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Study leave

If you are going to conduct research away from UCL and outside of the UK for more than 4 weeks, you must apply for study leave. The kind of application you make depends on how long you plan to be away

This information is for postgraduate research students.

Study leave for research students

If you are conducting research away from UCL and outside of the UK for more than 4 weeks you must make an application for study leave. Study leave requests where you will be based in the UK are unlikely to be approved and will be reviewed on a case by case basis by the chair if the research degree committee (RDC). For student visa holders who want to undertake a placement within Greater London that is considered an integral and assessed part of your programme, the visa team may be able to report a change of study location under your current visa. This would not however be classed as study leave and your mode of attendance would remain the same. 

Important

You must comply with UCL’s Guidance for Fieldwork.

Eligibility

To be eligible for study leave you must:

  • not have been on study leave for more than 24 months.
  • not be in the first 3 months of your programme

You will be expected to keep in regular contact with your supervisor during your study leave. The application must be submitted to the research degrees team before the start of the study leave period (please ensure you allow time for the application to be assessed, and be aware of any visa requirements etc), as outlined in the academic manual part A, 2.5, ii). If Study leave is required to be extended the department must request this via e-mail to the research degrees team.

You will be liable for fees at a reduced rate during the period of approved study leave.