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Reinstatement

NB: If you are returning from a period of medical intermission, you should NOT apply for reinstatement. Please see guidance on returning from medical intermission. If returning from non-medical intermission you do not need to submit any application.

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.

Whether students can/need to apply for reinstatement depends on the reason why the student was withdrawn from study.

Reason

Eligibility to apply for reinstatement

You are returning from a period of medical intermission You should NOT apply for reinstatement. Please see guidance on returning from medical intermission. If returning from non-medical intermission you do not need to submit any application.
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If you were withdrawn as you did not meet the deadline for submission of your thesis for examination and less than six months have passed since you were withdrawn, you do not need to complete a reinstatement application form.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If you were withdrawn because you did not meet the deadline for submission of your thesis for examination and more than six months but five years or less have passed since you were withdrawn, you will need to apply for reinstatement to submit your thesis.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 corrections by the deadline (research students only)

Normally, students can submit their corrections whilst still withdrawn from study. You are reminded that you should copy in studentrecords@offices.admin.cam.ac.uk when submitting your corrected thesis. Student Registry will reinstate you upon receipt of this email.

Please note that if too great a period has elapsed since your withdrawal, your examiners may no longer be available to check your corrections, in which case it will not be possible to reinstate you.

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 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 revise 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 also not submitted your hardbound thesis then you will be reinstated upon receipt of your hardbound thesis, provided this is submitted within the permitted period (see above), and will then have the necessary access to upload the electronic copy of your thesis.

If you have submitted your hardbound thesis but have subsequently been 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. 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 being allowed to resume your study - please see below.

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 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 when ready 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.

Withdrawal from study does not change your thesis submission deadline. On reinstatement, if your thesis submission deadline falls before you can complete the required minimum 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).

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 being allowed to resume your study. 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 be given leave to reapply for admission instead (that is, to apply in competition with other first-time applicants to begin the course afresh).

How to apply

NB: If you are returning from a period of medical intermission, you should not apply for reinstatement. Please see guidance on returning from medical intermission. If returning from non-medical intermission you do not need to submit any application.

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 upload 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

https://www.camsis.cam.ac.uk/

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.

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