Full-time graduate students should generally regard their studies as a full-time occupation of at least 40 hours per week¹, and should normally be available for academic commitments during core working hours (i.e. 9 am to 5 pm on weekdays). Graduate students on taught courses should regard this as applying to term-time study whilst for students on research courses it applies year-round.
The University therefore recommends that full-time graduate students on a taught course (such as a Master’s) do not undertake more than 8 hours’ paid work each week whilst studying. The number of weeks of full-time study required will depend on the course structure. Students may find they have substantial study commitments in the Christmas, Easter and summer vacations as well as the University’s three full terms of eight weeks each. Students should check the structure of their own course, and its implications for any paid work, with their department or faculty².
Students on research courses (such as a DPhil) are advised that any paid work should still allow them to spend at least 40 hours per week for a minimum 44 weeks of the year on their studies³.