Fund the best PhDs and forget the rest

Australia's top eight universities have urged the federal government to stop funding PhD research students at universities that are below world standard in a given subject area, writes Tim Dodd for the Australian Financial Review.

In a submission to the government's review of research training, the elite Group of Eight universities says that institutions should have a minimum rating of three in the Excellence in Research for Australia rating system to be eligible for PhD student funding.

If the plan is accepted, many universities would have to cut their PhD programmes in areas where their research was weakest. The Group of Eight universities – Sydney, University of New South Wales, Queensland, Melbourne, Monash, Adelaide, Western Australia and the Australian National University – generally have the best research programmes and losses for them under the proposal would be minimal.
Full report on the Australian Financial Review site