Suspending your award
Advice for ESRC funded students on taking time out from their studentship
While it is expected you will hold your studentship on a continuous basis, the ESRC understands there are certain circumstances in which you may need to interrupt your studies.
You can only suspend your award during the funded period of the studentship.
You can apply to suspend your award for the following reasons:
- health issues
- health of a dependant
- taking up a short-term, temporary post that is highly relevant to your thesis or research training.
If think you need to suspend your award you should discuss this with your supervisor and your ESRC Admin lead in the first instance.
From the University’s perspective suspending your award is called taking intermission or temporary withdrawal.
Forms are available from your school’s Research & Enterprise coordinator or from the Research Student Administration Office.
Important things to know:
- the suspension must take effect from the first of the month
- you can suspend the award for a maximum of 12 months over the duration of your course
- if you suspend the award more than once, the total periods of suspension cannot exceed 12 months
- you must make the claim in advance – restrospective claims cannot be considered
- if you have been overpaid any funds, such as your maintenance grant or fieldwork contribution, you must repay it.