Clinical Science
Vacation and Leave Policy for Ph.D. Students Graduate
School is a privilege; working in the biomedical research/academic field, whether as a graduate student, a postdoctoral fellow, or an independent investigator, is a time-honored and challenging profession that requires a high level of commitment and responsibility. Students who receive full-support stipends from UCD Ph.D. programs are required to pursue their training on a full-time basis, devoting each day of the normal work week, plus any additional time required by their research projects and academic courses. Additionally, for a student to maintain full-time student status, the following guidelines for vacation and leave time have been established by the Graduate School. These represent the leave to which a graduate student is entitled; however, research demands and commitment to graduate studies often result in students using less than the allotted leave. Individual graduate programs might not have a formalized system for accounting for vacation and sick leave; if so, vacation and leave monitoring falls under the honor system and is the responsibility of the student.
Vacation and Holidays
Graduate students shall receive all University holidays and no more than 14 calendar days (counting all days Monday through Sunday) of vacation per annum, with no year-to-year accrual. Students shall continue to receive stipends during vacations and holidays. In the graduate school at UCD, the times between academic terms and the summers are considered active parts of the training period and are not necessarily free times. However, students taking courses are expected to attend all classes and take all exams as scheduled. They should not take vacations when classes or exams are scheduled. For advanced students, vacation time should be arranged with the dissertation advisor.
Sick Leave and Other Leave
Graduate students may continue to receive stipends for up to 15 calendar days (counting all days Monday through Sunday) of sick leave per annum, with no year-to-year accrual. Under exceptional circumstances, additional sick days may be granted following a written request and approval by the student’s program director. Sick leave may be used for the medical conditions related to pregnancy and childbirth.
Parental Leave
Graduate students may also receive stipends for up to 30 calendar days (counting all days Monday through Sunday) of parental leave per annum for the adoption or the birth of a child. Either parent is eligible for parental leave. Parental leave must be approved by the student’s program director. Sick leave may not be used to supplement parental leave, except as noted above.
Unpaid Leave
Individuals requiring more than 15 calendar days of sick leave or more than 30 calendar days of parental leave, must seek approval from their program for an unpaid leave of absence. Approval for a leave of absence must be requested in advance by the student and approved by the program. The leave period and conditions must be documented, both at the time of leave and at the time of re-entry into the program. A copy of this agreement must be submitted to the Graduate School.
Termination
Upon graduation or termination a graduate student forfeits all unused annual and sick leave; payment may not be made from grant funds (training grants or research grants) for leave not taken.
Posted 7/20/04