Student Academic Standing

This page provides information and guidelines for academic staff overseeing postgraduate taught and research programmes - Course Directors / Course Co-Ordinators, Supervisors, Directors of Teaching and Learning (Postgraduate) who deal directly with queries from postgraduate students. The range of topics include changes to the student's registration status, including extensions to the thesis submission deadline and off-books requests.

PhD Extension Requests

The maximum period before submission of a thesis for students on the full-time M.Litt. and M.Sc. (by research) registers and for those on the full-time Ph.D. register is two and four years respectively (three and six years respectively for students on the part-time register). An extension request must have a strong recommendation from the Director of Teaching and Learning (Postgraduate).

Requests for extensions must be submitted before the period on the higher degrees register has expired.

If the student is seeking an extension for medical or ad misericordiam reasons, the Supervisor should email their extension request to PG Cases Pgcases@tcd.ie forwarding any relevant supporting documentation, and copying the Office of the Dean of Graduate Studies genadgso@tcd.ie. on their email.

Covid-19 Related Extension Requests

If the student's research has been adversely affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, they may be eligible for a free of fees extension to the thesis submission deadline. Supervisors are asked to fill in the form which is available in the HALO Portal in support of the extension requests, which is then processed jointly by the Office of the Dean of Graduate Studies and PG Cases Pgcases@tcd.ie in Academic Registry.

Please note that the extensions based on the impact of Covid-19 will only be considered for students who are in the final year of their research programme.

Where an extension is requested on medical grounds, medical certificate(s) should be available as they may be requested as part of the conditions of approval.

Withdrawals

If a postgraduate student wishes to withdraw from College they must notify their Supervisor/Course Co-ordinator or Director of Teaching and Learning in writing and submit a copy of theStudent Withdrawal Form (PhD Student) (PDF 820.9 KB) to pgcases@tcd.ie. Graduate students who are seeking to withdraw from their course of study are urged to remain mindful of their tuition fee liability. Please contact Student Fees in Academic Registry if you have any queries about your tuition fee liability.

Please contact our Administrative Officer if you have any questions about your student's academic standing or check for answers on our FAQ page.