NTU Doctoral Life
Learn more about the NTU Doctoral Community, what’s on offer, and how we communicate with you.
The Doctoral Year
Unlike undergraduate and taught postgraduate degrees, doctoral degrees don't have set term times. This is why doctoral candidates at NTU are allotted 30 days of annual leave per academic year, in addition to Bank Holidays and University Closure Days: you don't need to take annual leave for dates that coincide with closure dates. Whilst most buildings and services will be closed during these periods, essential services like Security remain available, and the NTU Library will share Holiday opening hours in advance.
The dates for 2026/27 are:
| University closure day | Monday 21 December 2026 |
| University closure day | Tuesday 22 December 2026 |
| University closure day | Wednesday 23 December 2026 |
| University closure day | Thursday 24 December 2026 |
| Christmas Day bank holiday | Friday 25 December 2026 |
| Boxing Day bank holiday | Monday 28 December 2026 |
| University closure day | Tuesday 29 December 2026 |
| University closure day | Wednesday 30 December 2026 |
| University closure day | Thursday 31 December 2026 |
| New Year’s Day bank holiday | Friday 1 January 2027 |
| Good Friday bank holiday | Friday 26 March 2027 |
| Easter Monday bank holiday | Monday 29 March 2027 |
| University closure day | Tuesday 30 March 2027 |
| Early May bank holiday | Monday 3 May 2027 |
| Spring bank holiday | Monday 31 May 2027 |
| University closure day | Tuesday 1 June 2027 |
| Summer bank holiday | Monday 30 August 2027 |
Understanding Annual Leave
Your 30 days of annual leave as a PGR is for the period of your registration. That means if you enrolled in October, your annual leave allowance is October to October; if you enrolled in January, your allowance is January to January, etc. Annual leave should be used to take a break from your studies to rest, travel, visit family and so on. Conferences, networking and training events are considered as part of your studies, so you don't need to use annual leave to attend them.
Before booking your annual leave, talk to your supervisory team and let them know the dates you intend to take. You can then log your leave on the PGR Dashboard. If you are a Tier 4/Student Route Visa candidate, it is important that you do this so there is evidence for your absence during a monitoring period: for more information on monitoring, visit the International Doctoral Candidates page. Note that your leave doesn't need to be approved on the Dashboard for you to take it, as long as it has been logged and your supervisory team is aware that's all you need to do, although you might want to put your Out of Office on!
If you require leave for other reasons, such as a period of illness, family responsibilities, etc., then please see this page.
About the NTU Doctoral Research Community
Being part of the NTU Doctoral Research Community means being a part of a diverse, interdisciplinary research community, a peer support network and a social group. The community exists not only to support knowledge exchange, but to connect PGR to one another so you can share your experiences, offer advice and find ways to work together across disciplines.
Engaging with the broader community and participating in community events offers opportunities to develop your personal and professional profile, broaden your perspectives, and expand the skills at your disposal. NTU Doctoral manages the community, but PGR are welcome to suggest and facilitate events from peer to peer knowledge sharing to crafting sessions. You can learn more about Doctoral Research Community events here.
Learn more below.
PGR Communications
How we communicate
NTU Doctoral primarily communicate directly with our candidates via email. When contacting you, we will always use your NTU student email account. We also share news and updates on the PGR Community Board, which you can find out about below.
Our regular communications with PGR include the Monday training and development email, with information about upcoming DETD sessions and helpful resources, the Friday Round Up and the monthly Doctoral Digest newsletter.
When there are major announcements, such as a policy or process changes, those will always be communicated to all candidates by email to ensure everyone is aware, so it’s important to stay up to date with your inbox!
NTU Doctoral social media
Our social media channels are we share information about our services, opportunities for our PGR at NTU and beyond and updates from other candidates. Our social media channels are not only a space to connect the doctoral community and keep everyone up to date, they're also where we share the achievements and successes of NTU doctoral candidates.
- You can join our LinkedIn group, where we repost news from other candidates, share research studies and calls for papers
- Follow us over on our Instagram account to find out what our team has been up to around campus, as well as photos from our community events
If you have an event or a publication that you're sharing on any of these social media platforms, please tag us so that we can share it for you.
Contacting your community
If you would like something included in our communications - such as an event you're running, a study you need participants for, or a group you'd like people to join - then please email Dr Lauren Nixon.
If you have something you'd like to share, but it's more suitable for the PGR in your academic School than the entire community, then you can contact your PGR Representative. They can offer advice and support, as well as help you share your item.
The PGR Community Board
The PGR Community Board, powered by Viva Engage (previously Yammer), is your space for sharing and staying up to date with community updates.
The Board is moderated by the Doctoral School, who will post updates and reminders about events or schemes on offer, but it is primarily for candidate use.
You can use the board for:
- Research sharing: a way to share your calls for participants for studies, to share your successes, updates and publications, to look for other candidates to collaborate with
- Peer support: sharing study tips, seeking peer guidance on how to do processes or how to use resources, asking for advice or constructive friendly feedback
- Community connections: a way to look for others to form study or social groups, to share the highs and lows of doctoral study, to advertise events you’re organising or to find other PGR who would be interested in creating a project or event.
The PG Society
Designed for MA and PGR, the PG Society offer numerous events throughout the year where postgraduate students can meet, socialise, and network in an informal, non-academic setting. They are a registered NTSU society and open to all postgraduates.
PGR spaces on Campus
There are a number of spaces across all NTU campuses designated for use by doctoral candidates. There are PGR study rooms in both Boots Library and Clifton Library, in addition to spaces managed by the academic Schools.
If you want to find out if your school has a PGR space or where it’s located, contact your PGR Rep or your Director of Doctoral Programmes (DDP).
The Postgraduate Centre
The Postgraduate Centre (PG Centre) on City Campus is a dedicated space for postgraduate taught students and postgraduate researchers, including a café, several open communal meeting and working spaces, and silent working pods on the ground floor.
The PG Centre is only accessible to colleagues and individuals on postgraduate courses, so it’s a great place to meet for a coffee break or to assemble for a group study session.
The are two dedicated PGR rooms in the Belgrave Centre:
- BEL254, the PGR Hotdesking Room, is located on the ground floor from the Talbot Street entrance and has 10 workstations, including docking stations with wide monitors as well as three PCs. PGR using the Hotdesking Room can use the kitchenettes on the second and third floors for hot drinks etc.
- BEL104, which is in the ENTIC part of the building, has 14 desks and a kitchen nearby for doctoral candidates to use. The room is accessible from both entrances to the building, but the Chaucer Street entrance is closer.
Resources for NTU PGRs
In addition to the support offered by NTU Doctoral and the PGR Admin team, there are a number of other resources available to support you in your time as a doctoral candidate
NTSU and NUS
NTU PGRs are full members of the NTU Students' Union and the National Union of Students. That means that not only can you access benefits through NUS' Totum Card scheme and sites such as Unidays and Student Beans, but you can also access the wide variety help and support offered by NTSU. In addition to the VP for Education, who supports on matters relating to your academic experience at NTU, NTSU also provide guidance on money matters, health and wellbeing, and more.
Printing, Software and SubscriptionsSoftware and Subscriptions
NTU PGRs are entitled to free printing at any of the printers on campus to enable you to print teaching materials, survey forms, conference papers, etc. NTU also has a Software Hub, which gives you access to a range of useful programmes for everything from research software such as NVivo to audio editing and graphic design, and a Creative Cloud licence, which allows you to use Adobe products with your NTU account. If you need any support with accessing or using software for your research, Digital Technologies has a dedicated Research Technology support site.
NTU Library has a wide range of subscriptions to databases and journals via OneSearch, and can request any materials that are not currently in the collection.
NTU Student Services
PGRs have full access to NTU's Student Services, which includes support and guidance on Health and Wellbeing, Money, and International Student Support. If you have issues with your Student Card or need some signposting to the correct service, you can also visit one the Ask NTU Hubs in person or online.
NTU Disability and Inclusion Services
NTU Disability and Inclusion Services support all students at NTU with accessibility and disability needs. If you experience a change in your health or a new diagnosis during your studies, or if you would like to talk to someone about your needs, you can contact NTU Disability and inclusion services for support.
The team can also provide Access Statements for PGRs to ensure that their needs are understood and accommodated over the course of their doctoral study. To learn more about Access Statements, visit the Wellbeing page.