Requesting an Approved Absence

You would have agreed to the Conditions of Registration and Enrolment when completing pre-enrolment.  Paragraphs five to seven state the following:

• 5. Once you have completed on-campus enrolment, you agree to stay in London or within reasonable distance of the School from which you can commute during term time, including the Spring Term, and also for any summative assessment periods, for courses on which you are registered, which may fall outside the term dates. This includes but is not limited to on campus examinations in the week preceding Winter Term and in the resit and deferral period (where applicable) and for the duration of the dissertation period for Master’s students; although once all other assessments have been submitted absences during the dissertation period only need to be noted at departmental level. There may be exceptions to the residence requirement for some Executive Masters programmes, but this will be confirmed as part of the programme information.
• 6. Expectations for research degree students are set out in the School’s ‘Statement on term dates, vacations and working during MPhil/PhD study’. Term dates are published here.
• 7. If you need to be absent from the School during term time, for reasons other than illness, you will first consult your Academic Mentor / supervisor. If you are to be absent for more than two weeks, you agree to inform your academic department in writing and obtain approval before you go. Email notification is acceptable. You agree that if you are absent from the School through illness, you will inform your Academic Mentor / supervisor. If you are absent for more than two weeks, you will send a medical certificate to the Student Services Centre. Absences of longer than three weeks will not be approved and you should consider interrupting your studies. Sickness reporting and management processes for research degree students are set out in regulation 17 of the regulations for research degrees.

Attendance is monitored during classes, seminars and by submission of assessments.

You must keep your department informed of the reason for any absences so that they can update your attendance as required e.g. if you are ill it can be marked as absent with reason.

It is an exceptional circumstance for a student to require an absence from their studies during term time.  However, should you face an issue where you need a leave of absence e.g. a genuine family emergency or a visa refusal where you need to apply overseas, you are permitted a maximum of three weeks absence. This covers week days, excluding Saturdays and Sundays. Overseas internships are not an exceptional circumstance and leave should not be granted to Student visa holders during term-time for this purpose.

An approved absence can only be granted by your department and will be dependent on your academic progress on your programme. The Student Advice and Engagement Team in the Student Services Centre will need to be informed of any approved absences for taught students and the PhD Academy for PhD students. Departments are able to turn down any requests for an absence duing term time, especially if they believe it will affect your studies.

If you have an approved absence, your department should mark you as 'Absent with Reason' on the registers so that you are not flagged as part of our Engagement Monitoring processes.

You can only request an approved absence of a maximum of three weeks as per the Conditions of Registration and Enrolment.  If you require longer, then an interruption of studies may be the best option for you.

It is at your department's discretion if they wish to grant you the full three weeks depending on your academic progress.

Absences during the dissertation period with departmental knowledge

If your department approves an absence during the dissertation period, the Student Advice and Engagement Team do not need to be made aware and you do not need an official letter confirming your absence. There will be no impact on your visa.

Absences of up to three weeks with approval during teaching 

If you have an approved absence of up to three weeks for an exceptional circumstance (not including overseas work), your department must inform the Student Advice and Engagement Team so that we can officially record your dates of absence against your student record.  You should also be marked as 'Absent with Reason' on the registers.

There will be no impact on your visa in this case.

Unapproved absences

If you take an unapproved absence in excess of three weeks, LSE will consider you as being on an unauthorised break. This will lead to you being reported to the UKVI and the eventual cancellation of your visa.

Prolonged absences during assessment periods

We understand that many students may not have in-person exams. However, if you return overseas during the Spring Break and plan to reside outside of the UK during the Spring Exam period and dissertation period where applicable, LSE reserves the right to cancel your Student visa because you are not in attendance according to the Conditions of Registration and Enrolment and are undertaking remote learning, which is not permitted by the UKVI. Your department cannot approve for you to reside outside the UK during exam periods for the purpose of work.