits and other forms of financial assistance. Recognising and responding to the needs of parent-carer PGRs is an important step towards a more equitable and inclusive doctoral research environment.