Starting a chemistry PhD as a mature student

Mature PhD students – a loosely defined term that generally refers to anyone who has taken a break from studying at any point before starting a PhD – make up a noticeable part of the research community. In the UK, 46% of those pursuing a doctoral degree in the 2023/24 academic year were aged over 30, as reported by the Higher Education Statistics Agency. Of the nearly 30,000 students that were pursuing their doctoral studies part-time, approximately 85% were aged over 30.