Postgraduate Taught Experience Survey (PTES) 2026
Have your say and take part in the Postgraduate Taught Experience Survey (PTES). Access the survey via the unique link sent to your University email.
What is the PTES?
The Postgraduate Taught Experience Survey (PTES) is a nationally recognised annual survey of Postgraduate Taught students in the UK. It gathers students’ opinions on the quality of their courses and their overall learning experience at university. It’s voluntary and carried out by Advance HE, a member-led charity that works with partners across the globe to improve higher education for staff, students and society.
6 Reasons to complete the PTES
The PTES is a national listening exercise – and Postgraduate Taught students across the UK are strongly encouraged to take part. It’s important for you, for future students, for universities, and for the broader higher education landscape of the UK.
The PTES gives us the opportunity to hear about what we are doing well and should keep doing, and where we can make improvements.
The PTES is run by Advance HE. It’s anonymous, and many UK universities take part by encouraging their Postgraduate Taught students to complete it.
As a Postgraduate Taught student, this is your unique chance to reflect and give your views on what was good about your programme, and how we can improve.
All of our departments use your feedback and ideas to consider their programmes. We also analyse results at the wider university level to see how we are supporting students and where other areas come to light, such as with our libraries and IT services.
We welcome the chance to compare our students’ responses with those at other universities - giving us a better sense of where we are doing well and where we could improve.
Plus, when you complete the survey, you’ll have the opportunity to win, if you choose to enter our prize draw.
How do I complete the PTES?
You can complete it online from Monday 23 February until Friday 12 June.
You can only access the survey via a unique individual link, which will be sent to you in an email from the President and Vice-Chancellor, Professor Lisa Roberts and Vice-President and Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Education and Student Experience, Professor Liz Jones on Monday 23 February.
Reminder emails containing the link will be sent to you over the coming months. You won’t receive reminders once you have completed the survey. You can contact the student comms team at studentcomms@exeter.ac.uk at any time to request a reminder of your unique link.
Prize Draw
All eligible students can choose to enter our prize draw. One student will win £500, two will win £250 each, and a further five will receive £100.
The PTES Questions
The PTES should take around 10 minutes to complete, and the questions are easy to understand. There’s a scale for each question which you can choose. You can also add extra comments to the survey, should you wish. When answering, please try and be constructive, specific and consider your whole experience at the University of Exeter from when you first joined us as a Postgraduate Taught student, up to now.
The questions are:
How good are teaching staff at explaining things?
How enthusiastic are staff about what they are teaching?
How intellectually stimulating is the course?
How has the course enhanced your academic ability?
How useful are the learning materials provided on your course?
Is there sufficient academic contact time (in-person or virtual/online) between staff and students to support effective learning?
To what extent are you happy with the support you receive from staff on your course for your learning?
To what extent are you encouraged to ask questions or make contributions (in-person or virtual/online)?
How much has the course created sufficient opportunities to discuss your work with other students (in-person or virtual/online)?
To what extent has your course challenged you to produce your best work?
How manageable has the workload on your course been?
To what extent have you had appropriate opportunities to give feedback on your experience?
How much do you feel a part of a community of postgraduate taught students?
How much do you feel a sense of belonging at your institution?
To what extent are there sufficient opportunities to interact with other postgraduate taught students?
How clear were the marking criteria used to assess your work?
How fair has the marking and assessment been on your course?
How often have you received assessment feedback on time?
To what extent has feedback on your work helped your learning?
Are you currently planning, undertaking, or have completed, a dissertation or major project as part of your course?
What stage of your dissertation or major project are you currently at?
How well do you understand the required standards for the dissertation/major project?
To what extent are you happy with the support received for planning your dissertation/major project (topic selection, project outline, literature search, etc)?
To what extent does your supervisor/advisor have the skills and subject knowledge to adequately support your dissertation/major project?
How well does your supervisor provide helpful feedback on your progress?
Are you currently working towards, or have completed an end-point assessment (EPA) as part of your degree apprenticeship?
How well do you understand the requirements of your end-point assessment (EPA)?
How well have teaching staff supported your preparations for your end-point assessment (EPA)?
How well has your employer supported your preparations for your end-point assessment (EPA)?
How well does the timetable fit with your other commitments?
How well were any changes to your course or teaching communicated?
To what extent is your course well organised and running smoothly?
To what extent were you given appropriate guidance and support throughout your course?
How well are you encouraged to be involved in decisions about how your course is run?
How easy is it to access physical library resources and facilities?
How easy is it to access IT resources and facilities when you are on campus?
How easy is it to access subject specific resources (e.g. equipment, facilities, software, materials) necessary for your studies when you are on campus?
How easy is it to access library resources when you need them?
How easy is it to access subject specific resources (e.g., course materials, software, virtual learning environment) when you are learning remotely?
How well have you been able to make effective use of the online learning platform?
How well does the support for academic skills meet your needs (eg. support for your writing, language, subject-specific skills)?
To what extent does the support for using IT and accessing resources meet your needs (eg. support with accessing online journals and e-books, using digital learning tools/apps)?
How well does the support for your health and wellbeing meet your needs (eg. personal tutor, student support and counselling services)?
How much have you developed your skills as an independent learner as a result of your course?
How much has your confidence to be innovative or creative been developed during your course?
How much have your research skills been developed during your course?
To what extent has your ability to communicate information effectively to diverse audiences been developed during your course?
How much have you been encouraged to think about what skills you need to develop for your career?
To what extent do you feel better prepared for your future career as a result of your course?
How satisfied are you with the quality of your course?
What has been the one most positive aspect of your course so far?
What one thing would most improve your experience of your course?
Thanks to previous students’ PTES feedback we have:
Established a Pastoral Mentor in every academic department to provide a point of contact and support if you are facing challenges in your ability to succeed on your programme.
Invested over £1.5 million to upgrade the Audio Visual equipment across our campuses in 2025, including a new 30-person IT suite at Penryn campus and a brand new 120-seat computer lab in IC2 at Streatham campus.
Updated 88 teaching spaces last summer, with a transformed Virtual Reality Suite at St Luke’s and new active learning spaces in Washington Singer and the Old Library, and refurbished the Masters Suite seminar room in Penryn.
Improved study space in St Luke’s library, doubling the number of study spaces, creating zones for group, silent and quiet study and installing more desks with power outlets.
Launched My Career Zone, a new careers platform to help prepare you for life and work after University, offering quality assistance and advice throughout your course and after graduation.
Developed guidance, Digital Skills resources and workshops on using AI confidently in your studies and assessments, and tools to explore how AI connects to your future career through the Career Zone.
Contact
If you have any questions please contact studentcomms@exeter.ac.uk