Oxford student ‘betrayed’ over Shakespeare PhD rejection

An Indian PhD student says she was “forcibly transferred” to a masters course without her consent by the University of Oxford.

Lakshmi Balakrishnan, from Tamil Nadu in southern India, has two masters degrees and spent nearly £100,000 to study and live at the world-leading university.

Ms Balakrishnan said the university’s English faculty had “not acted in good faith” after her thesis idea had been accepted at the application stage, and in her first year, but was then rejected in the fourth year.

The University of Oxford said all students were made aware that a “successful outcome would depend on their academic progress”.

“They forcibly removed me from the PhD program and moved me to a masters level course without my consent,” Ms Balakrishnan said.

“I feel a sense of betrayal and I feel like I have been let down by an institution that I held in high regard.

“I already have two masters degrees from India and I paid £100,000 at Oxford to get my PhD, not another masters course”

Having lost her mum at a young age she was brought up in South India by her father, before studying for two masters degrees in her home country.

“I am the first person in my family to come abroad for studies and I hail from an underprivileged background, I made immense sacrifices to come and study at Oxford.”

During her fourth year, she had an assessment, in which two different assessors failed her, saying her Shakespeare research did not have scope for PhD level.

She has disputed the English Faculty’s decision and has taken them through an appeals process, but so far has been unsuccessful.

“I believe that the university’s strategy is to force me to wade through endless appeals and complaints procedures in the hope that I will eventually give up and go.”

The Queen’s College, where Ms Balakrishnan studied, wrote to the University to express concern at her treatment.

It pointed out that despite failing her two assessments, no serious concerns were raised about her work in her reports each term.

The college also believed there were errors in the appeal process, in the way the rules have been applied, and it questioned the process which saw Ms Balakrishnan transferred to a Masters course.

Two professors specialising in this area of Shakespeare also said her research had potential and merits a PhD.

In a statement, the University of Oxford said: “To achieve Confirmation of Status, progress must sufficiently demonstrate a strong likelihood of successful completion of a doctoral thesis. Unfortunately, not all students achieve this.”

“Where a student disagrees with the outcome of an assessment they have the right to appeal under the university’s appeal procedure, which ensures fairness and transparency.”

“There is a further internal route of appeal of that decision and a subsequent right to complain to the OIA, the independent adjudicator for higher education.”