‘She says she would like to know more about me’: minoritised applicants’ inclusion, exclusion and subjectivity formation in the pre-application stage of doctoral admissions

Equity and inclusivity in doctoral admissions has emerged in recent years as a pressing matter which many research studies are addressing by analysing institutional admissions processes. This paper focuses on informal, pre-application doctoral communications (PADC) as a site where hidden inequalities open up, potentially restricting some applicants from even accessing the formal admissions process. Based on an institutional case study of a research-intensive UK-based university, this paper explores doctoral students’ narratives of seeking a supervisor ahead of the admissions process. In particular, the paper focuses on students who self-identify as minoritised in order to explore how PADC interacts with minoritisation. Deploying Butlerian concepts of subjectivity and recognition, the paper analyses how pre-application communications with supervisors involve recognition (or lack thereof) of prospective applicants as potential doctoral students, and how these moments are arguably all the more salient for students from minoritised groups, who may not have access to support networks with expertise to help navigate doctoral admissions processes.