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Information for Current Postgraduate Students - Physics and Astronomy Graduate School

These pages are intended to serve as a central information point for all postgraduate students in the school (and for their supervisors!).

The graduate school is here to help you as a postgraduate student, both in many aspects of the admin and support of your studies, as well as in cases of difficulty which cannot be dealt with with your supervisor or research group. Much of the day to day administration of PhDs and postgraduate training is performed by the Physics and Astronomy Graduate school, but some matters are dealt with at College level by the College Graduate School. Please refer to the summary of the differing roles of the School and College Graduate Schools for details.

Postgraduate students are also referred to the School handbook 2012 for general information about the School of Physics and Astronomy.


Keeping Information Up-to-Date

It is essential that the graduate school has up to date records about all postgraduate students.  In extreme cases, having incorrect or out of date information could lead to a student failing to progress from one year to the next.  For this reason, PG students and their supervisors are asked to inform Valerie Flood of any of the following changes:

  • Change of 1st supervisor.
  • Change of 2nd supervisor (all students are required to have both a main and
  • a backup supervisor).
  • If a student withdraws or leaves.
  • If a student changes from PhD study to an MSc by research.
  • If a student changes from full time to part time.
  • If a student has a long-term illness or other good reason (e.g. expiry of
  • visa) which prevents them attending regularly.
  • If a student has been granted an extension of studies by the College.
  • When a student moves to "Writing-up" status (this is normally at the end of
  • their 3rd year, but may be different for students with special
  • circumstances).
  • If a student submits their thesis.
  • If a student graduates.

Additionally, any change of contact details (email, room number, telephone extension) should be passed to both Lynne Stewart and Valerie Flood.