Change of mode of study

The type of evidence that are normally required will depend on the particular circumstances that lead to your application. The School’s approach to standards of evidence is set out here. Examples of normally expected evidence are included below for part time studies.

• If you are applying on health grounds, you will need to provide medical evidence which explains how your condition(s) impact your ability to study.
• If you are applying on employment grounds, you will need to provide a copy of your employment contract, or a letter from your employer, which confirms that you are or will be working for more than 20 hours per week.
• If you are applying on grounds of childcare, you will need to provide a copy of the child’s birth certificate.

If the School is sponsoring your student visa, you will not be permitted to move to part time studies. All visa holders are required to seek advice from the Student Advice and Engagement Team before applying to understand the implication to your visa. This is the only LSE team permitted to give visa advice to students

The terms and conditions for most sources of postgraduate research funding set out rules for changes of study mode. As studentships/scholarships are administered by the Financial Support Office, you will need to contact the Financial Support Office before you submit your application to establish whether the terms and conditions attached to your funding will permit you to change your mode of attendance.

The Student Wellbeing Service are available to support all students, and overall information on sources of support from the School can be found here. If you are applying to change to your study mode based on health and/or disability grounds, it is particularly important that you contact the Student Wellbeing Service to discuss available forms of support, as this can sometimes mean that you do not need to change your study mode.

The PhD Academy website also provides comprehensive information on sources of support and training available to PhD students, some of which may be relevant to the circumstances you are facing.

Moving from full-time studies to part-time studies will generally see a reduction of fees and vis-a-versa, however, this will depend on your registration history, and you should speak with the PhD Academy about this.

Changing your mode of attendance can impact your Council Tax and whether you are eligible for an 18+ Oyster card. Please check with your Council and on Transport for London’s webpages to understand the implications. 

At LSE, part-time study is 50% of the normal expected rate. Your new thesis submission deadline will be calculated by:

a)Calculating the number of days of registration from the start of the part time period to the current submission deadline

b)Adding the number of days in a) to the current thesis deadline.

Full-time studies is at twice the rate of part time. If you are switching  from part-time to full-time, then your new thesis submission deadline will be calculated by:

a)Calculating the number of days of registration from the start of the full-time period to the current submission deadline

b)Subtracting the number of days in a) from the current thesis deadline

The School’s online application portal will not allow you to submit a draft application. Accordingly, we recommend that you save drafts of your application elsewhere before submitting. We recommend specifically discussing your draft application before uploading it to the School’s change of circumstances application management .

The form will ask you to provide/confirm the following:

1.    Your funding status.

2.    Your visa status and whether you have contacted the Student Advice and Engagement Team for advice about this.

3.    Whether you have discussed your application with your supervisor or department contact, and if so, who you’ve discussed your application with.

4.    The main reason for your request (from a drop-down list).

5.    A narrative section describing the main reason for your request, which should describe the factors that have led to the change of study mode request.

6.    A work completion plan setting out how you will progress to submission of the thesis by the new thesis deadline if the change of study mode is applied.

7.    Evidence to support your application.

Your plan should indicate how you will use the time between the point at which you submit your application and the new deadline as a result of the mode change.

Your work completion plan must specifically include the following components.

1.    A description of the progress you have made to date in the production of your thesis.

2.    The remaining work which you will need to complete in order for you to be able to submit an examinable thesis.

You should use clear and direct language when producing your completion plan. We also recommend including references to target chapter/paper lengths. Some examples of effective uses of language for work completion plans are included below.

“For the chapter entitled [INSERT}, I have completed [INSERT] in terms of fieldwork and data collection. I still have to complete [INSERT]. This will be completed between [INSERT] and [INSERT]. I will submit interim drafts to my supervisory team for feedback by [INSERT] and [INSERT].

“For the paper entitled [INSERT], I have written/drafted [INSERT]% of the paper, which will be approximately [INSERT] words, to an examinable standard. I still need to draft [INSERT]%. This will be completed between [INSERT] and [INSERT]. I will submit an interim draft to my supervisory team for feedback by [INSERT].

3.    A timetable setting out when you will complete each aspect of the remaining work described in your plan. Your work completion plan should be structured on a chapter-by-chapter/paper-by-paper basis and include both (i) deadlines agreed with your supervisors for submission of interim drafts and (ii) deadlines for agreement that each chapter/paper is complete for the purposes of submission. This is the most straightforward way to ensure that your supervisors, programme director and the Research Degrees Sub-Committee Chair are able to assess the viability of your work completion plan.

4.    A description of the supervisory arrangements which will be implemented to support you during the rest of your registration period, and any other School or non-School support you will access. This section will ideally set out a schedule of supervisory and other support meetings which will occur during the remainder of your study period. This does not necessarily need to provide specific dates but should provide sufficient detail to assure the Research Degrees Sub-Committee Chair that you will be appropriately supported for the remainer of your study period.

 The following can be used to frame the “Support and Supervision” section. Please adjust as necessary.

Support and Supervision

Supervisory Arrangements

I will have regular supervisory meetings every scheduled every x month/ I will meet my supervisors x times per term

Support

I am accessing supporting services from LSE Wellbeing Service/outside the LSE

I have access to /research workshops/PhD Seminars/external conferences/writing support services.

The change of study mode application form is an online portal that can be accessed here.