Prospective Occasional Postgraduate Research Students

We are delighted that you are planning to visit Newcastle University and spend time with our world leading research staff. You may wish to look at our PGR Belong webpage which gives an insight into the output of a visit by an Occasional Research Student.

If you are not sure who might best host your visit and support your research, you should first review the information on our Faculties and Academic Units to identify who to contact.  If you click on the Get in Touch or Contact Us button on the Academic Unit webpages and provide details of your intended visit your query will be directed to the relevant Postgraduate Research Admissions Selector. If you have a chosen academic in mind you need to contact them to ensure they support your visit.  If they agree your proposal and support your visit, they will need to act as your Academic Nominator and complete an Approval in Principle Form. 

The Approval form should be submitted at least 1 month before the start visit if you are a Home UK student and 2 months before your proposed visit if you are an International student.  Please ensure you agree a realistic start and end date for your visit with your Nominator as it may be difficult to change this. You will need to provide a CV and research proposal for the Approval form, but additional information will be needed when you make your application to PG Admissions. If your visit is longer than 6 months you must also be able to satisfy the student visa requirements.

There are no longer Occasional Postgraduate Research Student fees, however, a bench fee may be charged depending on the activities undertaken during your visit.  This will be discussed with you and information will be included in the Approval in Principle form completed by the Academic Nominator.

Following completion and submission of this form,  the Academic Nominator (or their Nominee) will contact you to advise you are now able to make a formal application via the PG Admissions Portal using the applicant portal online.  You should not apply without being advised to do so by the Academic Unit.  When applying you should ensure that you are applying for the relevant Postgraduate Occasional Student programme, see the PG Admissions Guidance for OCR students (96.6 kB).  

You will need to complete your student registration to study at Newcastle University.  This will enable you to obtain a university smart card and access our buildings and resources.  You however will not receive an award or credit from Newcastle University for your studies and will not be classed as a regular student for external bodies such as local councils. 

If you have been contacted by a student and agreed to support their visit as an Occasional PGR Student, you will need to complete the Approval in Principle Form.  This form has recently been updated and additional information on the HeCOS code and ATAS is now required.  Please ensure you have this information when you complete the form.  You will also need a copy of the CV from the student and details of the project they will be undertaking during their visit.

This process is only for students studying at PhD and MPhil level, who are spending a short time at Newcastle University for research purposes, and who will not be receiving an award at the end of their time here.  There are different arrangements in place for Associate, Visiting and Guest staff and details are available on the People Services SharePoint page.

Please look at the Flowchart for PGR OCR Approval Process which sets out the application and approval process before you begin this.

The Approval form must be submitted at least 1 month before the start visit if it is for a Home UK student and 2 months before the proposed visit if it is for an International student.  Please be as specific as possible about the arrival and departure dates as it may not be possible to change these.  Changes to arrival and departure date will also necessitate a revised offer letter to support visa applications (if required) and accommodation and resources arranged may no longer be available. If this is an international student who requires a VISA/ CAS more time may be required for the student to meet any conditions of their offer letter.  

Occasional PGR Student visits are usually for a period of up to 6 months, with exceptions of up to 12 months, but no longer than this. 

Extensions to the duration of the visit are not usually permissible.

There are no longer Occasional Research Student fees, however, a bench fee may be charged depending on the activities undertaken during the visit.  This should be agreed with the prospective student during initial discussions and the relevant information recorded on the form. 

An approval for the visit must be agreed at School/ Institute level and a confirmation email/ written agreement attached to the approval form.  This can be given by the Head of the School/ Institute or their delegated nominee who is often the PGR Director of the School/ Institute.  A draft approval form is available - HOAU OCR Approval Form (67.3 kB).  

It is important to consider the needs of the student in regard to space to study, equipment, laboratory access etc.   You should also ensure that accommodation needs during the student's visit has been considered and may find the information on the accommodation webpage useful.   

Additional guidance for academic colleagues on the prospective Occasional PGR Students process can be found on our SharePoint page.