UK: Rule changes could be coming for Master of Research programmes

If there is a lesson that international education stakeholders in the Big Four have learned in the past couple of years, it is that poor recruitment decisions made by a small segment of institutions or agents can profoundly affect the operations and stability of the entire sector.

A case in point is Canada, where the recruitment activities of a small number of colleges and universities led to blanket policies that have negatively impacted hundreds of reputable institutions.

Fast forward to 2025, and the UK’s higher education sector is finding itself vulnerable because of a small number of universities leveraging an exemption in a policy known informally as the Dependants Ban.

The ban and its exceptions

The Dependants Ban was introduced in January 2024, and it prevents most international students from bringing their family with them to the UK. The intent of the policy is to reduce non-skilled migration and asylum claimants.

The exceptions to the ban are students on scholarships, those enrolled in Master of Research programmes (MRes), and doctoral-level students. Those students’ family members are permitted to come as accompanying dependants. The rationale is that students enrolling in these programmes tend to be especially focused on academics, research, and skills needed by the UK economy.

In contrast with MRes, most master’s programmes are “taught,” and along with undergraduate courses, they are affected by the Dependants Ban. Since the ban was enacted, taught master’s programmes have experienced the most severe drop of all levels in terms of new international student enrolments. Meanwhile, MRes are the only level to have experienced growth.

BUILA, the organisation supporting the work of international higher education staff in the UK, reports that of all international student searches on Keystone’s findamasters.com and findaphd.com sites in January–February 2025, nearly half (49%) were for MRes courses, up from 23% the previous year. Demand for MRes is now higher than for any other postgraduate category including taught MBAs and MScs.

A surge in demand for MRes

Until recently, Master of Research programmes composed a very small portion of all postgraduate degrees offered in the UK. However, as the Dependants Ban has so adversely affected postgraduate taught programmes, some universities have developed more MRes capacity as a way of boosting international student revenues and retaining research funding and capabilities.

In 2023/24 – the first academic year where data would have reflected the effect of the Dependants Ban on international student demand –  HESA data show that postgraduate taught courses enrolled -9.9% fewer new international students than the previous year, while MRes saw a +5.7% increase. The contrasting trends have since accelerated. UK institutions participating in the Office for Students (OfS) Higher Education Students Early Statistics (Heses) survey in mid-2024 reported -17% fewer new international enrolments for the 2024/25 academic year at the postgraduate taught level compared to a +22% increase in new MRes enrolments.

The government investigates

The government is aware of the activity around MRes. Times Higher Education reports that “the Home Office is considering changing this rule to crack down on apparent abuse by some universities” and that “there are fears within the sector” that those universities’ actions may drive the government to include MRes students in the overall Dependants Ban.

The main focus is on roughly two dozen universities – and/or agents recruiting for them – that are allegedly promoting MRes abroad as a route through which students can bring their families with them to the UK, obtain free education for their children, and gain access to three years in the post-study Graduate Route work programme rather than two years or taught master’s. (Editor’s Note: the Graduate Route will be shortened to 18 months for undergraduate and taught master’s students in 2027.)

In December 2024, Enroly application and deposits data showed a 45% year-over-year increase in international students choosing MRes.

Sectoral leaders sound the alarm

Adam Tickell, vice-chancellor and principal of the University of Birmingham, spoke at the annual Universities UK International Higher Education Forum and said:

“There are universities in this country where you do one year effectively unsupervised which are branded as MRes degrees but the reason they exist is they give you access to dependant visas. There is no way that is anything other than an intent to grow a market within the intent of the law.”

The peak body for the sector, Universities UK, has cautioned its members to avoid increasing MRes enrolments any further. Its president, Malcolm Press, warned that the issue has “the potential to undermine the sector’s position as a trusted and responsible partner in the UK’s immigration system.”

The UK’s international education champion, Sir Steve Smith, called for the sector to act collectively if it wants to avoid a policy crackdown. Tim Bradshaw, Chief Executive of the Russell Group, concurred: “It's in the interests of universities, students and the public to tackle any fraud and abuse of the visa system.”

Highlighting the extent of worry in the sector, at least one major UK university is said to have closed all Master of Research (MRes) courses for September 2025 intake, asking “agent partners to immediately scale back and cap MRes enrolments to just 25% of their total CAS usage.” In such an event, agents have to pivot immediately and often with negative impacts on their business and the students for whom they have obtained university offers.

Protecting research talent

Mr Bradshaw also noted what is at stake not only for the sector, but also for the country:
“MRes are long-standing programmes critical to the long-term [research and development] workforce pipeline. We want to see the government maintain a supportive visa system that continues to welcome global talent.”

This is another component of the story: the need to protect strong MRes programmes that have operated ethically for years. Commenting on a recent LinkedIn post, recruitment agent Michael Ijaiyemakinde wrote:

“An angle I’d like to contribute is this: how do we distinguish between universities that have long offered genuine, high-quality MRes programmes, and have benefitted from the presence of international students in meaningful ways, from those that may be exploiting recent demand?”

Mr Ijaiyemakinde’s question prompted another reader to propose that the government should target MRes programmes that do not demand a research proposal for admission (which others on the thread thought was an interesting idea, as this process signals a lack of rigour).

The dilemma of international education

As always, international education sits at a crossroads: it is both an industry and an innovation pipeline that can mitigate the economic and social effects of ageing populations. Industry self-regulation, as proposed by Mr Press, Mr Bradshaw, and Sir Steve Smith, is crucial to ensuring the sustainability of the sector and the ability of a country to invigorate its labour force with international talent.

When the sector collectively steps up to address problems within it, it positions itself as a worthy contributor to solutions. This may be the best way of avoiding blunt-force policies that damage all institutions and international students rather than just the segment of unethical actors.

Mr Press commented: “We would urge government to continue working with us and to use the targeted interventions that were incorporated into the regulatory framework to address this issue – rather than imposing further blanket restrictions unnecessarily.”

For additional background, please see:

• “UK to implement reduced graduate route from January 2027”
• “UK confirms international fee levy of £925 per student starting August 2028”
• “UK’s stiffening compliance regime already having an impact on international student recruitment”
• “UK sets out new immigration strategy, will reduce Graduate Route work term to 18 months”