Postgraduates should be allowed to pursue their studies on the same fee-free basis as undergraduate students, according to the Union of Students in Ireland.
At present, fewer than 2 per cent of the State's third-level students are doing PhD-level research, according to the union.
Susannah Scott, postgraduate officer of USI, says USI also wants the State's maintenance grants for postgraduate students to cover the 12-month year that postgradute students put into their research, rather than the shorter "academic year" that applies to undergrads.
There must also be "suitable pay and conditions for postgraduate students who undertake tutoring and lecturing", she says.
The union cited OECD figures showing that Ireland, at 1.8 per cent, has fewer PhD students enrolled on advance research programmes than Austria (9.9 per cent), Switzerland (9.9), Finland (8.1) and Sweden (6.2) and many other countries. Other states with enrolment below 2 per cent include Norway, Hungary, Poland, Belgium, Italy and Greece.
