About Us
Postgraduate Futures is an independent analysis site examining Australian postgraduate education through data, comparison, and system-level evaluation.
We analyse how postgraduate degrees function within the Australian higher-education system: who they are designed for, how they are structured, how long they take, what they cost, and what outcomes they are associated with. Our work draws on official enrolment statistics, student experience surveys, graduate outcomes data, salary information, and publicly available university documentation.
Rather than treating degrees as isolated products, we examine patterns across providers, disciplines, and delivery models. This allows us to identify where programs are meaningfully different and where they are effectively equivalent despite differences in branding, naming, or marketing language.
Some postgraduate fields are tightly constrained by regulatory or accreditation frameworks. Others allow wide variation in structure and intent. Postgraduate Futures is designed to analyse both.
Analytical Framework
Our work combines multiple evidence layers:
• Enrolment data to assess scale, growth, and concentration by discipline and provider
• Student experience and outcomes surveys including QILT and related datasets
• Program characteristics such as subject counts, sequencing, study periods, and completion patterns
• Graduate outcomes and salary data where available, particularly for professional and business degrees
• Regulatory and accreditation frameworks where these shape program design or progression
Not all analysis appears directly on the site. Some findings inform internal comparisons, provider groupings, and longitudinal tracking across the sector.
Editorial Desks
Postgraduate Futures operates through three editorial desks, each representing a distinct analytical perspective.
Careers Desk
Examines how postgraduate qualifications relate to roles, earnings, and career trajectories. This includes analysing whether additional study alters employment access, seniority, or income outcomes across fields.
Programs Desk
Analyses postgraduate degrees as systems: workload, duration, delivery model, sequencing, and educational value. The focus is on how qualifications are constructed and what they provide, rather than promotional claims.
Providers Desk
Compares postgraduate offerings across universities and higher-education providers, and analyses institutions at the provider level. This includes identifying structural convergence, delivery strategies, and differences in scale or orientation.
Each desk operates as an analytical author voice rather than a marketing channel.
Oversight
Postgraduate Futures is published by Unicurve Pty Ltd and operates under the oversight of Dr Andrew Lancaster, Principal Analyst.
Dr Lancaster holds a PhD in Economics from the Australian National University and has professional experience across policy analysis, strategy, and higher-education systems. His role is to establish analytical frameworks, maintain methodological consistency, and ensure independence from provider narratives.
The site is not a personal platform. Authority is expressed through data use, comparative method, and consistency of analysis.
Independence and Scope
Postgraduate Futures does not sell courses, receive enrolment commissions, or act on behalf of education providers. Analysis is based on publicly available data, official reporting, and structured comparison.
Some postgraduate degrees are highly standardised. Others vary widely in structure and purpose. The site accommodates both realities without imposing artificial uniformity.