Policy and guidance on suspensions and extensions of study for postgraduate researchers  Definitions, context and guidance

A suspension is a break of more than one month during which a PGR temporarily leaves their programme and is not a registered student. Suspensions pause the transfer and thesis deadlines, which will be extended by the corresponding period, and do not count toward the total study period. During suspension:

• no academic fees are due, and research progress is not expected
• access to supervision, library and facilities is paused. In exceptional circumstances, a School may submit a request (via DCO) to the library to maintain access.
• IT access (e.g. email) continues.
• wellbeing support and check-in/contacts may continue as agreed between the PGR and the School.
• a report will be made to UKVI for a visa sponsored PGR. Visa holders should seek advice from the Student Visa Advice Team.
• funding and council tax status may be affected.

It is important that suspension requests are made as soon as possible when difficulties arise. This allows the University to respond effectively and offer the right support. 

PGRs in the UK on a student visa should take advice from the Student Visa Advice Team. Periods of suspended study must be reported to UKVI. Periods of authorised absence or annual leave do not have to be reported to UKVI. You can read guidance on taking time out from your research and how it can affect visas. 

PGRs in receipt of UKRI or University funding can find further advice about leave entitlement. 

Suspensions must be formalised promptly. PGRs must submit suspension requests either before or at the point their studies are interrupted. Suspensions will not normally be backdated for more than one month. 

If a PGR is not studying, and they have requested a suspension the School should forward the request to Doctoral College Operations (DCO) immediately, even if supporting evidence is still pending. Delays in requesting suspensions can impact a number of areas, including:

• UKVI Compliance: Late reporting risks the University’s compliance with UKVI requirements as well as causing the PGR to fall outside the immigration regulations 
• Funding Risks: Backdated suspensions can lead to overpayment of funding, which the PGR may need to repay.
• Audit & Reporting Obligations: Delays may breach service-level agreements with funding bodies (e.g. Student Finance England, UKRI, international loan providers).
• Tuition Fees: Suspension timing affects fee calculations.
• Support: Late requests can delay essential academic, financial, and immigration support.

Retrospective requests (of more than one month) will only be considered in exceptional circumstances, where there is a good reason for not disclosing circumstances sooner. Any delay in reporting absence that leads to a compliance issue (e.g. UKVI or funding-related) will be reported to the Head of School or their nominee (e.g. Director of PGR Studies).

Schools must ensure that PGRs are not permitted to be absent from the University without this having been formalised. It is not acceptable for the matter to be reported retrospectively via an extension of study later in the candidature to compensate for an earlier absence. If an extension is requested later instead of a suspension at the time it may not be possible to consider this retrospectively.

An extension is a lengthening of the candidature that allows additional time to complete the thesis due to unexpected disruption that slowed progress. During an extension:

• the PGR remains registered and continues research and supervision.
• engagement and attendance monitoring will take place (as per the Attendance and Engagement Monitoring Policy and Guidance for PGRs).
• access to library and IT continues; lab access is not normally granted. PGRs will not normally be entitled to laboratory or other resources provided by the school. All research work, including experiments, should have been completed within the standard period of study and any period of extension granted should be for writing up the thesis.
• a work plan with milestones should be agreed with the supervisor.

Extension requests are typically submitted in the final six months of the standard study period. Requests must demonstrate significant, unavoidable disruption that could not reasonably have been anticipated or mitigated. If issues arise earlier in the candidature, the PGR should discuss them with their supervisor and record the disruption in GRAD. Maintaining a log of lost time will support any future extension request.

If disruption occurs during the overtime period, the extension request should be submitted as soon as the issue arises.

If a transfer or thesis submission deadline falls while an extension request is under review:

• The PGR should submit their work by the original deadline.
• If the extension is later approved, arrangements can be made to withdraw and resubmit the work.

Note: Where the thesis has not been submitted for examination, IT access ends 90 days after the final thesis submission deadline. It is therefore important that extension requests are submitted in good time so that the maximum time limit can be updated and IT access continued.

A short period of absence (up to 4 weeks) in any 12 month period, in addition to any period of annual leave (26 days (pro-rata for part-time)). In exceptional circumstances up to 8 weeks may be authorised by the UKVI Compliance Manager. Requests should be made via PGR Progress on the completed pro-forma for requests for authorised absence exceeding 4 weeks.

During an authorised absence:

• IT access is retained but PGRs are not expected to progress research. 
• the absence must be absorbed into the overall candidature.
• the absence must have no impact on the PGR’s ability to meet the final thesis submission deadline which will not be extended. 
• an authorised absence does not need to be reported to UKVI, though PGRs sponsored on a Student Visa may seek advice from the Student Visa Advice team. 

PGRs are entitled to 26 days holiday each year (15.5 for PGRs studying part time) plus University closed days.

A short period of extension to the deadline for transfer assessment to give PGRs a little extra time to complete submission for transfer where circumstances have impacted progress (e.g. illness).

• Extra time may be granted for transfer submission due to disruption 
• The final thesis submission deadline is not extended.  
• Requests must be submitted via GRAD and approved by PEG. 

Full-time PGRs may request to switch to part-time study if their circumstances prevent study on a full-time basis, but they do not need to take a complete break via a suspension. 

• Funding and visa implications must be considered. 
• See the Change of Research Degree Arrangements guidance. 

Each case is considered individually, but the following are examples of circumstances that are commonly accepted as grounds for requesting a suspension or extension:

• serious illness or injury, supported by medical evidence
• significant personal or family difficulties that impact the PGR’s ability to study
• bereavement – the death of someone close, e.g. parent, grandparent, guardian, partner, sibling, child, friend
• unexpected financial hardship that disrupts studies
• major unexpected events, such as theft (with a police report)
• delays or breakdowns in essential equipment
• maternity, adoption, or parental leave
• carers leave
• systemic events in home country, such as war or natural disasters
• work placements that are outside the programme of study. Depending on the Terms and Conditions of any funding provider. PGRs holding a Student visa should take advice from the Student Visa Advice team before submitting requests. 
• disability-related impacts requiring reasonable adjustments, in consultation with Disability Services, including delays in the provision of reasonable adjustments

You can read guidance on parental leave for PGRs. 

Leave is usually managed through a combination of suspension and/or authorised absence, depending on individual circumstances. Suspensions granted on these grounds do not count toward the overall suspension or extension limit under University regulations.

While suspensions must be recorded in whole months, leave may begin or end at any point during a month. In such cases, part of the period can be recorded as authorised absence. PGRs may also choose to take annual leave immediately before or after a period of leave. 

You can read further guidance is available on leave and pay arrangements for University or UKRI-funded PGRs. PGRs funded by an external sponsor should contact their sponsor or scholarship provider directly to confirm their entitlements. 

PGRs who are studying in the UK on a student visa, should seek advice from the Student Visa Advice Team. Understanding visa restrictions and any associated costs related to leave is crucial. The University is required to report any period of suspension, including on the grounds of maternity leave, to UKVI. Authorised absence and annual leave do not require reporting to UKVI. You can read further guidance on Suspensions, temporary leave and external students and visas.

The Graduate Board recognises that there may have been situations where progress was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and wants to ensure that there is no detriment to posrgraduate researchers (PGRs) in terms of the time available to complete and submit their thesis.

The approach seeks to be sensitive to the broad range of academic and personal impacts on individual PGRs and their projects, and recognises these will have been variable depending on the stage in the candidature and the individual circumstances.  

In many cases it will have been possible to adapt the research plans to mitigate for the disruption. The University has prepared thesis guidance for PGRs, supervisors and examiners, including advice around assessment and submitting a Covid-19 impact statement to the thesis examiners. The Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA) has also produced advice on Doctoral Standards for Research Students and Supervisors. 

In other cases, a suspension or extension of studies may be needed, to mitigate for impacts, delays or disruption to research plans. This may have included (list not exhaustive): 

• Lack of access to research facilities and/or resources necessary for the research (for example, laboratories, libraries, archives, desk/study space, computing facilities or software) during COVID -19 restrictions/lockdown; 
• Disruption relating to data collection, for example fieldwork delayed/cancelled, travel restrictions or difficulties with interviews during COVID -19 restrictions/lockdown  
• Personal circumstances including bereavement, caring responsibilities, home schooling and/or where the PGR or members of the household were ill, self-isolating or shielding;  
• Redeployment to a COVID -19 related research project; 
• Paid or voluntary work due to COVID-19 (for example a return to, or increase in, clinical commitments). 
• Ill health, with symptoms of COVID 
• Impact of COVID -19 on existing health conditions. 

If you experience any ongoing impacts related to the pandemic, please let your Graduate School know so that options can be explored, and advice and support can be offered.

Our advice to PGRs continues to be to discuss with your supervisor/s any difficulties and disruption caused by the pandemic, and keep a record of this in the GRAD supervision meeting records. Keeping a log of issues and lost time in this way will make it easier when assessing any lost time and coming to make any extension request. 

The University can accept extension requests within six months of the end of the standard period of study as this will mean a PGR and their Supervisor will be in a good position to fully assess the disruption, mitigation, the amount of time lost and the length of extension required.  

As previously confirmed, the University will approve all Covid-19 related requests which have been agreed with the Supervisor/s or Director of PGR Studies. We have made it as easy as possible for a COVID-19 extension to be given, and the following light-touch arrangements are in place: 

• PGRs can make an extension request in the last 6 months of the standard period of study. 
• Only a very brief summary (1 or 2 lines) of the reasons for the extension and confirmation of the period of time needed so that we can better understand what support a PGR might need. 
• PGRs will not need to provide any additional documentary supporting information in support of a COVID-19 extension request. 
• Any COVID-19 suspension or extension which is approved will not count towards the maximum period of suspension or extension normally permitted under University regulations (24 months for full-time PGRs, 36 months for part-time). 

If a request is declined, the School must document the reasons for this and communicate/discuss them with the PGR (including confirmation in writing), providing an opportunity for the PGR to present any additional grounds or evidence. The School should then submit its recommendation to DCO for consideration by the Progression and Examinations Group (PEG). This will ensure the equitable consideration of cases. DCO will coordinate the review of the request by PEG, communicate the outcome after PEG review and signpost to appeal / complaint guidance, including LUU support.

If a PGR is unhappy with a decision they should contact their Graduate School. The Director of PGR Studies, with support from the Graduate School, should explain the decision. If a PGR remains dissatisfied they should be signposted to LUU for further advice. 

A decision not to grant a suspension or extension is not, in itself, an adverse academic outcome and therefore does not come under the Academic Appeals Procedure. It may be raised via the Student Complaints Procedure. However, if a PGR subsequently receives an adverse academic outcome—such as withdrawal due to being out of time, transfer to MPhil, MPhil award, or failure—then an earlier decision not to grant a suspension or extension may be cited as part of an appeal under the Academic Appeals Procedure, once PEG has confirmed the academic outcome.

Where there is a disagreement on the outcome of a request for a suspension or extension of study at School level (for example between the PGR/supervisor and the Director of PGR Studies) the case should be forwarded to the Head of the Faculty Graduate School for adjudication before any recommendation is made to PEG.

PGRs must re-register annually on the anniversary of their start date until their thesis is submitted. The Graduate School will notify PGRs when re-registration is due. Re-registration must be completed within four weeks of the anniversary date. Failure to do so may result in loss of time to complete the thesis, or the non-engagement process may be followed.

Regular supervision meetings and ongoing progress and engagement monitoring are essential to ensure continued progress, in line with the PGR Attendance Monitoring Policy. Schools are encouraged to monitor progress throughout the extension, rather than waiting until the end of the period. Any concerns should be addressed promptly, at the point they arise during a period of extension. Supervisors must inform the Director of PGR Studies and the Graduate School if issues arise. The Progress Support Process may be initiated if necessary. Non-attendance during an extension should be managed according to the Attendance Monitoring Policy.

PGRs are expected to resume studies after the suspension ends, unless an additional suspension has been approved. For suspensions due to ill health, the Director of PGR Studies must be satisfied that the PGR is fit to return, with supporting documentation provided where appropriate (e.g. medical evidence or a fit-to-study note).

Support is available from the Graduate School Office, Supervisors, and Director of PGR Studies. Depending on the circumstances, a return-to-study meeting or plan may be arranged. This should be tailored to the individual and may include:

• Referral to University support services (e.g. Student Counselling, Disability Services).
• Academic support planning with Supervisors.
• Adjusted study plans for phased return to gradually increase study hours, usually over a 4-week period.
• Consideration of deadline extensions for assessments (e.g. transfer or thesis submission).

Registration opens one month before the suspension end date. This allows PGRs in receipt of University funding access to registration early to avoid stipend delays. The Graduate School will contact the PGR via their University email with instructions. Re-registration must be completed within four weeks of the suspension end date. 

If a PGR cannot resume studies, they must notify the Graduate School as soon as possible, or submit a request via the GRAD system. Failure to re-register or make contact may result in loss of time or the non-engagement process.