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Current Postgraduate Students

Student expectations regarding funding have been agreed as follows:

  1. Our PhD students come to us with a range of different types of funding, normally lasting between three and four years. 
  2. The University sends a dual message that can be confusing: the official duration of a PhD is three years, but the University gives all students a submission deadline of four years. This is intended to provide an overrun period for unforeseen delays but funding during this period is not guaranteed from any source.
  3. The Department needs to set student expectations from the beginning, i.e. made reference to in the offer letter received by students and clearly stated within the student web pages, that:
    • PhD projects will be designed and managed as far as possible so that students should be able to complete their PhD studies (including all experimental work and often also writing the thesis) within the time that they are funded.
    • Their funding deadline is real and, if it falls before the University four-year deadline for submission, they need to be mindful that the funding will stop unless they locate funding from another source.
    • They should consult with their Supervisor initially to see what the options are well in advance of their funding coming to a conclusion.
    • If the Supervisor is unable to provide funding beyond the period funded by the student funding body, students need to investigate all options available to them to secure further funds well in advance of their funding coming to a conclusion.
  4. Supervisors need to:
    • Set expectations from the beginning as above (point 3).
    • Design and manage PhD projects as far as possible so that students will complete their PhD studies (including all experimental work and often also writing the thesis) within the time that they are funded by their funding source.

The student offer letter and student web pages have been updated to clearly include this information.  Offer letters of this type are sent to all students (including Supervisor funded or self-funded, as well as DTA and Scholarship winners).