Recruiting the next wave of postgraduate students is about understanding their motivations and challenges, explains Simon Rust, Prospects PG marketing expert
Students considering postgraduate study face tough choices. Rising course fees, a higher cost of living, and uncertainty about return on investment all weigh heavily on their decisions.
Beyond affordability, students also want reassurance that their experience will be enjoyable, worthwhile, and benefit their career. For those who struggled as undergraduates or feel nervous about taking the next step, confidence is key.
It is not easy to tackle everything in a display ad or a single email. The solution is a campaign that balances information with inspiration: helping students address their concerns while motivating them to apply.
Insights from the 2025 Prospects Early Careers Survey
The 2025 Prospects Early Careers Survey explores what motivates prospective postgraduate students and the challenges they face.
Surveying thousands of students and graduates each year, it reveals both what has remained constant and how priorities have shifted, providing valuable intelligence for universities competing for applicants.
Having spent more than a decade working with postgraduate recruitment teams to help them devise and implement campaigns that attract prospective students, I've seen these changes in the market become even more apparent in recent years.
During COVID, taking care of mental health became the biggest challenge for prospective students. However in recent years, the cost of living has soared and financial pressures have taken over. For the past three years, the cost of tuition and cost of living have been students' biggest concerns.
Seven in ten prospective postgraduate students now cite fees as their biggest obstacle. If they can't make the numbers work, they'll either look elsewhere or abandon postgraduate study.
Addressing the cost barrier
Seven in ten prospective postgraduate students now cite fees as their biggest obstacle. If they can't make the numbers work, they'll either look elsewhere or abandon postgraduate study altogether.
While universities and platforms like Prospects provide funding information, our survey consistently shows students struggling to find the information they need to finance their study.
So, it's about what you can do to help and guide students on how they can manage and fund that gap. Funding pages alone aren't enough as students need help understanding the full cost of living and how to manage it.
To grasp the extent of the challenge, consider the bigger picture. A scholarship that covers half of fees may sound great, but it's never going to cover all of your fees, accommodation, travel and food. It won't stretch far in London, and international students compare costs across countries, where the UK is often at a disadvantage.
Funding, funding, funding
My advice to universities is simple: funding grabs attention. If you've got scholarships, put them in the spotlight, lead with them in email subject lines and display ads. Not every applicant will need funding, but it's the hook that gets them to find out more about your offering.
Be practical in how you present options. Offer tools like an online funding calculator to help students test affordability. Promote courses and funding opportunities where students are already looking for information about fees and funding. For example, Cardiff University highlights its scholarship application window next to the Masters scholarship information on Prospects
Make opportunities clear about how students can work part time, and how they can spread costs. Make the potential cost savings of courses visible, such as hybrid, online or part time options. Highlight the convenience and flexibility of being able to access learning materials around work or family life.
Help students see that postgraduate study is realistic, and the conversation can shift to the next big question: is it worth it?
Proving the return on investment
Passion for a subject remains important, but employability now plays a bigger role in postgraduate decision-making. However, this year's survey showed rising uncertainty: students are less confident about their career goals and more doubtful whether study will help them reach them.
Even in traditionally passion-led fields such as humanities and social sciences, students want clarity on outcomes. The popularity of what can I do with my degree? resources underlines this demand.
It can sometimes be difficult to drill up passion, but universities can demonstrate the return on investment of their courses through career messaging.
One of the clearest ways to demonstrate ROI is through work placements. Institute of Student Employers data shows half of interns and placement students are hired permanently, with employers reporting stronger skills compared to peers without experience.
Highlighting these opportunities reassures applicants they're investing in postgraduate study with tangible career value. Some universities make placements aimed at international students clear on their marketing to attract students who may be thinking about how they can stay on in the UK afterwards.
Clear course information and career outcomes
Students reported difficulty accessing detailed course content and career progression information. Vague promises like ‘leads to a variety of careers' no longer suffice.
Instead, be specific. Share graduate destinations and salary data. Consider promoting courses that lead to high paid jobs and use alumni case studies to bring career pathways to life.
Promote employability hubs and careers advisors that can support student decision making and help them take their next steps once they've completed their course. For example, the University of Westminster offers a section on careers and employability support in its Prospects profile.
Universities that clearly show how postgraduate study connects to real outcomes give prospective students the confidence to commit.
At a time when students are weighing every decision against both affordability and future security, postgraduate marketing campaigns must do more than promote courses - they need to reassure, guide and inspire.
By addressing financial concerns directly, providing transparent pathways to funding, and showcasing the real career outcomes of your graduates, you can create a compelling case for study.
The universities that succeed will be those that not only acknowledge the challenges students face, but also help them see postgraduate study as an achievable, worthwhile investment in their future.
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