Core expectations

The requirements for registration, attendance, progression, upgrade and completion for the PhD at LSE are outlined in the Regulations for Research Degrees. The guidance which follows should be considered in conjunction with these and other expectations set in departmental research student handbooks.

Key expectations are as follows:

That supervisor and students hold at least three meetings (with one or more members of the supervisory team) per term. The requirement for part-time students is two supervisory meetings per term. (This includes students on fieldwork).
That meetings should last at least one hour as far as possible.
That students and supervisors make an agreement at the start of the student’s enrolment, setting out how meetings will be arranged (i.e. who will instigate arrangement of meetings, and how far in advance).
That supervisors are available for emergency meetings.
That comments on written work are returned within a maximum of one month.
That a record of supervisions is maintained in the PhD Log/Journal. It is the student’s responsibility to submit entries, and it is supervisors' responsibility to respond to entries, and to address the concern if your supervisee is not recording meetings.
That Programme Directors are responsible for ensuring that meetings are occurring and being recorded, and will contact supervisors if meetings are not being recorded and/or approved.
That supervisors are expected to keep up to date with their supervisees' needs across their time with the School.
That supervisors will continue providing supervision and attending supervision meetings during sabbatical, unless alternative supervision is arranged by the department. Sick or caring leaving taken by either the student or supervisor should be discussed in advance, and plans should be put into place to ensure that the department can continue to provide supervision during absences.

Please note that your Department or Programme might have additional or supplementary expectations. Always make sure you and your students are informed of local policies, processes and expectations.

Annual progression should be taken seriously, as this is considered confirmation that the student is on track. If work is not satisfactory, remediation plans must be communicated as a condition of progression. Other options include continued enrolment for the MPhil only, or withdrawal from the programme. Authorising progression into the fourth year (seventh year part-time) also means that the supervisory team are confirming that the student can be allowed to submit their thesis without permission from the department.

Taking these milestones seriously and addressing any challenges arising early is key to the overall success of most PhD projects; in more complex cases, documenting concerns with the project and/or contextually for the student through the PhD Journal/Log, and as part of the progress review and upgrade processes, even if they cannot be immediately or easily addressed, is also important. This creates a paper-trail of accountability and clarity for all sides, and might help if extensions, interruptions, or special exemptions from regulations become necessary later on.

Undertaking fieldwork, studying away from the School, changing between full- and part-time study, interruption of studies and other periods of absence, and extensions to submission deadlines all require approval from the School. Many of these require students to seek permission from the Chair of the Research Degrees Sub-Committee, through procedures managed by the PhD Academy. This is required by the School’s regulations. Forms and guidance are available for these processes on the PhD Academy website, and advice can be sought from the PhD Academy team on these processes (phdacademy@lse.ac.uk). It is particularly important that supervisors ensure their students are aware of the need to secure appropriate permissions for research activities, particularly where these relate to risk assessment and ethics review. The PhD Academy aims to support students with exceptional circumstances but also has the role of applying regulations consistently. It is always worth discussing circumstances at an early stage so the options can be fully considered.

Outside of the main progression reviews, circumstances and challenges may be considered through the LSE PhD Progress Remediation and Withdrawal Policy. This advises departments, supervisors and PhD candidates of the appropriate procedures for addressing circumstances around academic performance and progress. The PhD Academy can be contacted for advice on this.

Please note that your Department or Programme might have additional or supplementary expectations. Always make sure you and your students are informed of local policies, processes and expectations.

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Core expectations

Oversight of progression

Procedures for interruptions, periods of study away and fieldwork

Procedures around academic performance and progress

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