All categories of staff under contract of employment with the University (except honorary staff and student assistants) are entitled for full or part payment of their tuition fees from the relevant staff tuition fee account for one of the university's programmes of study that leads to a qualification, or for one course taken as Individual Subject Study.
* The College encourages employees to apply for a fee waiver as early as possible (without the requirement to be first employed for 12 months) and PIs should give consideration to this option.
* Prior to the application being approved by the College the applicant and their proposed supervisor must be interviewed by the Graduate School. The purpose of this interview is to ensure that there is a clear understanding of the rights and responsibilities of both applicant and supervisor and that a research plan is in place that will enable a thesis of the required academic standard to be submitted within the appropriate timeframe.
* Approval of applications for retrospective start dates at or close to nine months (FT) or 18 months (PT) will be subject to the successful completion of the normal nine-month assessment process. Applications received for retrospective start dates of >9 months (FT) or >18 months (PT) will not normally be considered.
* All applications for retrospective start dates must include detailed reports of progress and monitoring covering the period for which retrospective registration is requested.
* All staff in receipt of a fee-waiver are subject to the university regulations governing academic standards and the Graduate School requirements for progression.
* Staff in receipt of a fee waiver must include their progress in the annual appraisal form.
The application process is as follows:
The application form should be signed by the member of staff and their Head of School and sent to Mrs Karen Slesser in the Graduate School for College approval. The Graduate School will arrange for the applicant and their proposed supervisor to be interviewed by the Director and School Postgraduate Coordinator.
The application form must be accompanied by: (i) a CV and description of the current job responsibilities of the applicant, (ii) a description of the proposed research project and (iii) an agreed research plan, including consideration of the time to be assigned to the research project.
Successful applicants will be notified in writing. Please note that staff in receipt of a staff tuition fee award will be liable for the tuition fees if their employment with the University ends before completion of the normal period of study.
Information on the University of Aberdeen policy on Staff Fees is available here.