Extension
The Principal Supervisor may apply on behalf of the student to the Research Degrees Committee for an extension to the registration period. Extension requests are expected show that some unforeseen circumstances have arisen which have adversely affected the students' progress, against which precautions were not possible. Please note, where applicable suspensions of study should be applied for at that time difficulties arise with being able to attend studies.
Additional School approval is required before the request is sent to the Hub (for Research Degrees Committee consideration), for:
- the School of Engineering, Design and Technology all extension requests must first be approved by the Director of PG Research (via John Purvis in Chesham, C2.32)
- the School of Life Sciences all extension requests must be first approved by the Director of PG Research (via Shamim Haider, 2.12, Norcroft Building - IPI)
- the School of Management all extension requests (for the PhD programme) must first be approved by the PhD Director of Studies (via Su Bain in Cartwright, 2.20)
- the School of Social & International Studies all extension requests must be first approved by one of the Co-Directors of PG Research (via Michele Mozley in Pemberton, P0.12)
An extension is treated as a serious matter and should not be regarded as a matter of course.
An application for an extension must be made before the expiry of the student's normal period of registration. This is particularly important if the extension request is required to support a visa extension and Confirmation of Studies (CAS). It is strongly advised that the request to extend is submitted at least three months in advance of expiry of registration. For example if the final date of registration is 30 September, the extension request should be undertaken before the summer break.
The request needs to include the following information:
- a statement by the student giving the reasons why the extension is required and the proposed new expected date for submission
- a thesis planner indicating the timetable of research for the requested extended submission date A planner template is included here: Thesis planner
- a statement in support of the request for the extension to the submission date by the Principal Supervisor
Any request to extend must contain all the above elements (statement by student, statement by supervisor and thesis planner) and the approval process will inevitably be delayed if full information is not provided. It is also important that the "end date", that is the final expected thesis submission date, is clear and consistent across all of extension request documents. Lastly it is essential that the planner is realistic and allows the Supervisor time to provide meaningful feedback on the thesis.
The request should either be sent in hard copy to the Hub (a copy should be retained by the student) or submitted electronically to hub-research @bradford.ac.uk
On full receipt of the required information and approval by Research Degrees Committee students will receive formal notification by letter from SAS-Research team based in the Hub. If a new student card is required please pop to the Hub so a new one can be printed.
Further Guidance
As above, if you are an international student who requires an extension of studies to support an extension of visa, it is essential that you begin the process well in advance of either your end date passing and/or visa expiring. Advice and guidance in extending your visa is given here:
UBU's Advice Centre and ubu-visa@bradford.ac.uk
You can use your approved extension documents to support your visa application but please note applying for visa extension is a seperate approval process (and this is overseen by the Points Based System team).
If you are in receipt of sponsorship or any other external funding it is important that you notify such agencies of your extension of study. Please include their approval with your university's extension request.
Moreover Research Council funded students who require extension of studies have to apply to the relevant Research Council for permission. It is essential that that this is applied for at the time difficulties are experienced and not after the deadline for final thesis submission. Student Administration and Support (Research) are responsible for sending extension requests to all Research Councils. Generally the support documents required for the extension request are the same as listed above, although specific Research Council guidelines should be followed. Please email hub-research@bradford.ac.uk for advice.
