Can somebody advice me on this? To suspend a phd and defer a phd, is it the same? Say someone applies to do this, then the registration date is shifted, so the end-date becomes say...November 2014 instead of November 2013 (if the university approves the suspension). What if the phd candidate then decides to work during this period of "suspension" and suddenly finishes the thesis? Can he still submit his thesis early if his supervisor is agreeable?

thanks very much
love satchi

Hi satchi,

Defer and suspend are slightly different things. 'Defer' is usually applied when you haven't started yet, and you want to push back your start date; i.e. due to start Nov 2013, want to start Nov 2014 instead. 'Suspend' is used when you want a break part way through your studies. It is possible (as far as I'm aware) to stop the suspension early and submit during this time; however, you would need the agreement of the university as during the suspension you would not be registered as a full time student, and so there would be some form filling/jumping through hoops to be done to get the suspension terminated early to allow you to submit.I doubt the university would stop this from happening, but it may depend on your funding. For example, if you are funded through a research council and they suspended your payments for a year, they may not have the budget to cancel your suspension and start paying you again, so you might have to continue without funding.

hi smoobles thanks for posting! The funding ended months ago. But--
what if --- the letter is there for suspension (saying...now your registration date is say Nov 2014) --BUT the university still has the student signed on full-time (like they did not update their records?) is this possible that they forgot? So actually there is no need to cancel the already approved suspension if the registration as a full-time student is still there. The way I look at it, there is no problem in submitting, what do you think?

thanks very much
love satchi

Hi Satchi,
I think you'll have to ask your uni admin, as it will depend on what they actually have on their records. But in either case, I doubt there'll be a problem submitting, you might just have to fill in an extra form or something. Congrats on your upcoming submission ;)

Suspension in phd is a polite way of saying get lost. Though you can still submitt but if you got suspension it means you are basically hitting for high road.

It can mean "get lost" if the supervisors have suggested it, however, it can also mean the student has asked for it due to illness or family issues. With part timers who also have a job, it can mean employment workload is stopping them dedicating time to the PhD.

Ian