Most of the information found on our Advice pages is aimed at undergraduate and taught postgraduate students and won’t be applicable to you as a Postgraduate Research (PGR) student.  

However, just like any other student you can access our service for advice at any time by completing our Case Form here. 

• Exceptional consideration for deadlines 
   
• PGR complaints 
   
• Progression and examination appeals 
   
• Academic and Research Misconduct 
   
• Extensions/suspensions of registration 

• Purely academic issues, such as how to approach your APR – please discuss with your supervisory team 
   
• Finance/funding issues – please contact the Doctoral College and the Money Advice team 
   
• Visa/immigration issues – please contact the International Student Advice team 

We’ve covered some of the areas PGR students most commonly ask us for advice on below, but please remember that you do not need to know the name of the procedure before contacting us. Our Case Form will capture a short summary of your issue and we’ll let you know if this is something we can help you with. 

There may be times where you cannot submit for a progression milestone (Research Plan, Progression Reviews (APR/IPR) or final thesis submission) for serious, unforeseen and unavoidable circumstances. 

The normal circumstances would be a serious personal illness, accident or injury, a worsening of your health, bereavement, or significant adverse family circumstances. 

This is covered by section 10.3 of the Code of Practice for Research Degrees. 

1. Tell your lead supervisor as soon as you can. If that’s not possible, then contact your School Doctoral Studies Lead (DSL), Research Student Administrator (RSA) or the Doctoral College in general. 
    
2. You should explain what has happened, how it’s affecting your ability to submit, and that you’re asking for exceptional considerations. Send this via email so you have a record. 
    
3. You should be clear what you are asking for as an outcome. This could be revised deadlines, or/and reasonable adjustments. 

Sometimes things go wrong and you may need to raise these formally to see if they can be resolved. 

A complaint should be about something within the university’s control. Examples include issues with supervision, communication, facilities, support and administration. 

We can help you to decide how to raise your complaint, and throughout the process. Complete our Case Form to get in touch. 

You should aim to raise issues as soon as possible so that the issue is resolved and the impact to your studies minimised. 

1. Local resolution. You should seek to resolve your issue locally first. You should raise the issue with your supervisory team or your Doctoral Studies Lead (DSL). If the nature of your concern means that this is not appropriate, then ask your Research Student Administrator (RSA) for a confidential PGR Student Review Meeting to be called with your DSL or the Director of Doctoral Studies (DDS). 
    
2. Formal PGR meeting. If the issue is not resolved by the above, then the Doctoral College can arrange a formal meeting involving the relevant staff. You have the right to be accompanied, a peer or one of our Advisors can accompany you. After the meeting you should be sent a written outcome with actions/dates. 
    
3. Formal complaint. If the issue isn’t resolved then you may want to submit a formal complaint under the Student Complaints Procedure. 

At all stages it will help for you to keep copies of your records (emails, supervision records, meeting notes). Be clear about what happened, how it affected you and what practical outcome you are seeking.  

You can appeal a decision of non-progression or progression for a lower award made after a second-attempt Annual Progression Review (APR) or second-attempt Interim Progression Review (IPR). 

The process is found at Annex 1 of the Regulations for Research Degrees. 

The grounds are: 

i. there were circumstances affecting the candidate’s performance of which the progression panel were not aware; 

ii. that there was evidence of procedural irregularity in the process (including administrative error) of such a nature as to cause doubt as to whether the result might have been different had there not been such an irregularity; 

iii. that there was evidence of unfair assessment or improper conduct on the part of one or more members of the progression panel. 

You must submit your appeal to the Head of the Doctoral College within one month of notification of the decision. An appeal panel will be convened. 

We can discuss your concerns and advise on the possibility of appeal, please complete a Case Form here. 

Similarly, you can appeal against the outcome of your examination. The grounds are: 

1. that there were circumstances affecting the candidate’s performance of which the examiners were not aware during the examination process, and of which the candidate could not reasonably have been expected to inform the examiners in advance; 
    
2. that there was evidence of procedural irregularity in the examination process (including administrative error) of such a nature as to cause doubt as to whether the result might have been different had there not been such an irregularity; 

 

1. that there was evidence of improper conduct, prejudice or bias on the part of one or more of the examination team. Candidates may not otherwise challenge the academic judgement of the examiners. 

You are encouraged to discuss this issue with your Doctoral Studies Lead or Director of Doctoral Studies. 

If you want to appeal, you must give notice of your intention to appeal to the Academic Registrar ( [email protected]) within one month of the notification of your examination result. You need to tell them which of the above grounds you intend to appeal against. 

Then, you have a further three months to submit your full appeal. Your appeal will be considered and a decision will be made if should be permitted to go to panel. 

We can discuss your concerns and advise on the possibility of appeal, please complete a Case Form here. 

Academic misconduct allegations can be very worrying, but an allegation is not the same thing as a finding and we can assist you through the process. Get advice from our team before responding, complete a Case Form here. 

1. Read the allegation and policy named in the letter carefully, noting whether this is Academic Misconduct or Research Misconduct (they are different). 

 

1. Preserve material such as your drafts, notes, version histories, data, references, ethics records, supervisor feedback etc. 

 

1. Contact us via our Case Form and forward all emails received about the allegation, including attachments, to [email protected] 

We can discuss the allegation, help you respond, and attend meeting about the allegation (subject to availability). 

Extension to registration 

Extensions to the normal period of registration are considered in exceptional circumstances. 

You should talk about this with your supervisory team in the first instance, as your supervisors must support your request for an extension. The Doctoral College will also need to consider if completion is realistic within the period of extension. 

Extensions can only be granted for a period of up to one year. 

If you are an international student, you should also seek advice on whether this impacts your visa. You should also consider how this will affect your funding and fees and seek advice on this from the Doctoral College and/or the Money Advice team. 

You can apply for an extension via the Extension of Research Degree form on PhD Manager. 

Before applying we can discuss your request with you and check a draft over for you, complete our Case Form to get in touch. 

 

Suspension of registration 

In some cases, such as ill-health, suspension may be more appropriate than extension. Again, these are normally granted for a period not exceeding a year at a time. 

Suspensions add time to the expected student end date but do not add time to the maximum period of registration 

The process is very similar to the extension process above, and you must apply through the “change request” function of PhD Manager, and approval is given from the Doctoral College.  

Suspensions beyond the maximum periods prescribed by the regulations will only be permitted in exceptional circumstances and must be supported by a detailed plan of completion following return to studies. 

If your suspension is due to ill health, then you should provide medical evidence. 

If you are an International student, you should also seek advice on whether this impacts your visa. You should also consider how this will affect your funding and fees and seek advice on this from the Doctoral College and/or the Money Advice team. 

Please note that the Code of Practice says that following any period of suspension, “students are required to submit a return to study plan to their supervisors through PhD Manager. Return to Study plans should consider matters normally addressed in annual and interim progression reviews, and a plan of work.”  

The Code of Practice says that “failure to upload a return to study plan on PhD Manager may trigger an Interim Progression Review”.  

Before applying we can discuss your request with you and check a draft over for you, complete our Case Form to get in touch.