Leave of absence

Students may be absent from Edinburgh for short periods to allow for attendance at conferences, workshops, etc. This does not require formal School or College approval but should be agreed with the Principal Supervisor in advance.  Students and supervisors should discuss the absence and agree a start and end date.

Although no formal request needs to be made, the student should notify the IGS of the absence by completing the online notification form with the details (the supervisor will be unable to complete this). The form will then be automatically submitted to the Informatics Graduate School who will record the category 1 absence in EUCLID. 

Short LoA Webmark Form

Note for CDT students: If you have completed a travel request form for travel of less than 30 days and this has been approved, the IGS will refer to this form and therefore the above form does not need to be completed as well.

Where students will be absent from Edinburgh for between 31 days and 12 months (for example, research visits and internships), the student and supervisor must apply for a formal Leave of Absence, which must be approved by the School.  During this time, the student is expected to continue working on their thesis and supervision is expected to continue. Therefore, the period(s) of absence:

• should be to allow for fieldwork, academic research, work experience, etc. at another institution or location
• must not delay the completion of a student's thesis

The approval and recording of Category 2 LoAs is devolved to Schools.  As such, all Category 2 LoA requests are subject to the approval of the Deputy Director of IGS (who is the authorised delegated signatory for College).

• Students should complete the Leave of Absence Request Form, which must be signed by both the student and the principal or lead supervisor.
• If the absence is between 3 months and 12 months then the LoA checklist must also be completed and approved by the principal or lead supervisor.  Please ensure that details of how contact points will be arranged to maintain engagement during the period of leave. 
• Signatures can be provided electronically but the form/checklist must be sent from your University email address
• The LoA request form (and LoA checklist, if applicable) should be submitted to igs@inf.ed.ac.uk (cc'd to principal or lead supervisor).  IGS will then seek the approval of the Deputy Director of IGS.
• If approved, the IGS admin team will inform the student and supervisor and record the LoA on EUCLID.  

PGR Leave of Absence Request Form (83.05 KB Word)

PGR Leave Of Absence Checklist (29.75 KB Word)

 Where students (including those on a student visa) will be absent from Edinburgh for more than 12 months, the student and supervisor must apply for a formal Leave of Absence, which must be approved by the School and the College.  During this time, the student is expected to continue working on their thesis and supervision is expected to continue.

• Students should complete the Leave of Absence Request Form, which must be signed by both the student and the principal or lead supervisor.
• The LoA checklist must also be completed and approved by the principal or lead supervisor.  Please ensure that details of how contact points will be arranged to maintain engagement during the period of leave. 
• Signatures can be provided electronically but the form/checklist must be sent from your University email address
• The request form and checklist should be submitted to igs@inf.ed.ac.uk (cc'd to principal or lead supervisor).  IGS will then seek the approval of the Deputy Director of IGS.
• If approved by the DD-IGS, IGS will forward the request to College (pgrcse@ed.ac.uk).
• If approved by College, they will confirm this with the IGS and will record the LoA on EUCLID.   The outcome will be communicated to the student and supervisor by the IGS. 

PGR Leave of Absence Request Form (83.05 KB Word)

PGR Leave Of Absence Checklist (29.75 KB Word)

Students who are approved to undertake an internship under the concession of an LoA (of up to 6 months in duration, either as a single LoA or duration of multiple LoAs) will no longer have their stipend paused as a matter of course.  Stipends will continue to be paid and there will be no adjustment to your funding end date. 

Stipends will only be paused if:

1. The duration of a single LoA is greater than 6 months, or the cumulative duration of multiple LoAs for internships, is greater than 6 months.  In this instance, the funding end date will be amended by the appropriate period (assuming that the extended funding period can be accommodated by the funding source. Where the funding source cannot accommodate the funding amendment e.g. due to a fixed grant end date, then some or all of the stipend funding which would fall beyond an allowable charging date would need to be forfeited in favour of completing the internship.  
2. There is a specific funding term & condition connected to the funding source that does not allow this. For example, UKRI TGC 5.0 which states “[if] the student is receiving a payment for the placement, then the studentship should be suspended”. In this instance, the UKRI/EPSRC funding has to be forfeited for the duration of the internship, so the stipend from the School would stop but there would be no adjustment in your funding end date.
3. It is not appropriate for the student to continue to receive the stipend from the funder whilst interning/completing work placement. For example, the portfolio manager and/or BDE advises that a conflict of interest exists between the funder/funding source and the internship/work place provider. In this instance, the student would be required to take an interruption of studies instead.
4. Any other valid contractual reason meaning the stipend can’t (or shouldn’t) be paid during the internship/work placement/LoA period.

Internships_Stipend_Flowchart (238.05 KB PDF)