The PhD journey

Attendance during your PhD

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.

• Term dates and working during MPhil/PhD

Planning time away early on 

You may need to take short periods away from LSE during your PhD. The rules depend on when you are away and how long you will be absent.

• You do not need to notify the School during Winter and Spring breaks
• Outside these periods, you are expected to be in London unless you have approval
• The period between Spring and Autumn terms is not a vacation, but you may take up to 4 weeks’ leave with departmental agreement

How to request time away

Up to 2 weeks

• Agree your absence dates with your supervisors
• If travelling (e.g. for a conference), get School approval and complete a Notification of Travel form
• A risk assessment may be required

Health and Safety travel guidance

2 to 4 weeks

• Get approval from your supervisor and Doctoral Programme Director (DPD)
• Your department must confirm this in writing to the PhD Academy

More than 4 weeks

• Contact the PhD Academy for advice PhD Academy enquiry form

How absence affects your deadline

An approved absence does not change your thesis submission deadline. You cannot normally use an approved absence later as the reason for an interruption or extension request.

• Interruption of Studies

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

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

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. This includes fieldwork, study elsewhere, interruption of studies and extensions. 

Change of Circumstances

You should requests well before the date you want the change to begin. You should also remember that most applications can only be considered if your PhD Log records are accurate and up to date. 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.

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.

The LSE Parental Leave policy for Research Degrees Students is available under the A-Z of Guidance documents.

Extensions

• Registration continues
• Submission deadline is moved

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

As you approach your final year, start preparing for thesis submission and your viva examination. Early planning will help you avoid delays and ensure the examination process runs smoothly.

LSE provides access to iThenticate, a text-matching tool that you can use to review written work before submission. You may find this particularly useful when finalising your thesis before submission. Some departments may also require you to use it (for example, as part of your upgrade), so you should check your department’s PhD handbook to confirm whether this applies to you.

Requesting access

If you do not already have an account, request one through the PhD Academy. Contact the PhD Academy if you need help using the system. PhD Academy enquiry form

Guidance and support

• Quick Start User Guide [PDF].
• iThenticate website guidance

Discuss examination entry with your supervisor as you enter your final year. You will need to complete the Examination Entry form, usually with your supervisor’s input. Your supervisor nominates your examiners. They may discuss suitable options with you.

You should submit your completed examination entry form to the PhD Academy at least two months before you plan to submit your thesis. This allows time for examiner nominations to be approved and for examiners to confirm that they can act.

If you are unable to meet this deadline, you should contact the PhD Academy Team as soon as possible

Guidelines for MPhil/PhD examinations [PDF]

 Examination Entry form 

Once your form is received:

• The relevant subject panel reviews examiner nominations
• The PhD Academy then invites the examiners

Examiners must confirm that they can act before they are appointed. This process typically takes around 2–4 weeks, although timings can vary depending on examiner availability.

The PhD Academy cannot send your thesis to your examiners and your department will not be able to arrange your viva until your examiners have been appointed.

In cases where an examiner nomination is not approved or an examiner is no longer able to act, supervisors will need to nominate a new examiner using the replacement examiner nomination form.

Include any viva adjustment or arrangement requests on your Examination Entry form.

Your viva date will be arranged by your department/Supervisor.

If you have an Inclusion/Adjustment Plan, contact the Disability and Wellbeing Service around six months before submission to discuss your viva arrangements. An updated plan should be shared with the PhD Academy.

Viva outcomes

After your viva, your examiners will recommend an outcome based on your thesis and your performance in the examination. Examiners are normally asked to send their reports to the PhD Academy within two weeks of the viva. The PhD Academy will process the reports and confirm your outcome. These are processed and you are notified of the outcome. The exact outcome and requirements will be confirmed to you after the examination.

Possible outcomes 

You may be recommended for:

• Award of PhD with no corrections
• Minor corrections (to be completed within 6 months)
• Major corrections / revise and resubmit (up to 1 year)
• Award of MPhil (where appropriate)