Visit Professor Paul Wakeling 's profile on the York Research Database to:
- See a full list of publications
- Browse activities and projects
- Explore connections, collaborators, related work and more
I am a sociologist of education with particular interests in higher education, especially access to postgraduate study; and in social inequalities. My work has included analyses of the relationship between social class (and other inequalities) and postgraduate study; evaluation of initiatives to widen postgraduate participation; investigation of the assocation between student finance and participation; and of institutional hierarchies and stratification.
I joined the Department in 2008, after a previous career in higher education administration.
I am currently Head of Department. I supervise undergraduate and postgraduate students.
Member of the Access and Participation Steering Group
My broad interests are in the sociology of education (especially higher education), social stratification and social mobility. My current research focuses on access to postgraduate study, especially social class, gender and ethnic inequalities; the background of academics; and institutional stratification in higher education. I use a range of research methods but have a particular interest in analysis of large secondary datasets and the use of administrative and transactional data for research.
Recent work has included:
2017 - 2018 HEFCE/University of Leeds (£35,000) Evaluation of the Catalyst project Progression to, and success in postgraduate study, for students from BAME and POLAR 1 & 2 backgrounds (PI: Sally Hancock).
2016 HEFCE (£25,979) Evaluation of the Postgraduate Support Scheme 2015/16 (with Sally Hancock)
2015 HEFCE (£43,284) Investigating an age-threshold for independence at postgraduate level (with Ann Berrington and Adriana Duta, University of Southampton)
2014 - 2015 ESRC and HEFCE (£98,916) Postgraduate Support Scheme Analysis Project.
2014 - 2015 Higher Education Funding Council for England - Principal Investigator for data-led element of the Postgraduate Support Scheme project 'Widening Access to Postgraduate Study and the Professions' (led by University of Sheffield and involving the Universities of Leeds, Manchester, Newcastle, Warwick and York). Total funding for the project: £2.9M
2012 - 2013 Higher Education Academy (£9,864) 'Transition to postgraduate study across the UK: quantifying influential factors across institutions and countries' (with Gillian Hampden-Thompson)
2011 - 2012 British Academy Small Grant (£7,390) 'Access to doctoral study: a multi-institutional investigation of participation and non-participation at PhD level' (with Adél Pásztor, Newcastle University) (ref. SG101994)
2009 - 2010 NCCPE-ESRC Research Synthesis (£14,985) 'Widening Participation from Undergraduate to Postgraduate Research Degrees' (with Chris Kyriacou)
2009 - 2010 ESRC International Training and Networking Opportunities award (£39,997 F.E.C.) for ‘Comparative educational pathways – an international spring school’ (joint with Gillian Hampden-Thompson and Vanita Sundaram) (ref. RES-810-210-0032)
I currently supervise four PhD students:
I have supervised the following successfully completed PhD theses:
I am currently a member of the Centre for Transforming Access and Student Outcomes Academic Advisory Panel, the University of Oxford Graduate Access Working Group and the Research England Postgraduate Research Mental Health and Wellbeing Catalyst Programme evaluation advisory grop.
I have previously been:
I have acted as a consultant to the Economic & Social Research Council in various capacities. I advised on staff and student demographics for their international benchmarking reviewsof social science research in the UK, and compiled a report on the impact of ESRC-funded research. I work with RCUK, UKRI and OfS, and with the Bridge Group on projects for the Wellcome Trust and the Royal Academy of Music.
Editorial advisory board, British Journal of Sociology of Higher Education
Editorial board member, HE
I was a member of the editorial board of Sociology from 2013 - 2019.
I have given more than 60 invited talks on the topic of widening participation and access to postgraduate study.