Postgrad students need fund boost

PhD students should have 3 1/2 years to complete their doctorates and their stipends should increase by 50 per cent, a report has found. Earlier research issued in April found the standard PhD scholarshiphad fallen from about half of average earnings to about a third. The average scholarship was worth about $20,000, a sum below the Henderson poverty line. Federal Parliament's Standing Commitee on Industry, Science and Innovation's report, issued yesterday, made 24 recommendations into research and training.