PRES 2025 is now open
Your experience, your voice
Your views, ideas and feedback about your experience at the University are very important to us. We use them to make improvements to your experience as a current student and to shape teaching, learning and student support for future generations. The University participates in a number of nationally benchmarked surveys, in order to encourage positive changes to its provision and to continually enhance the student experience.
The Postgraduate Research Experience Survey (PRES) is a national survey for postgraduate research students. PRES is made available by Advance HE to all Higher Education Institutions across the UK and is designed to help us enhance the quality of postgraduate research (PGR) degree provision by collecting feedback from current students in a systematic and user-friendly way.
Who is eligible to complete PRES?
All registered PGR students are eligible to complete the survey. If you’re eligible to complete the survey, we will contact you by email in the Lent Term to invite you to take part.
When can I complete PRES?
The survey runs biennially and in 2025 survey will open on 18 March and close on 16 May 2025.
How can I complete PRES?
If you are eligible, you will be sent an email invitation to participate in the survey. The email is sent your 'preferred address' that is set up in CamSIS.
The email will be sent from the address no-reply@jisc.ac.uk or noreply@app.onlinesurveys.jisc.ac.uk and will contain a unique link for each student to access the survey.
How long will it take to complete?
The online questionnaire takes about 15 minutes.
Why should I complete PRES?
PRES is your opportunity to tell us about your experience and we value your feedback.
As a thank you for participation, every eligible participant who completes the PRES 2025 survey will be automatically given one entry into a random prize draw with the opportunity to win one of seven prizes. Prizes will be awarded in the form of one £250, two £125 and four £50 e-gift cards for John Lewis & Partners and Waitrose & Partners. [Prize draw Terms and Conditions]. The survey is fully endorsed by the University and the Cambridge Students' Union.
What will the PRES involve?
You will be asked to rate your overall satisfaction with the quality of your course, how well elements of it have met your expectations, and your satisfaction within the following themes:
- Supervisions
- Resources
- Research Culture
- Community
- Progress and Assessment
- Responsibilities
- Research Skills
- Professional Development Opportunities
- Overall Satisfaction
The University can also ask additional institution-specific questions.
Is PRES anonymous?
Your survey response is confidential to the team processing the results and no reporting outside of this team will identify any individual. Any results communicated outside of the team will be anonymised. We ask that you do not identify yourself or any specific members of staff in any comments you make.
How will my feedback be used?
Your responses will be combined with those of your peers to help inform considerations of future enhancement. Where areas that may need attention are identified in our provision, this will be discussed with the Faculty or Department and also in University committees to ensure that our learning and teaching provision is of the highest quality.
What if I have any questions or haven't received an invitation email?
If you believe you are eligible to participate but have not received an invitation email, or you have questions about participating, please contact PRES@admin.cam.ac.uk.