UEL doctorates

We support a community of over 85 students across a range of Professional Doctorate programmes at the Tavistock.The following guidance and resource pages are for Professional Doctorate students on UEL-Validated courses, and their supervisors, as well as any other interested parties. We also run Essex-validated Doctoral courses. For information for current Trust-Essex Doctoral students please go to the Student Regulations and Policies pages.

If you are on a professional doctorate validated by the UEL, the first phase of your course is described as the taught phase, or training/clinical part of your course. Most of the information that you will need whilst on the taught phase of your courses can be found on your course page on Moodle and in your course handbook.

After you have completed the taught element, in order to gain the doctorate award you need to complete a thesis. You will be required to register your thesis proposal and gain any required ethical approval before you can begin. The process of registration, ethical approval and other processes you may need (or in some cases are required) to complete while registered are described step-by-step in these pages. Please click on the menu items on the left hand side to navigate to the required pages.

For information relating to the management and governance of all research carried out within the Trust, including funding opportunities, please visit the getting started webpages. Alternatively, please visit Noclor Research Support.

Registration periods

Once you have registered, you have a finite amount of time in which to complete your thesis.

The registration period is calculated from your date of registration, and not from the date that your registration is approved. This is clearly articulated in your registration approval letter.

Please note that irrespective of your registration period, you have eight years to complete from the point of first enrolment on the course. For Professional Doctoral students this includes the Taught and/or Clinical phase of the course.

Registration periods:

Full-time: minimum 24 months, maximum 48 months

Part-time: minimum 30 months, maximum 60 months

If you are unsure whether your course is full-time or part-time, please refer to the course programme specification.

Changes to your period of registration

If you wish to submit your thesis outside of these timescales, you must complete the relevant form and submit to the TSRDSC.

To submit your thesis before the minimum registration period, please complete the Approval of Shorter Period of Registration (SRP).
To submit your thesis after the maximum registration period, you must apply for an Extension of Registration Period (EXT).. Please note that you can only submit this form if you are in the final year of your registration period.

Downloadable documents can be found at the UEL-Tavi Downloadable Forms pages.

Once you have completed the form, please ensure that it is fully signed and then submit to the Secretary to the TSRDSC.

Suspension of studies

If your studies are being disrupted by exceptional circumstances outside of your control, you may be able to apply for a Suspension of Enrolment / Registration for between one and three terms, which is not counted as part of your registration period. For further guidance regarding suspensions, please visit the suspension of studies pages.

Enrolment

Please note that your Enrolment and Registration are two entirely distinct processes.

Enrolment refers to joining the course (including the payment of fees and registering your details with the Tavistock and UEL). You can be enrolled on your course for a maximum of eight years. Any suspensions that are applied for and approved, will apply to both registration and enrolment. Extensions can only be applied to registration period if you have enough enrolment time left’. Please see UEL-Tavi D-Level Modular Regulations found here.

Registration refers to the registration of your thesis proposal. In order to register, you must be fully enrolled.