Annual leave

The annual leave entitlement renews annually on the anniversary of your start date. Unused leave cannot be carried forward into the next year. You are encouraged to take your annual leave each year to ensure you have a break from your studies. Doctoral Researchers are responsible for managing their annual leave requests with approval from their supervisory team and School.

All annual leave should be requested using the annual leave request form. Leave should be approved by your primary supervisor and the request will be returned to the relevant member of administrative staff in your School.

Where the period of leave is expected to exceed one calendar month, the Director of Doctoral Programmes for your School or his/her nominee will agree with the Doctoral College Office whether the leave should be taken a formal leave of absence instead. 

These short absences will not be processed as a Leave of Absence (break from your studies) and will instead be recorded by Schools on Co-Tutor with appropriate documentation and evidence. If you hold a student visa, the short absence must be reported to the Doctoral College Office so that they can fulfil reporting obligations to UKVI.

Short absences are approved by your Supervisor. Please be aware, however, that if you are requesting a short absence for paternity leave, medical reasons or for additional, special or compassionate leave, and you would like to request an extension to your expected submission deadline (and, where appropriate, your University-administered studentship) then the Doctoral College will determine if any update to your end date and/or stipend payments can be applied.

Your next review date and submission date will not be altered unless approved by the Doctoral College under specific leave types (Sick leave, Family leave, Additional, Special and Compassionate leave).

You will be expected to attend your monthly supervision meeting during the 1-month short absence, but this can be over the phone or via Teams as appropriate.

Fees will be charged during the 1-month short absence, but if the expected end date is amended as a result of the request, no additional tuition fee charge will be made at the end of your studies.

If you submit a Mitigating Circumstances claim at the end of the Part in which the short absence is taken, you may refer to it as part of their claim.

If you need to request more than one short absence in a short period of time, or if your request more than six week of short leave with a rolling 12-month period, your DDP and supervisors should have a constructive and supportive discussion with you about the circumstances that have led to the requests. You should explore whether a Leave of Absence may be the most appropriate action to support your wellbeing and academic progress. DDPs and supervisors are encouraged to consult with the Doctoral College Office as necessary.