News28 May 2025
Due to gaps in prior attainment, many universities employ contextualised admissions so that students from disadvantaged backgrounds have increased opportunities to attend higher education. However, the evidence base on contextualised admissions remains limited, both in terms of whether contextualised admissions work, and what works best in implementing them.
To explore this evidence base and inform policy, TASO is seeking a What Works Innovation fellow via the UKRI’s policy fellowships scheme. The fellow will work with our Research and Evaluation team to co-design research on contextualised admissions in higher education.
Key research questions include:
- How are contextualised admissions currently applied in higher education? What are the criteria, how are they applied, and how are they communicated?
- What is the current policy and public debate on contextualised admissions?
- How should we measure the effectiveness of contextualised admissions, and what data or other infrastructure is required to do so?
The fellowship will inform how such practices can be evaluated and designed, ultimately ensuring better outcomes for disadvantaged people in higher education.
Applications are open to researchers at UK-based employing organisations eligible for UKRI funding. The full description and application details are available on our vacancy page. Further details on the fellowship can be found on the UKRI website (PDF).
Applications close 15 July at 16.00 BST.