All-time record high number of PhD students enrolled at UC

university-of-canterbury

Sun May 12 2013 12:00:00 GMT+1200 (New Zealand Standard Time)

All-time record high number of PhD students enrolled at UC

Sunday, 12 May 2013, 10:30 am
Press Release: University of Canterbury

All-time record high number of PhD students enrolled at UC

May 12, 2013

A record number of 886 PhD students are currently enrolled at the University of Canterbury (UC).

The all-time high is a record when compared to enrolments in April in previous years.

Of the 886 students, 230 started during 2012, the largest number of new PhD students in a single year.

The new enrolments span 53 different disciplines across the five Colleges – Education, Business and Law, Arts, Engineering and Science.

The disciplines with the highest number of new PhD enrolments were Biological Sciences, Chemistry, Civil and Natural Resources Engineering, Education and Mechanical Engineering.

Of the 230 students who started in 2012, 48 percent are New Zealanders or permanent residents. The remaining 120 (52 percent) are spread across 40 citizenships, with the largest groupings being from India, Malaysia, China, USA, Germany and Iran.

Dean of Postgraduate Research Professor Lucy Johnston says the increase in PhD enrolments appears to be continuing into 2013. PhD students can enrol on the first day of any month throughout the year. In the current year to April, 99 students have commenced PHD studies, compared to 93 for the same period in 2012.

``It is fantastic to see the increase in PhD enrolments at UC,’’ Professor Johnston says.

``PhD students choose where to do a PhD based on the quality of the institution and resources available and the quality of the supervisors. At UC we have a large number of world-class researchers supervising exciting, cutting-edge, world leading research projects.

``Doctoral students are attracted to be involved in such a vibrant research culture. The diversity of the PhD students on campus adds enormously to that exciting research culture. Many of the international students are attracted to UC to work on New Zealand-based topics, alongside experts in the field.

``At UC, PhD students not only get to work with excellent supervisors, developing their disciplinary expertise and skills, but are also provided with opportunities to exchange in a range of workshops and seminars that provide broader transferable skills – including library database skills training, data analysis workshops, career planning and job market readiness, cultural awareness, scholarly and professional networking, and communicating research.

``UC doctoral graduate are recognised not only for the quality of their research thesis but also have additional research skills and experiences,’’ Professor Johnston says.

ENDS

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