Arranging to go off-campus
Full-time PGRs who have not agreed to conduct their entire research off-campus must gain approval from their supervisor/supervisory team and the PGR School Officer, who will decide whether off-campus study is viable and that adequate supervision can be provided during any periods spent off-campus.
You will need to complete an application form to request off-campus study and this must be submitted at least six weeks in advance of the start of the period of study off-campus.
Registration while off-campus
Research students working for any period off-campus must keep Registry fully informed of the periods to be spent in Aberdeen and elsewhere. You should also remember to complete online registration at the start of the academic year. You will be emailed each August to remind you to re-register.
You may also contact postgraduate@abdn.ac.uk to request your ID card by post, if required.
Progress and review while off-campus
Research students are still subject to normal review and progression procedures. You should discuss this with your School if you are unsure of arrangements.
Fees while off-campus
Except in the case of part-time Home/EU students where no fee reduction can be sought, fees for a period of off-campus may be reduced by half. However, there may be circumstances when it is not felt appropriate for the student’s fee to be reduced, in which case the supervisor(s) can indicate this on the off-campus approval form.
Off-campus study is normally approved for academic reasons, such as for the completion of fieldwork, work/industrial placements associated with the student’s research, or as part of collaborative venture with another institution, ie a dual or joint degree. In these circumstances, it would be deemed appropriate for the student’s tuition fee to be reduced.
However, if it is the case that you have sufficient resources in order to maintain regular contact with the supervisor, ie by email or telephone, particularly in situations when you wish to spend a period at home outwith Aberdeen, or at another institution when it is not part of a formal collaborative arrangement, then a fee reduction would not normally be permitted.
Where it has been agreed at the point of admission that a full-time student will undertake their entire programme at a distance, tuition fees will not normally be reduced.
Undertaking your entire research by distance
The above information relates to students going off-campus for a defined period of time. If you are a full-time research student and wish to conduct your entire research elsewhere, this should be agreed at the point of admission. You can find out some more information about this on our part-time and distance student pages.