Concessions

Interruption of Study

Students must obtain approval of a College Concession prior to an AHRC suspension being processed. Students are expected to complete their training in a single continuous period, but consideration is given to requests for suspensions due to personal or family reasons. Suspension of the award, with the exception of family leave, medical leave and additional leave, is limited to a maximum of 12 months unless exceptional circumstances prevail.

A student may apply for an Authorised Interruption of Study concession and it may be authorised by the College if there is a good reason for approving the interruption. Students must provide evidence to support their applications. Interruptions of study may not be applied retrospectively. Any one period of authorised interruption of study will not exceed one year, unless authorised by the College. The total period of authorised interruption is the same for full-time and part-time students and will not exceed 12 months. To start the process of applying for an interruption you should begin by discussing it with your supervisor.

It is expected during an interruption that you are not able to work on your research or thesis at all. Interruptions cannot be used in place of extensions to grant more time.

Please also note that your stipend payments will be paused during the interruption or will be reduced in the next quarter to reflect any interruption.

Medical leave

Eligible students who are unfit to study may receive stipend payments at their current payment rate for a period of absence, of longer than 7 days and up to a maximum of 28 weeks within any 12-month rolling period and where the absence is supported by a medical certificate. 

This applies both to students who fall sick and to those with a long-term condition for which an acute episode requires that they take time off their study. Multiple periods of sick leave within the 12-month rolling period are permitted up to a combined total of 28 weeks and do not need to run consecutively.

A maximum of 52 weeks of paid medical leave can be provided in total across the duration of the studentship. This will be pro-rata for part-time students, i.e., they would receive 52 weeks at their part-time stipend rate. 

Medical leave funding is not a direct payment made to the student at the point of illness. Instead, the policy allows the normal stipend payment to continue during the absence (up to 28 weeks) and the funding is extended at the end of their funded period to account for all periods of approved sick leave taken, rounded down to the nearest whole month.

A medical certificate must be provided for sick leave to be approved. This should be from a GP or an appropriate professional relative to the medical issue, e.g. a letter from a psychologist would be appropriate for a mental health issue. Medical certification must be signed (electronic signatures are accepted), in English, and cover the entire duration of the period of sick leave (less the first week, where self-certification will be accepted). If an eligible student on a current period of sick leave requires that period of sick leave to be extended, additional medical certification covering the additional period of sickness absence is required.

Where medical leave specifically relates to a disability that is formally disclosed to the University via a Schedule of Adjustment, additional medical certification is not required to be provided. Requests for medical leave that relate to a disclosed disability will be considered in conjunction with any Reasonable Adjustments already in place through the Student Disability Service.

Medical leave cannot be provided where a student is not ill themselves and needs to be absent to care for a sick dependent. In this situation, you can request an interruption of studies through the usual process. Medical leave also cannot be provided where a student has suffered from a bereavement, except where the bereavement has had a detrimental impact on the student’s health, as evidenced by an appropriate medical certificate.

Family Leave

There is no qualifying period for maternity, paternity or adoption leave. Students are advised that when taking family leave, will be required to repay this in the event that they do not return to your studies.

Maternity leave
Maternity Leave can commence up to 11 weeks before the expected week of childbirth. A student is eligible for Maternity Leave if (1) the maternity leave is planned to commence (or does commence) before the end of the student’s funded period and (2) they are the birth parent of the child. 

Depending on how long a student interrupts for maternity leave, the first 26 weeks will be paid at full stipend rate, pro-rated as necessary for part time students. The following 13 weeks will be paid at a level commensurate with statutory maternity pay (£187.18 per week for full-time students and 90% of weekly stipend for part-time students) and the final 13 weeks are unfunded.

Partner’s or Paternity leave - students are entitled to up to two weeks paid Ordinary Paternity Leave on full stipend. Ordinary Paternity Leave cannot start before the birth and must end within 56 days of the birth – update to follow.

Adoption leave – this will be granted on the same basis as maternity leave.

Unpaid parental leave - Unpaid Parental Leave is provided in place provision of Shared Parental Leave. Partners are entitled to take up to one month each year of unpaid parental leave. Students are asked to submit an Authorised Interruption of Studies request for leave requests a full month. 

Emergency and Compassionate Leave – update to follow

Under the Medical Leave and Family Leave policies, students are entitled to take short-term time off for emergencies and/or compassionate leave, which can be paid or unpaid depending on the circumstances.

Students are advised to notify the School as soon as emergency/compassionate leave payments are required.  

The leave would not normally be for more than 5 days and would therefore be dealt with in the same way as short periods of sickness absence. The normal stipend payment should continue during the absence and the funding is extended at the end of the student’s funded period to account for all periods of approved leave taken, rounded down to the nearest whole month. This leave can be added to periods of approved sick leave taken when calculating additional payments to be made at the end of the funded period.

If the student requires a longer period of leave due to the circumstances, they can apply for an interruption of studies. In discussion with the student, the School can decide whether to stop or continue the stipend payments during the interruption but no additional stipend funding will be provided. Therefore, if the decision is taken that the stipend will continue during the absence, the student should be advised that there will be an unfunded period at the end of their studies. Paid medical leave could only be provided during an interruption of studies where the circumstances have had a detrimental impact on the student’s health, as evidenced by an appropriate medical certificate.

Application process

In order to request these funds, students must apply for an Authorised Interruption of Study.

Students with a Tier 4 or Student Route visa must contact the Student Immigration Service as early as possible for guidance as to any impact that taking leave will have on their visa and to ensure that compliance can be maintained.

Medical leave – Students should apply to their School for an Authorised Interruption of study and provide medical evidence as part of this application. Where medical leave claims are less than 1 month, the concession will still be considered by College. If approved, students will be notified and although no interruption will be recorded on EUCLID, local funding notes will document the extension of the award by the weeks approved as funded medical leave.

Family leave – Students should apply to their School for an Authorised Interruption of study and supply the relevant supporting documents e.g MATB1 form / Maternity Certificate / letter from the adoption agency.

Notification

The University team responsible for administering your stipend payments will notify you, via email, with the outcome of your request.

Contact us

If you have any queries about the policy or application process, please contact us pgawards@ed.ac.uk

Part Time Awards

Studentships are available for students who wish to study on a part-time basis. It is expected that the period of study will reflect the percentage of time spent pursuing doctoral studies, and a minimum of 50% of full time effort is required (with an expected period of study of up to 6 – 8 years). Supervisors will wish to ensure that arrangements are made to incorporate any new research or research developments that are likely to emerge within the extended period of study. In addition you can switch to part-time study if your circumstances change, and your eligibility will be adjusted to reflect your new end dates.

Thesis Submission

You are required to submit your thesis within one year of the prescribed end date of your award. Students awarded ESRC funding from 2024 entry onward are required to submit at the end of their funded period. If you are unable to meet this deadline, please discuss this with your supervisor as soon as possible and please contact the Postgraduate Research Student Office - pgawards@ed.ac.uk  It may be possible to apply for an extension, but this is usually only granted in exceptional circumstances.

Extension Requests

Extensions cannot be approved or recorded retrospectively therefore it is important that such cases are brought to our attention in advance of your expected ESRC submission date - pgawards@ed.ac.uk 

The reason for the extension must be in accordance with the terms and conditions of the award, with sufficient detail regarding the reason for this change recorded. Be sure to apply for consideration no less than 3 months before you need it so there is plenty of time to get it sorted.

While the ESRC will normally accept a submission date extended by us to take account of any period of suspension notified during a studentship, only in exceptional circumstances will they accept extending the target date for submission on account of difficulties that arise during the writing up period. The exceptional circumstances where an extension to a student’s expected ESRC submission date will be considered are:

• Illness or accident – this refers to any period during the writing-up period where the student was unable to work on their thesis for medical reasons.
• Exceptional personal circumstances – this includes bereavement and any other difficult personal circumstance that has rendered the student unable to work on their thesis during the writing-up period.

The ESRC will not allow an extension for employment during the writing up period.