UKRI have updated its sickness and suspension policy in relation to medical absences due to COVID-19. You will now continue to receive your stipend for up to 28 weeks of illness due to COVID-19 within a 12-month period. All other sickness absence remains at 13 weeks within a 12-month period as detailed in our Sickness and Suspension Policy (available within the SGSAH AHRC Intranet).

We are currently developing guidelines for ARCS studentships, and will update as soon as possible. We ask that you inform your home institution about any illness (see Q1.3, 1.4 and 1.5). 

You must inform your HEI admin at your host institution as soon as you are able when you are off with any sickness so that it can be recorded, and the appropriate support provided. This applies to any illness, not just COVID-19.

Please Note: If you are completing an internship, please also inform your host organisation and SGSAH as soon as you are able so that we can identify the best way to support you.

Please see the response for Q1.1. If you are unable to seek medical certification for your illness due to official advice not to attend your GP (doctor) Surgery, you should you report your illness as soon as you are able to your home institution.

Please talk to your supervisor and/or HEI admin for guidance and support. We would also encourage you to refer to the advice from your HEI for COVID-19 related wellbeing resources. Furthermore, many Researcher Development departments are signposting or creating useful and accessible resources, such as these examples from the University of Edinburgh.

We are aware that these are exceptional circumstances that will affect everyone’s ability to be productive. We suggest that you keep a log of any disruptions to your work, such as caring responsibilities, physical or mental ill health, working conditions, challenges of accessing research resources, or primary research or engagement activity that has been cancelled. See Q2.1 and 2.2 for more guidance.

If your supervisor is off sick, please seek supervision from your second supervisor. If for any reason, this is not possible, please contact your home institution and SGSAH at admin@SGSAH.ac.uk.

We expect supervision to take place remotely via email/phone/video call.

For AHRC-funded doctoral researchers with funding end dates on or before 31 March 2022. SGSAH is now able to offer further funding extensions under a ‘Phase 3’ process through their HEI. Your graduate school contacts (or equivalent) will be in touch with you directly to issue this paperwork.

Further windows will be opened up for those AHRC-funded doctoral researchers with funding end dates up to 30 September 2022 and 31 March 2023 in due course (currently estimated as October 2021 and April 2022 respectively).

•  We are committed to ensuring all doctoral students are supported in completing their research projects to a doctoral level, and are funded to do so. 

• All students should be treated fairly, using flexible, generous and inclusive processes that are sympathetic to the disruption caused to academic programmes and recognise the impact of the pandemic on individual personal circumstances of students. 

You will be circulated with a form from your HEI to complete, giving details (up to one page) describing your case for extension, which will include how you and your research has been affected by COVID-19 and the amount of time (up to six months) you require to complete your doctoral work. Your supervisor will also be asked to complete a section on this form. 

Please note that applications will be considered by the SGSAH Executive group (i.e. are not decided at the level of your individual HEI). Please note that review on a case by case basis does not mean that we will refuse your application. We simply recognise that each individual’s case is different and impacts will vary.

You can apply for a further funding extension if you have been unable to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 or adjust your research projects accordingly to complete on time.

It is anticipated that the majority of requests under this third phase will be for no more than three months, however longer extensions may be granted in exceptional circumstances. 

Please see 2.1 and 2.2 for further information on when you will be eligible to submit a request.

The information the UKRI/AHRC have asked us for funding extensions is a short description (up to a page) of the case for your extension, including how you and your research programme have been affected by COVID-19; and the time needed to complete doctoral work. The UKRI/AHRC have also emphasised that we should not place an onerous burden of proof on you to provide evidence to justify your extension. We recognise that your work might well be disrupted in multiple ways (e.g. additional caring responsibilities and cancelled fieldwork). 

You might find it useful to keep some kind of log of the impact COVID-19 has had on the progress of your work (see Q2.6 for suggestions of what this might look like). 

We are currently developing guidelines for ARCS-funded students and will update you as soon as they are available.

You might find it useful to keep some kind of log of the impact COVID-19 has had on the progress of your work. There are a number of different ways you might do this: please work out what’s right for you, as we don’t want this recording process to add to any anxiety you might be feeling. Please note that we won’t require you to show us your log - it’s for your own purposes. However, it might be useful to discuss it with your supervisor, so they can support your funding extension. 

For the log, we suggest: 

• Establishing what your ‘normal’ timeline might have looked like. What were your key milestones? You may already have a version of this you have worked on with your supervisor, or have been asked to prepare for an annual review. We suggest that having monthly objectives is useful for this, over a 6- to 12-month period. 
• Keeping a quick and regular record of how much work you’ve managed to do (or alternatively how many hours you’ve managed to work, if any). You might want to do this daily, but for others a weekly log might be better. For some this might be in the form of a notebook entry, or digitally in a Word or Google doc. Others may prefer to do it on a spreadsheet. This is up to you, and remember that we won’t require to see it. 
• Reviewing your regular record against your original timeline line on a monthly basis, so you have a sense of to what extent your work has been delayed. You might then - with your supervisor - create a revised timeline to work to so you have a more realistic sense of what is (and isn’t) achievable, depending on your circumstances. 
• NB if you’ve been ill due to COVID-19, please do include this in your log, but see the responses to 1.1 (for AHRC-funded students) and 1.2 (for SFC-funded students) for how we deal with COVID-19 and other forms of sickness. 

Yes. As HEI campuses have closed, there is an expectation that University staff will continue working from home. As such it is expected that you will also continue with your PhD research while your home institution’s campus remains closed. You will continue to receive your stipend payments as normal.

See Q1.6 for what to do if your supervisor is sick, and Q3.4 for what to do if you are unable to work from home.

Please also check your home institution’s COVID-19 guidance.

There is an expectation that you would continue with your PhD research, following any relevant advice from the collaborative partner. If aspects of your work have become impossible to carry out, please see Q 2.1 and 2.2, 2.3 and 2.4 for guidance on seeking funding extensions.

Please keep your home institution, collaborative sponsor and SGSAH up to date with your situation and any challenges you may face.

No on both counts. You should not suspend your study. If your personal circumstances mean you are not in a position (temporarily) to continue with your research, a funded extension will be considered. Please see Q2.1 and 2.2, 2.3 and 2.4 for information on funding extensions.

We recognise that your home circumstances may make working away from campus difficult or even impossible. If your personal circumstances mean you were not in a position to (temporarily) continue with your research, a funded extension will be considered. Please see Q2.1, 2.2, 2.3 and 2.4 for guidance on seeking funding extensions.

AHRC-funded students can apply for Disabled Students Allowance (DSA), which is intended to help with additional expenditure for the costs of study-related requirements that may be incurred as a result of a disability, mental health challenges or specific learning difficulties. The allowance can cover the cost of non-medical personal assistance, items of specialist equipment and general expenses. Please speak to your HEI admin for further information.

Please Note: For support not related to disability, mental health challenges or specific learning difficulties, you may be able to use your RTSG (see Q5.6).

Please discuss any implications with your supervisor(s), including ways you may be able to conduct your research online. However, we know this may not be possible. If you are a SGSAH-funded doctoral researcher, please see Q2.1, 2.2, 2.3 and 2.4 for details about funding extensions as a result of disruptions to your research

Yes, however restrictions based on government recommendations may still apply. See the FAQs in Section 5.

Please contact us at admin@sgsah.ac.uk with details of your particular circumstances, if you haven’t already.

Yes, we are keen to receive applications for online workshops and events.  We are unable to support in-person events until we know how and when the lockdown will end. See here for details of how to apply. If you have been granted funding for an in-person event which can no longer take place, please contact admin@sgsah.ac.uk to discuss.

We hope so, but it is dependent on access to research collections. We will update the website and via our newsletter once we have information.

We hope so, but these are dependent on the ending of lockdown. We will update the website and via our newsletter once we have information.

Our 2021 internship and artist residency opportunities are now open for applications. Please see here. The application deadline is 30 October 2020 to commence in early 2021. 

Please get in touch with us via admin@sgsah.ac.uk to discuss the particular details of your situation.

You can still apply for Visiting Doctoral Researcher and Engagement Funding. We can agree these applications in principle, dependant on a risk review and appropriate approvals gained through your HEI, where travel is required. Please contact us at admin@sgsah.ac.uk if you wish to discuss any aspect of an application.

If you have already received approval in principle, we will authorise funds upon submission of the appropriate approvals from your HEI, allowing you to travel. An updated budget and intended dates of travel will also be requested.

AHRC funded doctoral researchers may submit an RTSG application in October 2020 to their home HEI for small equipment purchases. Please note this is in addition to the standard application deadlines your institution normally advertises. For further information, please see the notifications through the intranet or contact your graduate school.

Please contact admin@sgsah.ac.uk to discuss your particular details, if you haven’t already.

Yes. The SGSAH team is currently working remotely and all training offered is through online delivery. Please see our website, Twitter, and sign up to our newsletter for details as they become available.

For ideas or specific needs for online workshops or sessions, please contact admin@sgsah.ac.uk.