Martin McLean, a 38-year-old who has been deaf since birth, holds two postgraduate degrees: a PGCE awarded by the University of Wales and a master’s degree in arts policy and management from Birkbeck. Currently, Martin is an education and training policy adviser at the National Deaf Children’s Society. He pursued his master’s degree part-time while working full-time, and prioritized studying at a university that offered courses in the evening over one that had a good track record for supporting disabled students. Martin believes that all universities should be accessible to deaf students, and he credits the disabled student allowance system for funding support as the key to making this possible.
During his studies at Birkbeck, Martin relied on a palantypist who typed out everything that was said in class at high speed, as well as a sign language interpreter for small group discussions or field trips. Although things mostly went smoothly, one of Martin’s lecturers told his palantypist to move away as they felt her typing was making too much noise. Additionally, from time to time, the same lecturer instructed the typist not to record controversial information she had shared, thereby censoring Martins education. Martin felt singled out as a deaf student and excluded from experiencing the same level of access to education as his hearing peers.
Martin believes that schools should ensure that resources are allocated to accommodate the special needs of students with disabilities and that awareness-raising campaigns should be fostered to change attitudes towards disability. While more disabled individuals are now undertaking postgraduate studies, Martin notes that the statistical representation may not tell the entire story because it also includes those with mental health conditions. In the past, Martin experienced overt discrimination when an interviewer for a PhD position that he had applied for at the University of Glasgow, upon discovering Martin was deaf, cancelled the interview and criticized him for “lack of candor” for not disclosing his disability. Although Martin received an apology for the discrimination he faced, the PhD position was no longer available as the supervisor had left the university.
Giving advice to disabled students seeking to undertake postgraduate studies, Martin emphasizes the importance of being proactive in seeking support rather than leaving it to others like disability advisers or DSA assessors to decide what they need. For postgraduate students who will be doing independent research and writing, Martin suggests planning ahead to consider needs outside the classroom and lecture environment.
