FAQs

It is currently possible for you to pay your fees in 3 instalments, normally in October, January and April, and at present there is no penalty charge for so doing.

Yes. The sponsorship letter must be on headed paper, must say the amount/duration of the funding (the amount is usually more appropriate), and the address to which the invoice must be sent. We need to have the original of this letter by the time you register for the programme.

Yes, we refund your fees in full.

If you are a prospective (new) student at Lancaster University, A CAS will automatically be produced for you by the University when your acceptance for studies becomes unconditional. You do not need to request it. Your CAS will be sent to the email address indicated on your application. 

If you are a continuing (existing) student at Lancaster University and need to extend your student visa in order to complete the course of studies you are already on, you will need to specifically request your CAS from the Student Registry. 

Certificates of Acceptance are only valid for a period of six months , so in any case will only be issued within six months of the start to your course. Please note that although your CAS may be sent to you up to six months before your course starts, you can only use it to apply for your visa within three months of your course start date.

Once you have firmly accepted your place, you will be sent an e-mail with your student number and a link to the accommodation website. This will enable you to apply for accommodation. In the meantime, in order to see what accommodation is available, you are welcome to refer to our webpages here: http://www.lancs.ac.uk/sbs/accommodation/contact.html

Yes – please refer to the Pre-Arrival Guide here:
http://www.lancs.ac.uk/studentservices/international/prearrival.htm. The section on travelling to Lancaster provides full details of how to book and pre-pay your place on the Student Services coach transfer service from Manchester Airport to Lancaster University. You can book online and pay here: http://www.lancs.ac.uk/studentservices/airport.php.

If your first language is not English, we normally ask for an overall bandscore of 7.0, Internet based TOEFL score of 100, Computer based TOEFL score of 250, or Paper based TOEFL score of 600.
If you have studied in a UK University for 3 years we are usually able to take this as evidence that you have a suitable level of English, and generally do not ask for IELTS in this case.

Yes, we still need at least one confidential academic reference, though two are preferred. The second can be a character reference.

Yes, but please be aware that the university will check all transcripts and the institutions they have been issued by. They must also be official transcripts.

Distance learning is how the majority of our part-time PhD students choose to study. There is no compulsory attendance, but you would need to discuss with your supervisor how to arrange the panel at which your registration for PhD is confirmed, further review panels, and the final viva voce. A number of options are available for this, though face to face panels are preferred.

We hold PhD workshops twice a year, in November and June, which are over two consecutive days. Students are encouraged to attend, and there is a strong expectation of attendance on at least one workshop a year.

PhD Full time: Min 36 months, Max 48 months.
PhD Part time: Min 48 months, Max 60 months.

For part time students, upgrade panels are due around 15 to 18 months after registration. The first 18 months are considered a probationary period until the upgrade. After successfully upgrading, review panels are due every 15 to 18 months until you are ready to submit your thesis and sit the viva voce. These timescales differ for full time students in that the initial upgrade is due within 12 months, with subsequent panels due every 12 months after that.

DMLL policy has been to keep PhD students on p/t fees until they submit, with the possibility of bringing this threshold forward to the production of a 'full draft' if the supervisor makes a case.

Once you have accepted the conditional offer, you are able to register. It is a provisional registration until the condition is met, but you would be issued a library card and have access to all the library facilities. Your registration is then upgraded at a later date. A provisional registration is usually no longer than two months.

A research proposal should state your research topic and title, a brief review of relevant literature to establish why your chosen research topic is both timely and novel and the research methods you intend to use. This is usually approximately 2,000 words long, but can be as long as you wish. More information on the research proposal is available here: http://www.lums.lancs.ac.uk/Research/PhD/PhDproposal/
It is not possible to process an application without a research proposal.

We treat visiting research students just like full-timers and you would be expected to pay full fees (pro-rata). There is no fixed period of study; it can be for a term or year etc.

Please go to http://www.lums.lancs.ac.uk/phd/PhDFunding/ for the most current information.

Not necessarily. You can register online but please let us know if this is what you plan to do.

With regard to the Lancaster University Management School Studentship, please see: http://www.lums.lancs.ac.uk/PhD/PhDFunding/
It is set out here and all applicants can apply for this as it is awarded on academic merit only. The deadline is usually in May. This is advertised in January/February on http://www.jobs.ac.uk/ but you will need to have a place confirmed on the programme before applying for this. The competition for this is always very strong.
If you state your need for a scholarship on your application form, you will automatically be considered for the selection process once you accept your offer of a place.
We are unable to keep individuals updated about all the funding opportunities but in order to stay in touch with the latest information, please regularly check the following WebPages. This list is by no means exhaustive and not all will apply to your situation at this point in time, but it is always worth checking:
http://www.lancs.ac.uk/pgfunding/sources.htm
http://www.lums.lancs.ac.uk/PhD/PhDFunding/
http://postgraduatestudentships.co.uk/
http://www.jobs.ac.uk/
http://www.rcuk.ac.uk/default.htm
http://www.royalsoc.ac.uk/funding.asp?id=1128
http://www.esrc.ac.uk/ESRCInfoCentre/index.aspx
http://www.britac.ac.uk/funding/index.html

Please also check out the following: http://www.bam.ac.uk/
Departmental awards of up to £1000 are also available. Applications are considered on the basis of eligibility and availability, and therefore it is recommended that applications are made early and before August 31st. You would need to state a case outlining your reasons for a bursary and put it in writing to us. The application should explain why you feel you need support, in terms of your existing financial circumstances and commitments.

We do not encourage applicants to contact supervisors prior to applying due to time constraints imposed by teaching commitments etc. If you have specific questions that you would like to pose, please put them in writing and send them to Helen Ashman via email (phddml@lancaster.ac.uk).

To see the research interests of academic members of staff within the department, go to http://www.lums.lancs.ac.uk/dml/profiles/browse/department/dml/
If you would like to view profiles of staff from other departments within the management school, please follow this link: http://www.lums.lancs.ac.uk/People/

Please feel free to look at the CEEC (Centre for Employability, Enterprise and Careers) webpage. The link is
http://careers.lancs.ac.uk/How%20we%20can%20help/Pages/Information%20For%20Graduates.aspx

Many of your questions can be answered via the link to the Vitae website http://www.vitae.ac.uk/1334/Working%20in%20higher%20education.html

To see which jobs opportunities are out there for you, please see
http://jobs.guardian.co.uk/
http://www.tes.co.uk/jobsHub.aspx?navcode=6
http://www.jobs.ac.uk/

For any other unanswered questions, please check out the Lancaster University Management School FAQ page at http://www.lums.lancs.ac.uk/phd/PhDFAQ/