Reinstatement (following withdrawal from study)
Important note: If you currently on medical intermission and planning your return to study, you should not apply for reinstatement. Please follow the instructions for returning from medical intermission instead. There is no application process to return to study at the end of a period of non-medical intermission. Reinstatement is only appropriate following withdrawal from study.
Withdrawal from study is usually considered permanent. Applications for reinstatement following withdrawal from study may only be made in specific circumstances and will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
Reinstatement is not normally possible if you are in your first term of study or have only completed one term of study at the time you withdraw. You would normally be expected to reapply to your course and be assessed as a new applicant.
It is also not normally possible to apply for reinstatement to undertake further study if you have kept the required terms for your degree by the time you withdraw. Research students may be eligible to apply for reinstatement for the purpose of submitting their thesis for examination (please see below) but this option is not available to students on taught courses. Students on taught courses who are experiencing difficulties and will not be in a position to submit their dissertation by their deadline, should seek advice from their Department and Student Registry in advance about the options open to them, such as intermission or an extension to the deadline.
Eligibility to apply for reinstatement
Whether students can apply for reinstatement depends on the reason why they were was withdrawn from study:
You are returning from an approved period of medical intermission
If you currently on medical intermission and planning your return to study, you should not apply for reinstatement. Please follow the instructions for returning from medical intermission instead. There is no application process to return to study at the end of a period of non-medical intermission. Reinstatement is only appropriate following withdrawal from study.
Student did not submit their thesis (or revised thesis) for examination by their submission deadline (research students only)
Reinstatement is for the purpose of submitting a thesis for examination
Up to six months from date of withdrawal
If you were withdrawn as you did not meet the deadline for submission of your thesis for examination and less than six months have passed since you were withdrawn, you do not need to complete a reinstatement application form. Your reinstatement will be processed upon submission of your thesis within six months of withdrawal, following correspondence between the Student Registry and your Degree Committee. If you are ready to submit your thesis but technically are not able to do so due to not having Raven access, please contact your Degree Committee who will request that Student Registry reinstates you. Reinstatement will reactivate your Raven access.
Six months to five years from date of withdrawal
If you were withdrawn because you did not meet the deadline for submission of your thesis for examination and more than six months but five years or less have passed since you were withdrawn, you will need to apply for reinstatement to submit your thesis. You should not apply for reinstatement until your thesis is ready for submission for examination.
Reinstatement will depend on your department and Degree Committee confirming that appropriate support is available for the examination and any post-examination corrections or revision.
Please note that if you do not submit your thesis for examination within two weeks of reinstatement being approved, approval may be withdrawn and you may be required to submit a new application.
After five years from date of withdrawal (for students with a deadline on or after 1 October 2024 for submission of the thesis or revised thesis)
Cannot apply for reinstatement. Applications for reinstatement received more than five years from the date of withdrawal will be automatically declined.
Student did not submit their corrected thesis by the deadline after examination (research students only)
For students with a thesis submission deadline on or after 1 January 2026, applications for reinstatement received more than three years from the date of withdrawal will be automatically declined.
If your thesis submission deadline was on or after 1 January 2026 and you are applying within 3 years of the date of your withdrawal from study, or your thesis submission deadline was before 1 January 2026, you should email studentrecords@offices.admin.cam.ac.uk, attaching a copy of the corrected thesis.
Student Registry will check you are eligible and seek confirmation from Degree Committee that your examiner(s) are available to check your corrections.
If the Degree Committee confirm that the reinstatement can be approved, they will forward your thesis to your examiners and Student Registry will reinstate you.
Please not that your corrections will not be considered as formally accepted until Student Registry have confirmed your reinstatement.
Student did not respond by the deadline where a choice to submit a revised thesis for examination or be awarded a lower degree (which may be conditional, subject to corrections) was offered by the Postgraduate Committee (doctoral students only)
You have up to three years from the date of withdrawal to apply for reinstatement to either revise and resubmit your thesis or to submit a corrected thesis for a lower degree or to be approved for a lower degree if no corrections were required. Reinstatement will depend on your department and Degree Committee confirming that appropriate support is available for the revision and/or the examiners are still available to check your corrections.
If you were withdrawn from study before 1 January 2025 for this reason you should contact Student Registry for advice.
Student did not submit their hardbound thesis by their submission deadline (doctoral students only)
You have up to five years from the date of withdrawal to submit your hardbound thesis. You do not need to apply for reinstatement - you will be automatically reinstated upon receipt of your hardbound thesis within the permitted period. Requests for reinstatement received more than five years from the date of withdrawal will be automatically declined and your hardbound thesis will not be accepted.
If you were withdrawn from study before 1 January 2025 and have not submitted your hardbound thesis within five years of the date of withdrawal, you should contact Student Registry for advice.
Student did not upload the electronic copy of their thesis to Apollo by their submission deadline (doctoral students only)
Students who have been withdrawn may not have the necessary access to upload the electronic version of their thesis to Apollo.
If you have recently submitted your hardbound thesis then provided this was within the permitted period (see above), you will be reinstated when your hardbound thesis submission has been processed, and will then have the necessary access to upload the electronic copy of your thesis.
If you have not submitted your hardbound thesis, or you submitted it before being withdrawn, you have up to five years from the date of withdrawal to submit the electronic copy of your thesis. You should contact Student Registry to request to be reinstated. If you have not already submitted your hardbound thesis, we recommend that you submit the electronic copy first, so any errors that are picked up can be rectified prior to getting the hardbound printed and bound.
Requests for reinstatement received more than five years from the date of withdrawal will be automatically declined and you will not be permitted to upload your electronic thesis.
If you were withdrawn from study before 1 January 2025 and have not submitted the electronic copy of your thesis within five years of the date of withdrawal, you should contact Student Registry for advice.
Non-payment of fees
You have up to five years from the date of withdrawal to apply for reinstatement when fees have been paid in full. Applications for reinstatement received more than five years from the date of withdrawal will be automatically declined.
If you were withdrawn from study before 1 January 2025 you should contact Student Registry for advice.
Withdrawn from study by the Postgraduate Committee
You cannot apply for reinstatement, unless permission to do so is explicitly stated in the email from the Postgraduate Committee confirming withdrawal from study.
If this permission is stated, you will have up to five years from the date of withdrawal to apply for reinstatement. Applications for reinstatement received more than five years from the date of withdrawal will be automatically declined.
You may be required to submit work for scrutiny by your department or Degree Committee before a decision on your reinstatement is made. Reinstatement will depend on your department and Degree Committee confirming that appropriate support for your studies is still available.
If you were withdrawn from study before 1 January 2025 and permission to apply for reinstatement is explicitly stated in the email, you should contact Student Registry for advice.
Student did not return from approved medical intermission
Application for reinstatement may be considered where there were grave circumstances that prevented you applying to extend your intermission or return to study.
Your application should include evidence of the grave cause and details of how it prevented you from engaging with the University. Medical evidence confirming your fitness to resume study should also be submitted.
Reinstatement will depend on your department and Degree Committee confirming that appropriate support for your studies is still available.
Applications received more than five years after the date of withdrawal will be automatically declined.
Student applied for withdrawal
Taught Masters students
You have up to five years from the date of withdrawal to apply for reinstatement when ready to resume study. The timing of teaching and assessment might dictate the appropriate return date for taught Masters students if reinstatement is approved.
Applications for reinstatement received more than five years from the date of withdrawal will be automatically declined.
If you were withdrawn from study before 1 January 2025 you should contact Student Registry for advice.
Postgraduate Research students
You have up to five years from the date of withdrawal to apply for reinstatement to resume study (if minimum number of research terms not yet complete) or submit your thesis.
Applications for reinstatement received more than five years from the date of withdrawal will be automatically declined.
If you were withdrawn from study before 1 January 2025 you should contact Student Registry for advice.
If you withdrew because you were not well enough to study, you will need to provide medical evidence to show that you are now fit to return to study. This evidence will be referred with the rest of your application to medical advisors, who will confirm whether it is sufficient to support reinstatement.
You may be required to submit work for scrutiny by your department or Degree Committee before a decision on your reinstatement is made. If the time that has elapsed since your withdrawal (or since the start of your intermission if you withdrew immediately following or soon after a period of intermission) is so great, or the progress you made before withdrawing is so slight, it is possible that your Degree Committee may recommend that you should not be reinstated. They may advise that you should reapply for admission instead (that is, to apply in competition with other first-time applicants to begin the course afresh).
Withdrawal from study does not change your thesis submission deadline. If you are reinstated and your thesis submission deadline falls before you can complete the requiredminimum number of terms of research, you will be granted an automatic deadline extension (to the last day of the term in which the minimum terms of research requirement for your degree is met).
How to apply
You should apply for reinstatement online via your Extended Self-Service. If applying for reinstatement for the purpose of submitting your thesis for examination, please also upload/submit the reinstatement declaration form. If you have previously completed a course of study (undergraduate or postgraduate) at the University of Cambridge since 2013 you will have been given a ‘Raven for Life’ account and should be able to access your ESS via the normal CamSIS login page:
https://help.uis.cam.ac.uk/service/accounts-passwords/leaving
If you have not completed a course previously, (or you completed prior to 2013) you should be able to register and create an ESS account in order to access the reinstatement application form.
If you are not able to access your Extended Self-Service you can complete the paper copy reinstatement application form.
Important note: If you currently on medical intermission and planning your return to study, you should not apply for reinstatement. Please follow the instructions for returning from medical intermission instead. There is no application process to return to study at the end of a period of non-medical intermission. Reinstatement is only appropriate following withdrawal from study.
Fee liability
Students who are reinstated in a future academic year who had not already met their fee liability for the course at the time of withdrawal, will normally be liable for fees at the rate for the academic year in which they are reinstated which will invariably be higher.
Contact
If you have any questions about withdrawing from the University or about reinstatement, please submit a query here: student-registry-help.admin.cam.ac.uk