Covid-19 FAQ

You should continue to have meetings with your supervisors with the same frequency as prior to the disruption (e.g. monthly formal meetings), with meetings recorded in Research Manager. The University recommends Microsoft Teams as its preferred videoconferencing software, but you are free to agree with your supervisor your preferred form of communication.

If one supervisor is unwell, normal procedures should follow about other supervisors covering for them. If all of your supervisors are unwell, you should ask your department to nominate temporary support from elsewhere, such as a Departmental Senior Tutor.

For further support in this area, please contact: Your supervisors

In line with Government guidance, since Monday 17th May we have opened up all our buildings on campus for students and staff who need to use them. Please contact your Course Officer for specific information on access to research facilities as some restrictions may still be in place.

Please see here for detailed information on accessing our campus safely. Note also that the library has made a sustained effort to digitise resources and increase our digital holdings, as well as increase access to a number of databases. If you have a particular need which is presently unavailable remotely, please contact your subject librarian.

For further support in this area, please visit the ethics page and the library guides.

You should make your supervisor(s) aware if you feel that you are unable to progress your research at this time as a result of COVID-19. Your supervisor will support you to review and consider if there are other aspects of your project that you can be progressing (e.g. desk-based research, reading, drafting chapters, undertaking online training).

Nevertheless, we recognise that many researchers will have their progress slowed by the current disruption. Accordingly, all doctoral researchers registered at the University during this period will be entitled to a three-month extension of candidature at the end of their normal period of registration, if needed, and if approaching your submission deadline. This will not be added automatically but will need to be applied for via Research Manager (so that the University can keep accurate records).

Nevertheless, no documentary evidence will need to be supplied, simply a brief explanation of the impact of the disruption on your work. In essence, the extension need only be claimed. There is no time limit within which this additional extension must be claimed.

To request an extension, please do so on Research Manager and, once authorised, this will add three months to your period of registration. Where possible, please provide evidence of the impact of Coronavirus, but this is optional and will not determine your entitlement to the extension.

This allowance is in addition to any other periods of extension (or suspension of studies) that may be granted under normal University policies.

Please note that we cannot guarantee an extension to any studentship funding in 2021/22 academic year. This issue is under discussion within the University.

For further support in this area, please contact: Your Supervisor

All MPhil to PhD transfer assessments will be undertaken using videoconferencing, unless otherwise agreed. Your School has been provided with guidance on how to do this and your course officer or supervisor will be in contact with you to discuss the arrangements.

No researchers will risk non-progression through not being able to complete their transfer process at the normal time.

There are no changes planned at present to the completion of annual progress reviews. These will proceed according to the timetable normally prevailing in your School. However, the assessment of your progress will take into account the impact of the current disruption in terms of the progress that might reasonably have been expected over the current academic year.

For further support in this area, please contact: Your course officer or supervisor.

If you are due to transfer to writing-up status between March 2020 and October 2021 you will be permitted an additional three months beyond the date normally expected for you to transfer. No additional fees will be payable during this additional period.

To request an extension to your deadline for transfer to writing up , please speak with your Course Officer  and, once authorised, this will add an additional three months before you need to provide your transfer paperwork Where possible, please provide evidence of the impact of Coronavirus, but this is optional and will not determine your entitlement to the extension.

Please note that we cannot guarantee an extension to any studentship funding in 2021/22 academic year. This issue is still under discussion within the University.

For further support in this area, please contact: Your supervisor and course officer.

If you are submitting your thesis for examination during the COVID-19 disruption period, the requirement to submit softbound copies of your thesis is waived; an electronic copy provided to your course officer will suffice. The date that the course officer receives the e-thesis will remain the date of submission.

For further support in this area, please contact: Your course officer.

All viva examinations will take place via videoconferencing (i.e. Microsoft Teams, Zoom etc.) unless otherwise agreed, providing that all examiners and the candidate consent in advance to this arrangement. Your School has been provided with guidance on how to organise this and your course officer will be in contact with you to discuss the new arrangements.

If consent is not given, or if the format/content of the thesis means that it is inappropriate to be examined using videoconferencing, the examination will be delayed until the current closure ends. The decision on whether the format/content of the thesis lends itself to examination in this fashion is an academic judgement and will be made by your External Examiner(s).

For further support in this area, please contact: Your course officer.

We expect that in most cases, you will be able to complete your corrections or amendments remotely. However, there may be some instances, such as amendments requiring further recourse to University facilities, when this will not be possible. If this is the case, please email your course officer to inform them so that alternative arrangements can be made and/or an extension can be granted.

For further support in this area, please contact: Your course officer.

Prior to the current disruption the University had already waived the requirement to provide a hardbound copy of your finalized thesis to the library; you should therefore continue to send electronic copies of the final approved version to your course officer.

For further support in this area, please contact: Your course officer.

The City, University of London Hardship Fund provides discretionary financial assistance for students who are in financial hardship or who face an unexpected financial emergency whilst they are studying and you are strongly encouraged to apply for this funding should you need it.

For further support in this area, please visit the City, University of London Hardship Fund page.

Please note that if you are on a City-funded studentship, the University regrets that it can give no guarantee that this funding will be extended to cover any extension you might feel obliged to take in the 2021/22 academic year. This issue remains under discussion within the University.

If you are funded by a UK Research Council, the Research Councils have advised that extensions to submission dates should be awarded where possible and students should continue to receive their stipends during this period where grant monies allow. It is possible that you will need to provide information/evidence to the Research Council to justify any extension.

For further support in this area, please contact: Your Senior Tutor or Associate Dean with responsibility for Postgraduate Research.

We are aware that most academic conferences in 2020/21 have been cancelled as a result of COVID-19. As such, we regret that the Doctoral College Conference Attendance Fund has been suspended. We are sorry for any disappointment this may cause, however these funds have now been converted into hardship funding for PhD students. We do not yet know if funding will return in 2021/22.

For further support in this area, please contact: doctoralcollege@city.ac.uk.

Tier 4/Student Visa students are not normally permitted to undertake distance learning courses. However, due to the current exceptional circumstances, the Home Office will not consider it a breach of your immigration duties if you continue your research, and your supervision, online. This concession is in place for 2020/21 academic year.

Tier 4/Student Visa students still in the UK or those who have chosen to return overseas but wish to continue their current studies can do so without detriment. Your visa will not be withdrawn, and you can continue as a City-sponsored student.

If you are a Tier 4/Student visa holder and have returned to your home country as a result of Coronavirus, and cannot continue with your studies whilst abroad, you should complete an authorized absence form via the University’s Visa Compliance team; this will cover the first 60 days of absence from the University.

Students whose visas are about to expire can now apply for a new visa from within the UK without traveling back to their home country, during this period of disruption.

If you are a Tier 4/Student visa holder in the UK, and your visa is due to expire shortly and you cannot leave the UK because of travel restrictions, illness or self-isolation, you must contact the Home Office Coronavirus Immigration Team via email to advise them of your situation.

The Coronavirus Immigration Team contact details email is: CIH@homeoffice.gov.uk.

You should include the following in their email:

• Full name (include any middle names)
• DOB (dd/mm/yyyy)
• Nationality
• Existing visa details
• Reason that has required you to extend your stay

Further information on this subject can be found on the UKCISA website.

For further support in this area, please contact: visaadvice@city.ac.uk.