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Current Postgraduate Students

It has been agreed that it is important to support all of our students to submit their PhD within four years because:

  • It is in the best interest of our students - after four years, they will be removed from the register if they have not had an approved extension (due to unforeseen, and well documented circumstances). As a consequence of this they are no longer entitled to UIS and Library services, to formal supervision nor the formal support bodies (Counselling, DRC), they may lose accommodation and would not be covered by University Insurance if they were in the Department or other University property.
  • It is in the best interest of our Department - if our statistics are good in this area, it may prove significant to us in future funding bids.

It is also broadly recognised that:

  • Our PhD submission statistics are good, among the best in our School - around 80% of each cohort submit within 4 years.
  • We can improve our submission statistics (from 80% to 90% submitting on time) relatively easily if students who over-run by up to between one day and 3 months were to submit on time.
  • There will always be cases where students over-run for a wide variety of reasons and they should be properly supported during this key period.

The aim should not be to raise the submission rate but to raise awareness of the four-year deadline and help students to realistically aim for it with their Supervisor and the Department’s support.