As an MSc student, there may be occasions during your course when you suffer from serious and unforeseen circumstances. We have two processes designed to ensure that you are not disadvantaged as a result.

Short-Term Extension Requests

Where an extension for an element of coursework is required, you may apply for this directly to your Degree Coordinator. The maximum length of the extension will equal the amount of time you have lost, up to a maximum of two weeks.

Please complete the attached MSc Coursework Extension Request Form.

MSc Computing students should send the form to Dr Josiah Wang.

MSc Artificial Intelligence students should send the form to Dr Saman Hina.

MSc Advanced Computing students should sent the form to Dr Tom Crossland. 

MSc Computing (Specialisms) students should send the form to Dr Tim Kimber.

We encourage you to begin this process as soon as you believe you will be unable to complete the coursework on time. Individual module tutors cannot grant extensions and all requests must go through the Degree Coordinators.

Mitigating Circumstances Requests

For other situations where you are prevented from completing an assessment on time or to your normal standard, you should submit a mitigating circumstances claim within the given deadline (see Deadlines below). This will be assessed by a panel of staff: the Mitigating Circumstances Board (MCB). The form to use and the college procedure with full details can be accessed here (under the Mitigating Circumstances section). Please use the "Mitigating Circumstances claim form", not the "Mitigating Circumstances self-certification form". The main claim form can be used for any claim: it has a self-certification section. The completed form and accompanying documentation should be sent to Dr Tim Kimber, the chair of the Department's MCB for MSc students.

The MSc MCB meets to make decisions on claims about once a month in term. Upcoming meetings are scheduled on the dates given below. Please note:

  • MCB meeting dates should not be treated as a deadline by which to submit a claim. The Mitigating Circumstances Procedure sets deadlines from the date of the affected assessment. So, the deadline for your claim to be on time might be well before the next meeting. Please see Deadlines below.
  • It may not be possible for every claim submitted before an MCB to be added to the agenda, where the claim is submitted less than 24 hours before the meeting or where there is a high volume of claims. 
MSc MCB Dates
9th November 2026
2nd December 2026

Deadlines

The following deadlines apply:

  • Extension requests: requests for assessment deadline extensions must be made before the original assessment deadline. 
  • Mitigating circumstances claims: the standard deadline for submitting a mitigating circumstances claim is 10 working days after the affected assessment.
  • Late mitigating circumstances claims: late claims for assessments occurring in the 2026-2027 academic year must be submitted by Friday 8th October 2027. Late claims must include evidence showing why you were unable to submit by the standard deadline.

Evidence

For both extension requests and mitigating circumstances claims, you will be asked to provide supporting evidence. In some cases where it is reasonable for independent evidence not to exist (such as for a short-term illness) it may be possible for you to self-certify, otherwise evidence should be provided. All evidence must be in English, or accompanied by a certified translation.

Support for Extension Claims and Mitigating Circumstances Requests

If you would like to discuss your claim prior to submission, please contact the Senior Tutor, Dr Thomas Lancaster. He does not approve extensions and is not part of the Mitigating Circumstances Board so can offer independent advice. The Senior Tutor may also know if processes other than Mitigating Circumstances are appropriate (for example, sometimes a request is the result of a disability and so support from the Disability Advisory Service may be more suitable).