An interruption of studies means taking a temporary break from your studies. The break is usually for the reminder of the academic year or a full calendar year and most often is needed for health-related, financial or other personal / work-related reasons.

If you decide to pause your studies your student status will change (you will still be registered but not enrolled). This may affect things like your funding, your right to remain in the UK or services that depend on being an enrolled student. It is important that you understand the implications.

The Student Support Zone webpage provides guidance so that you understand what you need to think about, who is available to advise and support you, and how to apply for an interruption of studies.

‌‌‌If you plan to carry out research away from College for a period of 2 weeks or more as part of your PhD student registration, your department can approve study leave using the External study leave form [doc] form (which is then submitted by your department to the Registry Records Team for recording). Study leave is normally pursued either as a placement under the supervision of a third party organisation (placements are managed by your department and are subject to College Placement Learning Policy, Good Practice under the College’s overall off-site working protocols) or fieldwork managed by your department under off-site working protocols. Contact your departmental postgraduate administrator for further guidance if you and your supervisor wish to have study leave considered.

External study leave form [doc] is also to be used by a department to record the location of split PhDs (on or around a student’s initial enrolment).

For further information on external study leave, please refer to the Guidelines for external study leave

Should a change of supervisor be required partway through your resrearch programme, your department will need to complete the Research degree registration amendment form [doc]. The completed form should be submitted to the Registry Student Records Team.

The College has made provision for students, in appropriate circumstances, to transfer their research degree registration from another university to Imperial.

Students accepted under these arrangements would be required to follow a course of study at one of Imperial College’s campuses of not less than 12 months full-time (or 24 months part-time).

Transfer of registration for research degree students [pdf]

Students who withdraw part way through a course are required to notify their department and the Registry, in writing, of their intention to do so.

Please consider speaking to a member of your department beforehand. Depending on the reason for your decision, there may be Departmental or College support systems in place, which can assist you.

Please see the Procedure for Leavers who withdraw [pdf] for more information.

My Imperial is the College student portal, home for applications that support you with your work or study at Imperial. My Imperial is accessed using your College login. 

When you start as a new student at Imperial, you will need to login to My Imperial to complete your online College registration and enrolment on your programme of study. You will then be asked to re-enrol annually, at the start of each year of your programme. During the enrolment process you will be asked to review and update any changes to your personal details. 

Updating your name or date of birth:

• If your name or date of birth is incorrect in College records, or if you change your name during your studies, please send your request to the Student Records team (student.records@imperial.ac.uk)
• You will need official documentation showing your correct name/date of birth (e.g. passport, birth certificate, marriage certificate, change of name deed). Please note, we do not accept driving licences as a form of ID and the original document is required (photocopies are not acceptable)
• Your degree will be awarded in your name as shown in College records

Updating your addresses:

• Please keep your Permanent Home, Term-Time and Emergency Contact addresses up to date in the My Imperial student portal
• Your Degree Certificate address should be updated in your final year. On confirmation of your results, the Registry will notify you of a deadline for updating this address

Updating your emergency contact details:

• You will be asked to provide details of an emergency contact for Imperial to use if there is a concern about protecting your life or the life of others
• You will be asked to provide consent on an opt-in basis that gives Imperial permission to also use your emergency contact details if we have serious concerns about your wellbeing
• You should nominate a responsible adult of your choice; this could be a parent, legal guardian or spouse but it does not have to be. Please consider how the person you nominate would be able to support you in the event of an emergency, or where serious concerns are raised about your wellbeing
• You should inform your given contact that you will share their contact details with Imperial for emergency purposes
• If you can’t provide details of an emergency contact you should raise this with your Department Senior Tutor
• Careful consideration will be taken before using your emergency contact details. In event of a wellbeing concern, this would normally be your Faculty Senior Tutor and Student Services
• We will discuss with you our intention to approach your contact unless it is not possible or would cause critical delay

You can access My Imperial at any time throughout your studies to update your personal details.  

The Thesis Deadline Extension procedure is available to students whose progress towards the final thesis submission deadline has been affected by circumstances beyond their control.

Students concerned about their ability to submit on time are advised to speak to their supervisor and departmental administrator as early as possible. 

All requests for an extension to the final thesis submission deadline are subject to departmental approval by the Director of Postgraduate Studies prior to submission to the Registry Assessment Records Team for processing.

Requests to extend the thesis submission deadline may also be subject to review and approval by a panel comprising of two senior members of the Imperial College London Graduate School, on behalf of the College's Postgraduate Research Quality Committee.

All requests should be submitted to the Registry Assessment Records Team using the Thesis Extension Request Form

For further information, please refer to our Guidance for requesting a thesis deadline extension. ‌‌‌

If you have any queries relating to this procedure, please contact the Assessment Records Team (assessment.records@imperial.ac.uk). 

Research students yet to submit their thesis for examination may enter writing up status upon satisfactory completion of the required criteria, as specified in the College's Writing Up Procedure. 

Research students yet to submit their thesis for examination by the end of the standard active research period are subject to a formal monitoring point to determine progress and eligibility to enter the writing up period (referred to as a Progress Review). Research students wishing to enter the writing up period earlier than the scheduled Progress Review point should liaise with their supervisor in the first instance. 

For further information, please refer to the College's Writing Up Procedure (PDF)

The Registry Assessment Records Team must be provided with details of students confirmed as eligible for entry to writing up status. Department staff may wish to use the College's Application for entry to Writing Up Status (doc)