The PhD journey

You are expected to engage actively with your research, your supervisor and your academic community throughout your PhD. This includes attending supervisory meetings, seminars, workshops and other required academic activities.

Research students are also expected to be based in London and actively engaged with their studies throughout the calendar year. This includes the summer period between the end of Spring Term and the start of Autumn Term, which is not an automatic vacation period for research students.

You will normally need approval before spending time away from London, the UK, the School, or your normal study arrangements. The correct approval route depends on your circumstances. It is not determined only by the length of time you will be away.

Before making arrangements, read our guidance on temporary absence from London and/or study. This explains which approval route to use for short absence, vacation, emergency authorised absence, fieldwork, Study Elsewhere, interruption of studies, and requests to reside outside London or the UK. It also provides guidance for Student visa holders and students in receipt of School-administered funding.

Our guidance can be found here.

If LSE sponsors your student visa, you must understand and meet your visa conditions throughout your studies.

Recording supervisor meetings in the PhD Log

You are required to use the PhD Log to record meetings with your supervisor and keep it up to date.

• Full-time students are entitled to three supervisory meetings per term (nine per academic year), and are required to record at least nine supervisory interactions – which can be meetings, email exchanges or other substantive interactions – each year in order to be eligible to re-enrol in the following academic year.
• Part-time students are entitled to two meetings per term (six per academic year) and are required to record at least six supervisory interactions – which can be meetings, email exchanges or other substantive interactions – each year in order to be eligible to re-enrol in the following academic year.

This is a formal requirement, which applies to all students.

For visa-holders, this is required as evidence to demonstrate your engagement to UK Visas and Immigration. You can find guidance on School requirements for PhD log record-keeping, and the relationship of this record keeping to processes like progress review, upgrade assessments and change of circumstances applications here.

School regulations govern your registration, progression, examination and award. You are responsible for reading and understanding the regulations that apply to your programme.

Regulations for Research Degrees

Your supervisors are your main source of academic guidance throughout your PhD. All research students have a supervisory team of at least two supervisors, including a lead supervisor who is responsible for coordinating your supervision and monitoring your progress.

Your lead supervisor also plays an important role in processes covering research ethics, absence authorisation, and changes to enrolment status. However, you should not assume that permission from your lead supervisor alone is sufficient, and should always follow the relevant guidance.

Successful supervision depends on active engagement from both supervisors and students. You are responsible for your research and thesis and should prepare for meetings, complete agreed actions and communicate openly with your supervisors.

At the start of your degree, you and your supervisors should agree how you will work together, including how often you will meet, how work will be submitted and discussed, expected timescales for feedback, and how you will communicate between meetings. These arrangements should be reviewed as your research develops, normally through the annual progress review process.

Throughout your PhD, your supervisors should provide academic advice and constructive feedback on your research, help you plan and monitor your progress, support preparation for milestones such as upgrade and submission, and discuss any challenges affecting your work. They should also support you in preparing for activities such as fieldwork and data collection, research away from LSE, the viva and any post-viva corrections.

You must also maintain an up-to-date PhD Log record of your supervisory interactions and agreed actions throughout your time with the School. Failure to maintain PhD Log records is likely affect your ability to re-enrol.

Supervisors are part of the School's wider support network. They should signpost you to appropriate support and discuss potential applications for changes to your enrolment status where personal circumstances are affecting your studies.

However, they are not expected to provide specialist advice on matters such as mental health, disability, finance or immigration/visas. You should always raise problems as early as possible so that appropriate advice and support can be considered.

You can also expect supervisors to take an interest in your professional and career development, including opportunities to publish, present research, develop professional skills and explore future career options.

Choosing your courses

You can select and manage courses using LSE for You (LFY). LFY is the School’s online system used to choose courses, check your timetable, and view your registration and assessment details.

Full information on course selection, including the deadline and how to make your selections can be found here.

If you attend a course but do not take the assessment, tell the PhD Academy before the examination period. PhD Academy enquiry form

Training and Development

The PhD Academy also offers training, workshops, and events to support your development.

PhD Academy training and events to find out whats available and to book your places.

You must consider the ethical implications of your research before you begin data collection.

You must seek ethics approval if your research involves human participants or identifiable data.

Research Ethics webpage

When planning your research, consider potential risks, data protection, and any relevant legal requirements.

If you have any queries concerning the Ethics Policy contact Lyn Grove, research.ethics@lse.ac.uk.

You are required to remain actively engaged and make steady academic progress throughout your PhD.

Supervisory meetings

• Meet regularly
• Agree goals and next steps
• Prepare and follow up on actions

Use of the PhD Log helps you, your supervisors, your department and the School to keep track of your engagement, progress and supervision.

PhD Log records help to provide a shared record of what has been discussed, what advice has been given, and what next steps have been agreed. You can find guidance on School requirements for PhD log record-keeping, and the relationship of this record keeping to processes like progress review, upgrade assessments and change of circumstances applications here.

Your department reviews your progress each year before you can continue to the next academic year.

Full-time students are required to record at least nine supervisory interactions – which can be meetings, email exchanges or other substantive interactions – each year in order to be eligible to re-enrol in the following academic year.

Part-time students are required to record at least six supervisory interactions per year. This is a formal requirement, which applies to all students. For visa-holders, this is required as evidence to demonstrate your engagement to UK Visas and Immigration.

If your progress changes, or you experience difficulties, seek advice early.

Options may include:

• temporary absence
• interruption of studies
• extensions

When and why you complete upgrade 

Upgrade must take place before the end of your second year of enrolment as an MPhil/PhD students. If you are an MRes student, you are required to upgrade before entering the PhD phase.

Preparing for upgrade 

• Check your department’s expectations
• Prepare required work
• Discuss progress with your supervisor
• Department handbook
• Regulations for Research Degrees

Department and School requirements

• Department handbook
• Regulations for Research Degrees

MRes/PhD programmes

Upgrade may form part of your progression from MRes to PhD.

You may need to request a formal change to your registration or study arrangements during your PhD. This includes fieldwork, study elsewhere, interruptions of study, changes to your mode of attendance, changes to supervision, and extensions to your final thesis submission deadline.

Change of Circumstances

You should submit requests well before the date on which you want the change to take effect. Many changes require departmental approval and, in some cases, approval by the Chair of the Research Degrees Subcommittee. Requests submitted shortly before a deadline or planned period of absence may not be able to be considered in time.

The requirements, supporting evidence and approval processes vary depending on the type of request. You can find detailed guidance on each type of change through our Change of Circumstances pages.

PhD Log records

Most change of circumstances requests require consideration of your academic progress, supervisory arrangements and plans for completion. For this reason, the Chair of the Research Degrees Subcommittee will normally expect your PhD Log records to be accurate and up to date before approving an application, unless there is a good reason why this has not been possible.

Where records are incomplete or out of date, additional information may be required before a decision can be made. This will usually take longer than simply updating your records and obtaining approval from your supervisors.

You can find guidance on PhD Log record-keeping requirements, and how these relate to progress review, upgrade assessments and change of circumstances applications, here.

Changes to supervision

If you are considering requesting a change to your supervisory arrangements, or if changes to your supervision become necessary because of changes to your research project or staffing arrangements, you should review our guidance on changes to supervision, which can be found here.

This explains how supervision is organised, how requests are considered, and the respective responsibilities of students, supervisors and departments.

Some changes, absences, or periods away from London or the School use different approval routes. Before making arrangements or submitting a change of circumstances request, please also read our guidance on temporary absence from London and/or study so that you can identify the correct process, which can be found here

Before you carry out fieldwork or research away from LSE 

If you plan to carry out fieldwork or study outside LSE—whether in the UK or overseas—you must apply in advance. You should also remember that you will be required to continue meeting with your supervisor, and recording supervisory interactions in the PhD Log, while you are away from the School. You can find guidance on School requirements for PhD log record-keeping, and the relationship of this record keeping to processes like progress review, upgrade assessments and change of circumstances applications here

When approval is required  

Submit a fieldwork or study elsewhere application form to the PhD Academy at least one month before your planned start date.

Study Elsewhere guidance

Fieldwork Form

Before you apply 

Make sure all required approvals are in place before starting your fieldwork. This may include:

• Health and Safety approval for travel 
• Research ethics approval (if your project requires it)
  
  

Before starting fieldwork

• You must apply even if your research takes place in London
• Early planning is essential to ensure approvals are completed on time

Before applying, seek advice on how the change may affect your visa, funding and submission deadline. PhD Academy enquiry form

Change of Circumstances

Temporary absence

• Registration continues
• Submission deadline does not change

Interruption of studies

• Registration is paused
• Submission deadline is extended

Information on how to request an interruption (break/pause) to your studies

Parental leave

Follow the School’s parental leave policy. This may be managed differently from an interruption.

Please direct queries on parental leave for research degree students to James Ringer, Head of Scholarships and Financial Support (j.ringer@lse.ac.uk).

Extensions

• Registration continues
• Submission deadline is moved

Information on how to request an extension to your thesis submission deadline