Taking time out of your research

During a suspension of study, you temporarily leave your programme for a minimum of one month. A suspension will “stop the clock” and protect the time on your programme. 

During a suspension you are not expected to progress your research or to pay academic fees. 

You won’t have access to supervision, the library or other University facilities (such as laboratories), but you will keep access to IT facilities, including email, as well as support services. 

Your deadlines will be lengthened to account for the suspension period. Typical reasons for suspension of study are illness, maternity leave, or personal difficulties. 

If you need a suspension of study, let your Graduate School know immediately as it may not be possible to back date a suspension for more than one month.  

When you can return to study will differ from person to person depending on the circumstances; it may be when you are medically fit, have overcome any personal difficulties or are simply due back after planned leave, eg parental leave.  

You will need to re-register within four weeks of returning from a suspension. This means that you may need to register twice in the same academic year. If you do not register following a period of suspension you may lose time available to complete your thesis or be presumed to have withdrawn from the University. 

If you are returning from a suspension of studies due to illness, you may be asked to provide evidence you are fit to return to your programme of study. 

An extension of study adds more time to your programme, to take account of an unexpected or unavoidable disruption which has significantly slowed down your progress. 

You will continue to work on your research and make progress and your supervisor will work with you to agree a timetable for completion. 

If you request an extension during your overtime period, you will need to explain how much of your thesis is complete and submit a plan for completion of your thesis, agreed by your supervisor. 

If your maximum period of study is extended, you will need to register for any extension longer than one month. 

There is no fee for the extension. If you do not register during an extension of studies, you may lose time available to complete your thesis or be presumed to have withdrawn from the University. 

The length of suspension or extension that you request should be reasonable and relevant to the problem or difficulties you are experiencing. 

Requests for suspensions of study will not be granted indefinitely. The minimum period of suspension is one calendar month, and requests are normally granted for no longer than 12 months in the first instance. 

The University will not normally approve periods of extension and suspension which add up to more than two calendar years for a full-time PGR or three calendar years for a part-time PGR (suspensions for maternity or adoption leave are excluded from these limits). 

External funders, sponsors or professional bodies may also set limits on the length of suspension or extension that you can take. 

View the Suspensions and extensions policy for more information and contact your Graduate School.   

An authorised absence is a short break from your studies, normally up to four weeks’ duration in a 12-month period (in addition to any period of annual leave) which can be authorised by your supervisors. 

You and your supervisors must agree that the absence won't affect your ability to submit your thesis on time. Your maximum time limit for thesis submission will not be extended.  

Typical reasons for an authorised absence include short periods of illness (supported by medical evidence), short term (ordinary) paternity leave, emergency compassionate leave and personal difficulties. 

If your academic progress is affected for more than four weeks, you should make your Graduate School aware immediately and consider seeking a period of suspension instead. 

In some circumstances it may be possible to seek approval for an additional period of absence of up to eight weeks in a 12-month period.  You must speak to your Graduate School if you wish to seek a period of authorised absence of up to eight weeks. If you are on a Student visa, it must also be approved by the University’s Student Visa Compliance Manager.  

Once the period of authorised absence finishes, it is expected you will return to your studies as normal and should be able to resume your research effectively. 

If you're not ready to return, contact your supervisor and your Graduate School who can advise on the options available to you. 

If you do not keep in contact for a prolonged period, the University may assume you have withdrawn from your studies. It is therefore important that you discuss your return following absence with your supervisor and Graduate School. 

Authorised absences should normally be requested at the time of disruption to your studies, or as soon as possible after it. Retrospective requests for authorised absence may only be considered in exceptional circumstances. Please provide details and any required evidence as soon as possible to your Graduate School. 

An authorised absence will not normally affect your maintenance payments, but you should check with your funder if you are in any doubt. 

UKRI funded students may be entitled to additional funding for sick leave, maternity, paternity and parental leave and some emergency/compassionate leave in accordance with UKRI terms and conditions.   

Find out more about what to do and funding if you are unwell during your research degree. 

You can request an authorised absence or suspension or extension of study through the change requests tab in GRAD. 

GRAD is the usual method but if the request is sensitive or confidential and you don’t want the details in the system, please contact your Graduate School first. 

You can also get advice from your Graduate School, Director of Postgraduate Research Studies or supervisors.  You should raise any problems as soon as you can. 

If you are on a Student visa, it is your responsibility to inform the university of any periods of absence or change of location so they can advise of any potential impact on your visa status

Where ethics approval has been required, PGRs requesting an extension of study will need to report an amendment to a previous ethics review to the Research Ethics and Governance team at ResearchEthics@leeds.ac.uk, as an extension of study will result in a change to the end date of the programme. This should be discussed with the supervisor. 

Find out more about the University’s Research Ethics Policy, ethics review processes, requirements for researchers and training and support that is available. 

Authorised absences do not affect your visa provided they do not change the overall time limit for completion of your programme of study. 

If your programme requires ATAS (Academic Technology Approval Scheme) approval, and your period of study is suspended or extended, you may be required to apply for fresh ATAS clearance.  

Find out more about ATAS. 

Before requesting a suspension or extension, you should check your visa requirements and seek support from the Student Visa Advice team. You may also need to contact them before returning.  

You may be asked to provide documentary supporting information to support requests and where this is needed your Graduate School will let you know. 

Depending on the request, it may not be possible for your request to be finalised  until appropriate documentary supporting information is submitted.  Keep in touch with your Graduate School and respond to any questions that they ask. 

Find out more about documentary supporting information. 

If you have a Student visa and permanently withdraw from your studies, you will be required to leave the UK. The University reports all permanent withdrawals to UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI). Seek advice from the Student Visa Advice team. 

If you are an international PGR with a Student visa and are considering transferring to another university, check if they can assign you a new Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS). You may need to leave the UK to make another visa application. 

If you leave before the end of your course, your fees are calculated based on your leaving date and not your last date of attendance (unless these dates are the same). Once the dates are calculated, if you are due a refund for fees, the Fees team will contact you on your personal email address. Your leaving date cannot be backdated by more than ten days. Please check with your Graduate School that the correct address is on your records.  

Find out more about fee payments when leaving the University early. 

There are some situations where you may lose some, or all, of your student financial support: 

• If you receive funding, such as a Doctoral Loan, overseas loan eg American Federal Loan, military funded schemes etc, contact funding@leeds.ac.uk 
• If you hold a scholarship that is administered by the Doctoral College Scholarships Office, contact pg_scholarships@leeds.ac.uk 
• If you hold a scholarship that is administered by your school or faculty, contact your Graduate School 
• If you are a sponsored PGR, contact your sponsor. 

For information and independent support, you can contact Leeds University Union. 

If you’re in University accommodation, check the Accommodation page to see when you will need to continue paying accommodation fees.  

If you’re in private-sector accommodation check the terms of your contract with your accommodation provider. Leeds University Union offer advice on your rights and dealing with your landlord in this situation.  

Your University IT account will close immediately when your record is updated, and you will no longer have access to your Leeds University email address. You should hand over any data or IP to your supervisor. You may have school-specific requirements, eg returning any keys etc. Your Graduate School will let you know if this is something you need to do. 

You must inform the council if you’re no longer a full-time student. There could be legal implications if you don’t tell the council about any changes. See the Council Tax exemption page.

You have a limited "cooling off period", usually 14 days after you start or register, in which you may change your mind, withdraw from your place and cancel your contract with the University.  For more information and to cancel your contract, see the Student Contract.