Your programme of study - Research

Further details relating to each of the following areas, including procedural instructions, can be found on the Student Services Centre website at: www.lse.ac.uk/SSC

Registration

Registration means that you are a member of the School and entitled to use the School facilities. It is your responsibility to ensure that you register fully for your programme of study.

Research Students

Each student is registered on a research programme leading to a qualification (e.g. Doctor in Philosophy). You must normally complete all programme requirements within, and attend the School for, the timeframe set out in your programme regulations (see the on-line School Calendar) or offer of admission.

Visiting Research Students

Each student is registered on a taught programme involving study at the School for a set period as specified in your offer of admission. Your programme of study will be agreed in conjunction with your supervisor. You may be allowed to take examinations on an informal basis: they will be marked and the results made available to you in the form of a transcript of your studies but cannot count towards a degree at the School.

New students

Registration takes place in the Research Degrees Unit (Room V600) throughout the week preceding the start of the Michaelmas Term. Students will not normally be allowed to register after the last working day of October, largely because they will have missed a significant part of their programme of study. The records of any student who has not registered by this deadline will be cancelled.

Continuing students

All students wishing to continue their studies from a previous academic session must re-register. Re-registration in the next year of study is dependent upon satisfying the progression rules (as outlined in your degree regulations) in the preceding year. If you have been given permission to interrupt your registration, you will normally be required to return within a year and be expected to sit examinations at the next possible opportunity.

LSE Card and Email Account

All registered students will be issued with an LSE Card. This card serves as your student identity card and your library card and should be kept in a safe place. A fee is charged to replace a lost or stolen card.

Please note that your LSE email will be used for a variety of essential communications, including information on payment of your tuition fees. You should access and manage your LSE email account on a regular basis, as it will be assumed that you have opened and acted upon these communications.

Conditions of Study

Your signature on the acceptance of offer form binds you to abide by all applicable School regulations, procedures, codes and policies as set out in the on-line School Calendar. Please read carefully the various regulations and, in particular, the Code of Good Practice for Research Students and their Supervisors, and the Regulations for Research Degrees which set out the responsibilities of students.

You are strongly advised to consult a member of the Research Degrees Unit on matters connected with School regulations. If you are in any doubt about any information provided orally, you should ask for it to be confirmed in writing (particularly if relating to your tuition fees). It remains your sole responsibility to pass on information about your personal circumstances directly to the Research Degrees Unit.

Withdrawal from the School

Before you make a final decision to terminate your studies, discuss your position with your supervisor or one of the School's Advisers or the Dean of Graduate Studies. If you decide not to continue with your programme and wish to leave in mid-session, you need to inform the Research Degrees Unit in writing. Although you do not have a right to a refund of any fees paid, the School will consider requests for tuition refunds on the basis of a 30-week year in respect of periods after the official termination of registration. Please note that you will be liable for fees up to and including the week the Research Degrees Unit receives written notification of your withdrawal.

Interruption and fieldwork

Research students need special permission to take interrupt their study, or undertake fieldwork. If you wish to apply for an interruption or to undertake fieldwork you must complete the appropriate form which can be downloaded from the research student website. For those students undertaking fieldwork you must also complete a risk assessment.

If you need to go on fieldwork as part of your programme of study, you should take out appropriate personal insurance. The School's insurance does not cover you while you are studying abroad.

Financial Matters

You must complete a Financial Undertaking Form before registration, and pay fees either in full before the beginning of the session concerned or, by agreement of the School, in instalments as per published instructions.

Fees

The fees for each academic session appear on the School's website at: www.lse.ac.uk/fees. Fees cover registration, teaching, first entry to examinations, the use of the Library and membership of the Students' Union. If you register for a course lasting more than a year, or you interrupt your studies and return to complete them later, the fees charged for subsequent years will be at the rate applicable for the academic year in question and not at the rate for the academic year in which you first registered.

Your status as a Home/EU or Overseas student for fee purposes is determined by the Graduate Admissions Office on the basis of information that you have provided. This status cannot normally be changed after you have registered.

If you owe money to the School or University, including charges for accommodation, the School may apply penalties or sanctions at its discretion.

Financial Support

The Financial Support Office administers a variety of scholarships and award schemes for incoming students. It also administers student hardship funds for currently registered students. The eligibility requirements and value of financial support differ according to each scholarship, award and/or fund. If you do not secure sufficient funds to register, you are strongly advised to consider the possibility of deferring entry to a subsequent academic session. Unfortunately, the School will not be able to offer hardship assistance to students who knowingly register under-funded.

For information on sources of financial support you should visit the websites of both the Financial Support Office and Students' Union.

Examinations

The degrees of MPhil and PhD are examined by thesis. Research students must enter for the examination at least one month before they are due to submit their thesis. The examination entry form can be downloaded from the research student website. The form must be completed by the student and supervisor and then submitted to the Research Degrees Unit.

The supervisor must nominate an internal (to the University) and an external examiner. The nominations are then considered by the appropriate panel, who will decide whether to approve the examiners.

The completed thesis should be submitted to the Research Degrees Unit as soon as it is ready. The thesis is then sent to the examiners and a date is set for the viva voce.

Further information on the examination process can be found in the Regulations for research degrees.

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