Time away from the department
This page outlines what you should do if you need to leave Cambridge at any point during your studies, whether that is for holiday, due to ill health, to undertake an internship, or for some other reason. In all cases it is important to be aware of your residency requirements.
Tier 4 visa holders should also consider the conditions of their visa. More information can be found by following the links to the Student Registry webpages below, and the International Students Office can also advise.
If you are have any queries about the below, please contact the Graduate Studies Office.
Holidays
Work related to your studies taking place outside of Cambridge
Ill health and medical leave
Taking a break from your studies for non-medical reasons
Holidays
Research students are expected to work all year round (not only during term time) and may take up to 8 weeks of holiday a year, at times which should be agreed with your supervisor.
Taught course students are expected to be in Cambridge during term time, and can take holiday in between terms.
Work related to your studies taking place outside of Cambridge
If you will need to leave Cambridge to undertake work related to your course or programme, you should apply for leave to work away*. This might include undertaking field work, undertaking an internship or placement with an industrial partner or working in another university or institution, for example. Leave to work away is also required for research students who leave Cambridge (eg to go home) to write up their thesis or to work on any corrections to their thesis after the viva.
*Please note that Leave to Work Away is not usually allowed prior to the completion of the First Year Review
When to apply
Full-time students who want to study, carry out research, write up their thesis or complete corrections away from Cambridge for more than two weeks at a time, need to apply to be ‘working away'.
Part time students, who are not required to live in Cambridge, need to apply for leave to work away if they will be studying, carrying out research, writing up or completing corrections for more than two weeks away from where they usually live.
Students on taught programmes who need to leave Cambridge, for any amount of time, to undertake research for their dissertations must apply to work away.
Applications should be made at least 8 weeks in advance of leaving Cambridge, as it can take a while for applications to be approved. You should not leave Cambridge until approval has been granted.
How to apply
Applications are made via your CamSIS self-service account. Before applying, please read the full guidance from the Student Registry.
Before applying, you must ensure you have travel insurance in place. The University has a travel insurance policy for graduate students, but you must register in advance.
You will also be required to upload a risk assessment as part of the application. The department has two risk assessment templates for travel, depending on whether the travel is low risk or medium risk. Please review the guidance and download the forms from the Safety Office's website. Please ensure the form is fully completed and signed, or your application will not be approved.
Ill health and medical leave
If you need to take a break or two weeks or more from your studies for medical reasons, you should apply for medical intermission. For research students, medical intermission 'pauses the clock' on your programme - the time you are on intermission is automatically added to your submission deadline.
When to apply
Medical intermission can only be backdated up to 30 days, so it is important to apply as soon as you know that you will need more than two weeks off.
How to apply
Apply via your CamSIS self-service account. Before applying, please read the full guidance from the Student Registry. Please ensure that you include the specific start and end dates of the time you will need off. It can be difficult to know how long you will need to intermit for, but you must give an approximate date. If you later find you need to extend your original dates, you can submit another application, giving the new end date.
When you submit your application for medical intermission you must include medical evidence. The medical evidence must be a detailed letter from a medical professional on headed paper. It must be signed and recently dated, and must be in English.
In some cases, when your application for medical intermission is approved, you may be notified that you need to provide proof of your fitness to resume study before returning.
Taking a break from your studies for non-medical reasons
Non-medical intermission is available to students who need to leave Cambridge for two or more weeks for one of the following reasons:
- Maternity, paternity and adoption leave
- Family circumstances such as nursing or supporting a sick relative
- Dealing with an emergency situation (you will need to specify what this is)
- Undertaking a language course that is not intrinsic to your research
- Undertaking a research fellowship that is not intrinsic to your research
- Undertaking an internship or placement which is not intrinsic to your research, which will be beneficial for your career development.
- Taking up a position as a Graduate Union Sabbatical Officer (President, Vice President, Welfare and Rights Officer)
Like medical intermission, if you are a research student, non-medical intermission 'pauses the clock' on your programme, and the time you are off will be automatically added to your thesis submission deadline.
*Please note that Non-medical intermission to do an internship or placement is not usually allowed prior to the completion of the First Year Review
When to apply
You should apply for intermission as soon as you know that you will need it. This should be at least 8 weeks in advance for a planned activity (such as an internship), as it can take a while for applications to be approved. You should not leave Cambridge until the intermission has been authorised. If you have an emergency situation, apply for intermission as soon as possible. It can be backdated up to 30 days in cases where it was not possible to apply in advance.
How to apply
Apply via your CamSIS self-service account. Before applying, please read the full guidance from the Student Registry. Please ensure that you include the specific start and end dates of the time you will need off, and details about why you need to intermit.
Some circumstances are not valid reasons for intermitting. These include taking up employment (unless this is an internship or placement), funding issues or visa issues. In some cases, it may be more appropriate to temporarily withdraw from your programme.