Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) - Doctoral College

If you want to make changes to your study, apply for an extension or a leave of absence, please login to PhD Manager using your usual computer login details and make your request. You can find comprehensive guides in PhD Manager- Guides.

If you experience health, family or other problems that make it difficult for you to continue working on your research project, you may need to consider applying for a Leave of Absence (LOA).

Postgraduate researchers can be granted an LOA for a maximum of one year. If you are funded, your maintenance allowance will normally be suspended during any LOA. An LOA is not permitted for full-time postgraduate researchers if the main reason is to take up paid employment. Self-funded postgraduate researchers are not charged fees during a period of LOA.

Retrospective requests for an LOA will not be approved.

If you receive funding, please read the terms and conditions of your award for Department for the Economy (DfE) funding or Vice-Chancellor's Research Scholarships (VCRS) funding as appropriate. Under these awards Postgraduate researchers are normally entitled to 13 weeks of funded leave for medical reasons, and 6 months of funded leave for maternity leave. Other periods of paid leave may be available. For other awards please go to Fees and Funding and follow the appropriate links to check your funder’s terms and conditions to see if you are entitled to any funding during an LOA (e.g. for illness or maternity leave).

To request an LOA submit your request on PhD Manager in advance of the start date of the LOA. You may be asked to provide medical or other evidence to support your request. If your application is granted, your expected submission date will be amended accordingly.

Student visa holders should check with the Doctoral College if there may be implications for their visa before submitting an LOA request. Normally the maximum period of LOA for Student visa holders is 60 days.

Yes, you can directly access stipend pay notification slips and P60s through the University’s portal. This can be useful if you need to prove your income and tax status.

View guidance on stipend pay notification slips and P60s

For the purposes of National Insurance and income tax, postgraduate researchers are considered students; they are not employed by the University. Stipends are not taxable and postgraduate researchers are not required to pay National Insurance Contributions. However, if a postgraduate researcher undertakes any work for the University (e.g. teaching or demonstrating) or outside the University, this will be considered employment and will be subject to Tax and National Insurance Contributions.

Postgraduate researchers are on campus year-round, including over the summer. You have an allocation of 40 days annual leave per academic year.

This includes days when the University is closed (see the Academic Calendar), leaving 26 ‘floating days’ of annual leave that can be taken in agreement with your supervisor. Please request annual leave through the Absence section of your project record on PhD Manager.

No, the Doctoral College distributes funding to Faculties, who are responsible for the research training and support of postgraduate researchers.

In the first instance you should discuss this with your supervisors, who will be able to advise you and read a draft submission.  If the submission is accepted, you will need to ask the relevant Research Director (your supervisor will advise, or see the list of Faculty Contacts) for prior approval.

Before you do this, you will need to estimate the full costs of attendance (including registration, travel, accommodation and any other foreseeable expenses) and include brief details and a total amount when you email the request.

If your request is for more than £1000 you will also need to provide a business case outlining the purpose of the trip, the expected benefits, the estimated costs, and justification for the trip.

Please submit prior approvals through the Claimant Portal.  The process is straightforward but please ensure that estimated costs are likely to cover actual expenditure, as you may not be able to claim the full amount if you have underestimated it.

While you are away, ensure that you keep original receipts for claiming back expenses because the Finance department does not accept bank or credit card statements. It is possible to ask for an advance payment of part of the total amount if you would find it difficult to pay expenses out of pocket.

You will need to gather all your receipts and complete an expenses form through the Claimant Portal. Only receipted expenses can be claimed back.  Payment may take a few weeks. It is advisable that you keep receipts until you receive your expenses payment.

You will need to complete the relevant form on PhD Manager to make a change request for a period of study away. This should include a risk assessment if necessary, details for your trip and a section for supervisors to confirm how supervision will be maintained during your period away from the University. You also need to obtain details of the University's travel insurance policy.

If you will be working at another organisation during your trip, you should also ask for confirmation that they have insurance cover in place for any damages or injuries arising from negligence of another party.

The Researcher Development Programme (RDP) at Ulster is an integral part of your programme.  The RDP offers a suite of workshops, specialist skills sessions, online courses and personal development planning activities which will provide you with opportunities to gain the experience and skills required to be a competent and professional researcher. You can find upcoming events and sessions and make bookings in the "Events/Workshops" section of PhD Manager.

Discuss this with your supervisors who will help you to find out if your Faculty can provide the training, or may wish to support you to access essential external training. The Doctoral College also encourages student-led training initiatives with an annual competition for funding to run specific events.

Demonstrating Categories

There are three categories of demonstrating and for some of the categories a multiplier is applied to compensate for preparation time. The table below includes details of the three categories and the rates of pay (effective from 1 November 2022).

You must agree the category of demonstrating with your Head of School prior to undertaking the work.

Please use the Claimant Portal to claim payments. Your area's Postgraduate Tutor or admin staff can provide user guidelines for the portal.

The University Research Integrity page includes links to relevant policies. To access the specific guidance and forms used to apply for ethical approval you will need to sign into the portal.

Your supervisor, Postgraduate Tutor or Research Director can direct you to the relevant Committee which will consider your application for ethical approval.

The information on the University Research Integrity pages includes details on how to apply to ORECNI but you may also wish to look at the ORECNI website for additional advice on specific procedures.

The Health and Social Care Research and Development IRAS system is used to apply for ethical approvals and other permission to conduct research within health and social care and other regulated settings in the UK.

The method of booking in applications for the IRAS system has moved online , replacing the Central Booking service telephone line. Applicants can access the new online booking service via IRAS to book their application for review. For help and support with the new system please phone 0207 104 8008 between 8.30am and 4.30pm Monday to Friday.

Applicants making contact about fast-track COVID-19 studies should continue to follow HSC R&D current guidance or email fast.track@hra.nhs.uk.

DO NOT use the online booking service. Similarly, in this first stage of release, Combined Ways of Working (CWoW) applicants and phase I applicants who currently make use of direct booking with a member of staff, should continue to use existing routes.

If you need further guidance please contact Elaine Bell (e.bell2@ulster.ac.uk) in the University’s Research Governance Office.

You might find some aspects of postgraduate research challenging from time to time. At Ulster we aim to ensure that you are supported.

Your immediate sources of support are your supervisors and your peers, and the Doctoral College team is also available at pgr@ulster.ac.uk.

However, you also have the Researcher Development Programme , networks, coffee mornings, and social events - see the What’s On page for more info. Your Faculty also hosts other events. Postgraduate researchers are welcome to visit any of the Docs at each of the campuses where you can meet other postgraduate researchers socially, and we have a PhD Researcher Forum with representatives from each campus.

Each campus has a Doctoral Society representing postgraduate researchers across a variety of disciplines: Coleraine, Derry/Londonderry and Belfast.

In addition, within each Faculty or School there will be a range of seminars, a Research Director, a Postgraduate Tutor and various research groups that you can link up with. You will also find the Doctoral College Research Studies Guide and your subject area Handbook useful.

Don't forget to follow the Doctoral College on Instagram and visit our YouTube channel.

If you have any problems in finding sources of support, please contact your Head of Doctoral College, Postgraduate Tutor or Research Director for advice.

In a word, professionally. Clearly this means being punctual (whether for meetings or in submitting written work), respectful etc. and it also means taking responsibility and attempting to find a resolution if things are not going well.

Supervisors are often busy and meetings are therefore an important issue for postgraduate researchers who want to make the most of the time with their supervisors. Where difficulties arise, these are often a result of the supervisors and postgraduate researcher having different expectations and the postgraduate researcher feeling they cannot take a lead in resolving an issue.

It is important to realise that it is not disrespectful to ‘manage up’, in fact, it is a useful skill to learn.  Simply taking the initiative and asking to discuss the format of meetings, keeping records of meetings, asking for dates on which feedback can be expected (and following up with a polite email if it does not appear) should not offend your supervisors, provided it is done professionally.

First, consider what ‘difficult’ means. If a supervisor does not attend meetings or fails to provide feedback, consider managing up in the first instance.

Simple measures, such as asking when you can expect to receive feedback, are often effective. The sooner you act, the better as if these issues are not addressed they may delay your progress.

If interpersonal relations continue to be difficult (perhaps you find the supervisor rude or consider them to be harassing you; see University Policy and Procedures on Dignity at Work and Study), you may want to discuss with the other supervisor(s), or with your Postgraduate Tutor, Research Director or Head of Doctoral College.

The University also has in place Harassment Advisers who can support you, provide you with information and explain courses of action open to you. All advice is confidential and no action will be taken without your agreement.

You may wish to discuss the situation with your supervisors or Postgraduate Tutor, and again the University Policy and Procedures on Dignity at Work and Study provides relevant information.

The University has in place Harassment Advisers who can support you in deciding what if anything you want to do in the particular circumstances. All advice is fully confidential and no action will be taken on your behalf without your agreement.

The Student Wellbeing website is very comprehensive and outlines support resources available to you.

There are sections on Health and Wellbeing (including physical and mental health, academic support) and Money advice (including dealing with debt and crisis funds available).

The range of support is impressive and feedback from PhD researchers who have accessed support is extremely positive.

AccessAbility provides a wide range of support to those postgraduate researchers who disclose and provide medical evidence of a disability or long-term medical condition. They will provide you with individual information on the support available to you. Support ranges from assistive technologies to one-to-one support and services are free.

AccessAbility Advisers can make reasonable adjustment recommendations (RARs) based on your specific needs and communicate them to the relevant subject units, departments and professional services within the university to ensure that your needs are met. Postgraduate researchers are encouraged to contact AccessAbility for a RAR early in your research studies or even before you start so you can benefit from support being in place as early as possible. If you had a RAR for any previous study at Ulster, you will still need to make an appointment for an RAR with Accessibility for your postgraduate research studies.  

You're also encouraged to share any disabilities or support needs with your supervisor and Postgraduate Tutor.

While Residential Services does attempt to place all postgraduate researchers in suitable accommodation, this is not always possible for a variety of reasons.

If your accommodation is unsuitable, you should contact the relevant accommodation officer for your campus, explain the issue and they will work with you to try to resolve the problem.

You should be aware that you are bound by the terms of your lease so if you move off campus before the end of the lease you will be liable to pay the outstanding amount.

Ulster has provides a range of support for International students, including International Experience Officers who may be able to advise you.

The Students' Union supports a number of clubs and societies which may interest you and also provides a range of support services as well as offering volunteer opportunities.

The Sports Union also has a busy calendar of events and activities. In addition, on each campus the Doc is available for all PhD researchers and their supervisors to socialise and get to know each other, and the Doctoral College organises regular monthly coffee mornings, lunchtime get-togethers, and a range of training and social events. For more details please see the Doctoral College What’s On page.

Ulster's Centre for English Language Teaching (CELT) provides a range of support sessions during term time for international postgraduate researchers. These are free of charge and you can attend a range of modules and/or avail of individual academic consultations.

Ulster also currently subscribes to Studiosity, an online service which provides speedy feedback on written work.

The Doctoral College also encourages self-organised study groups which can provide excellent peer support.