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Visiting Postgraduate Students

We welcome visitors from other institutions to learn, study and help enrich our collaborative intellectual community

We welcome postgraduate students from other institutions who wish to spend time as a visiting student here at Lancaster. As a visiting student you will have access to postgraduate modules and computing and library facilities, as well as the opportunity to meet our staff and students and join in with seminars workshops and other events. PhD students will also have supervision by a named supervisor and access to shared office space.

Please note that if you wish to attend MA and Faculty Research modules you should time your visit so that it falls during the autumn and the spring terms when the majority of these modules are being taught.

Fees for visiting students

Visiting PhD students pay a £500 registration fee. For stays of 3 months or less, this will be the only fee payable. For visits greater than three months, visiting PhD students will pay 25% of the standard PGR fee for each additional quarter year or part thereof. Students visiting for a full academic year will pay 100% of the standard fee.

Visiting MA students will pay a monthly fee (calculated as the standard fee/12).

Current fee levels are available from the Student Registry. Following the UK's exit from the European Union (EU) from the Academic Year 2021/22 EU students will be charged the same tuition fees as other non-UK students. The fees must be paid upon registration with the Postgraduate Office at the start of your visit.

How to apply

For those interested in applying for the SOCRATES and ERASMUS exchange programmes, please visit Lancaster's study abroad pages.

If you are interested in visiting us outside of these programmes, the first step is for you to find a host supervisor for your stay. You can view staff members and their research interests on our PhD Webpage. Once you have identified a staff member whose research interests align with your own, you should e-mail and ask whether they would be willing to act as your host supervisor during your visit.

Once you have secured a host supervisor for your visit, please apply using our formal Applicant Portal, at least two months before your intended arrival date.

Please note that:

  • Your year of entry should be the year that you plan to visit
  • You should select the PhD or MA programme that is most similar to your current programme of study
  • The Portal will guide you about which documents to upload as part of your application
  • You must only submit your application once you have found a host supervisor (please state the name of your supervisor in your application)
  • You do not need to submit references for a Visiting Student application
  • Once you have submitted your formal application, please e-mail pgadmissions@lancaster.ac.uk to let them know that it’s a Visiting Student application, and they will process it accordingly

If you have any questions about the application process or coming to Lancaster, please contact our postgraduate coordinator.

Last updated 22/06/2022