Advocacy Scheme (pre-applicant mentoring)
Who is eligible to take part?
Available to UK domiciled individuals considering studying a PhD who are either:
- Black, Asian and minority ethnic
- Disabled students
- Students from low-income backgrounds (including those who entered UG from an area of low participation, were entitled to FSM during secondary school, were in receipt of the Leeds Masters Scholarship, or who are classed as coming from a low-income household)
- LGBTQ+ students
- Alumni of the University of Leeds who were members of the Plus Programme (or were offered a place on an alternative admissions scheme including Access to Leeds, Reach for Excellence and Realising Opportunities)
- Students who are refugees, asylum seekers, or have humanitarian protection status including alumni who were Sanctuary Scholarship recipients
- Care leavers and care-experienced students
- Students with caring responsibilities (including parents)
*For information on what ethnicities are considered minoritized please visit: https://www.hesa.ac.uk/collection/c21051/a/ethnic
How it works
- Apply to take part here (applications open from October 2025)
- If selected, you are matched with an academic from the University of Leeds, from a subject area relevant to your interest
- You are introduced to your advocate via email by a member of the PGR Diversity Team
- You arrange a call to meet, discuss your areas of interest and ask questions.
- Have an initial 2-3 conversations with your advocate (more if both parties agree the need to continue)
- Feedback to us on the experience
*For information on what ethnicities are considered minoritized please visit: https://www.hesa.ac.uk/collection/c21051/a/ethnic
Our Advocates
Our advocates are academics at the University of Leeds who have both studied and supervised PhDs.
Our academic Advocates are what makes this scheme happen. As volunteers, they demonstrate their commitment to improving equity, diversity and inclusion of PGR study in Higher Education.
Coming from a broad range of academic disciplines they are:
- Friendly and approachable
- Passionate about research
- Have experience of supervising postgraduate students
- Are aware of the barriers faced by those from under-represented groups in accessing postgraduate research
You can find links to some of our advocates profiles below:
Dr Eric Hewitt - Faculty of Biological Sciences
Dr Theresa Munyombwe - School of Medicine
Professor Derek Edyvane - School of Politics and International Studies
Dr Louisa Hill - Leeds University Business School
Dr Matthew Elliott - School of Performance and Cultural Industries
Professor Yasmin Hussain - School of Sociology and Social Policy
Professor Anamik Saha - School of Media and Communication
Why take part?
- Feel confident about applying for a PhD
- Get a better understanding of the admissions process
- Learn to avoid common pitfalls
- Find out about working in a research environment
Read about Adam and Uzunma's experience on the original YCEDE Advocacy Scheme and how it helped them secure a PhD place.
Hear from one successful pairing in this blog and get an insight into how the scheme works.
Apply Now
Privacy Notice
This privacy notice tell you how the PGR Diversity Team uses data about you when you apply for the Access to Research (A2R) Advocacy Scheme.
If you have any questions or if anything is unclear, you can contact us at: [email protected]
How Advocacy can improve quality and access to PhDs
This short video explains how an Advocacy Scheme can benefit PhD applicants and supervisors, and reduce barriers to equity at postgraduate research in your university.
The original Advocacy Scheme was delivered by the Yorkshire Consortium for Equity in Doctoral Education (YCEDE) and is being continued at the University of Leeds.
For more information visit www.ycede.ac.uk/advocacy or contact [email protected]
Video by Curiouser & Curiouser Media