Between submission and the viva

There are a number of things to consider once you have submitted your thesis and are waiting for your viva to take place.

Under examination status

PGRs who have submitted their thesis are classed as “registered whilst under examination” (UE) for up to six months whilst awaiting the viva. There is no tuition fee charge for this period. You can make full use of facilities whilst preparing for your viva and for a short period after examination when you may be required to make minor corrections to your thesis or may be preparing papers for publication. If there is a delay in your examination which means you will need access for longer than six months post-submission please contact Doctoral College Operations (Examinations). If you need a letter confirming your registration status at this time, for example, if it has been requested by your sponsor, please contact Doctoral College Operations. You can also contact your Graduate School during the UE period if you have any questions. 

Council Tax 

During the UE period, PGRs do not qualify for Council Tax exemption. Please see the Council tax exemption page of the For Students website for more information. If you are struggling to pay your Council Tax bill, contact Help & Support at Leeds University Union. It's important that you don't ignore a Council Tax letter as there may be legal implications. 

Access to IT/facilities 

Access to IT and other University services and facilities such as the libraries, labs, office space, etc remains available during the UE period. 

Registration 

Under UE status, PGRs do not need to re-register. Even if you pass the anniversary of your start date during your UE period, you won’t need to complete the registration process again. 

Attendance 

During the UE period, it is still expected that PGRs will continue to have regular supervision meetings which need to be recorded in GRAD. This is in accordance with the Attendance and engagement monitoring policy for PGRs which you can find on the Research student guidance page on the For Students website. If you are a PGR on a Tier 4/Student Visa, you must continue to engage with and record supervisions so that attendance monitoring can comply with the terms of your visa. 

Student visa 

There is no requirement for PGRs to stay in Leeds once they have submitted their thesis for examination. Student Visa PGRs must complete a Change of Study Location request in GRAD at least one month before they leave Leeds. All PGRs must follow normal attendance monitoring processes (ten supervision meetings per year with gaps of no more than eight weeks between meetings) and records must be kept in GRAD. If it is agreed that your viva will take place in Leeds, you should return for this to take place. PGRs who need a visa to enter the UK may need to apply for a new visa or extend their current visa. Advice should be sought from the Student Visa Advice team. Guidance on returning to the UK after your course end date is available on the At the end of your course page on the For Students website  

Graduate visa 

If you have questions about applying for a Graduate visa during the period between thesis submission and your viva, please contact Doctoral College Operations.

Stipend payments 

Some funding awards have regulations about returning overpayments or being able to continue to receive funding if you continue to work on research relevant to your programme even after submitting your thesis. You should be sure to check any conditions of your funding and if you have any questions, please get in touch with your Graduate School in the first instance. 

Financial support 

If you need advice on financial support between submitting your thesis and your viva, please contact your Graduate School. They will be able to direct you to the appropriate resources and information. 

Teaching/demonstrating 

You can continue with teaching commitments at the University during the UE period. Any teaching engagement will automatically end when you are no longer registered as a PGR at the University (when your name appears on a pass list) or when the teaching activities have been completed. Please see the Code of practice for postgraduate researchers engaged in teaching on the Research student guidance page on the For Students website for more information. 

Insurance

You are insured to carry out research activity (ie attending conferences, carrying out employability activity or research related travel) until your name appears on a pass list.

Preparation for your viva 

It can be an anxious time as you approach your final viva. Guidance on the viva, including video streamed vivas, is available in a Viva Collection section in LinkedIn Learning. Please use your usual University login. 

For those with upcoming vivas you can experience a short mock viva when participating in a Your Viva workshop. Information about the workshop and how to book is available via ODPL’s PGR development webpage. 

If you are unable to attend the workshop or you particularly want to experience answering viva questions in a video streamed environment, you can request a mock viva by emailing researcherdev@leeds.ac.uk. Your email needs to indicate you would like a mock viva and why you are requesting it. Please note that you can ask your supervisor to do a mock viva with you; the support from OD&PL is offered in addition to any support from your supervisor. 

Disability support 

If you think you will require reasonable adjustments for your viva, please contact your Graduate School and Disability Services as soon as possible. You should also read the Reasonable adjustments policy for PGRs on the Research student guidance page on the For Students website. 

Your viva 

You will receive notification of your viva arrangements via your University email account so please continue to check your emails during the UE period.

For further information, please see The viva page of the For Students website.