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University of Bristol's new medical leave policy for PhD students sparks disability discrimination concerns

Alejandra Bonwick

3d ago· 6 min readenNews

education politics higher education policy disability rights

Summary

The University of Bristol updated its leave policy for PhD students in October 2025, introducing a new 'medical leave' category described as 'enhanced entitlements.' However, disabled and marginalized students argue the policy disproportionately affects part-time PGRs (postgraduate researchers), potentially pushing them out of higher education. An SU-backed campaign to 'save part-time PGRs' has emerged in response to concerns that the policy changes discriminate against disabled students rather than providing enhanced support.

Source

bskyUniversity of Bristol's new medical leave policy for PhD students sparks disability discrimination concernsepigram.org.uk

Key quotes

· 3 pulled

A policy shift in funded leave for PhD students, described as 'enhanced entitlements' by the University of Bristol, has sparked an SU-backed campaign to 'save part-time PGRs'

After researching it independently, a disabled PhD student had felt that the changes had the opposite effect

Student concerns that it could push marginalised groups out of higher education

Snippet from the RSS feed

A new medical leave policy for PhD students at the University of Bristol has sparked a campaign to 'save part-time PGRs' as it seems that disabled and marginalised students are disproportionately affected.

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