Student Support
Available support
There are a wide range of support options available to you as a postgraduate student at CENTA. Some information on specific support available, depending on circumstances, is provided below. This information is mostly a summary from the terms and conditions specified by UKRI, and the full document is available here: https://www.ukri.org/publications/terms-and-conditions-for-training-funding/
Part-time study
CENTA offers the option for you to study for your PhD on either a full-time or part-time basis. If you are studying part-time then a minimum of 50% of the full-time equivalent is required. The exception to this is where it has been determined that a lower FTE would be a reasonable adjustment for a disabled person.
https://www.ukri.org/publications/terms-and-conditions-for-training-funding/
Maternity, Paternity, Adoption and Parental Leave
A range of support options for students who become parents during their PhD is available, a summary from the UKRI guidelines is below:
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- CENTA students are entitled to up to 52 weeks of maternity leave if the maternity leave is planned to commence or does commence before the end of their funded period. The first 26 weeks are paid at full stipend rate, pro-rated as necessary for part time Students. The following 13 weeks are paid at a level commensurate with statutory maternity pay. The final 13 weeks are not paid.
- Partners are entitled to up to two weeks paid Partner’s / Paternity leave on full stipend.
- Students may also take leave in order to provide care to a child for whom they are a parent/carer of up to 1 month each year. No stipend may be drawn during this period but the end date of the studentship should be modified accordingly.
- The support available for a student who is the main adopter of a child is commensurate with Maternity Leave.
Please note that for international students, maternity, paternity, adoption and parental leave is subject to any visa constraints and the above entitlements may therefore not apply.
Medical leave
Paid medical leave can be granted for up to 28 weeks within any rolling 12-month period. However the total amount of medical leave must not exceed 52 weeks across the whole of the studentship. This limit includes short periods of medical absence of 1-2 weeks which do not result in an extension of the studentship. Where medical absence lasts for one month or more the minimum and maximum registration dates of the studentship are then extended to reflect the time taken off. In some cases an extension of the registration dates may be possible for shorter periods of medical leave of longer than one week, but this will depend on the policy of the student’s host institution.
All requests for medical / sick leave are handled by the host institution and not by CENTA, however CENTA should be kept informed of any leave. Host institutions will need to be satisfied that the period of leave is necessary and reasonable, and may therefore require a medical certificate, letter or other forms of evidence.
Additional leave
The UKRI guidelines also make provisions for additional leave to cover specific instances where a student may be required to be absent from study that are not already covered by other types of leave. These include:
- Special leave – paid leave on compassionate grounds, including bereavement and pregnancy loss.
- Baby loss (including stillbirth and neonatal death).
- Carer’s leave.
- Additional disability leave associated with delayed adjustments.
- Health and safety.
- Public duties – leave may be provided for unavoidable public duties such as jury service and an extension to the studentship may be provided if required.
- Regulation leave – forms of leave offered by individual host institutions under their university regulations which are not otherwise covered by the UKRI guidelines.
Disabled Students Allowance
CENTA students who are, or suspect they may be, considered disabled according to the UK Equality Act 2010 (which includes physical disabilities but also other conditions which may benefit from support and reasonable adjustments, such as neurodivergence) may be entitled to support from the UKRI Disabled Students Allowance (UKRI-DSA). This is available to both Home and International Fees students. Support, based on a needs assessment, can help cover the cost of certain expenses and equipment related to disability support.
If you have, or think you may have, a Disability or Neurodivergence (even if not formally diagnosed yet) it is in your best interests to let your host institution’s Disability Support Office aware at the earliest possible opportunity, and even before the start of your course.
If you are eligible for DSA support then costs are eligible from the point at which the studentship is offered, allowing needs assessments to be organised and adjustments put in place before the start of the studentship. You may continue to be eligible for support after the end of your funded period and until you have had your viva and submitted any corrections, please see the DSA framework for further information.
Please also contact your Host Institute’s Disability Support Office if you think you will need a plan of Reasonable Adjustments making, including any adjustments to your daily work, accessibility requirements, changes to methods of assessment and more. Host Institutes are expected to implement any agreed Reasonable Adjustments in a timely manner from the point they become aware of them.
Further support
In addition, each university in the CENTA DTP has a range of support services available to assist students during their PhD. Specific links to the support available at each institution is provided below:
University of Birmingham
University of Leicester
https://le.ac.uk/study/wellbeing
Loughborough University
https://www.lboro.ac.uk/services/student-services/
University of Warwick
https://warwick.ac.uk/services/wss
Open University
Cranfield University
https://www.cranfield.ac.uk/study/life-on-campus/support-services