Departmental duties

Doctoral students often undertake some form of departmental duties while they are studying, such as teaching and/or administration. This page provides information about departmental duties and how they are allocated.

What are departmental duties?

Departmental duties consist of work at the university that can be conducted alongside your studies, e.g conference administration, teaching at Bachelor’s level or representing the university. They are not part of your doctoral studies or your doctoral studentship. You are also entitled to an extension for the time you spend on them. It is important to remember that departmental duties must not have a negative impact on your studies. Your studies must always be of primary importance – you must always have enough time for writing your thesis.

Departmental duties are not compulsory, so you have the right to refuse if you are asked to do them.

Your final year of employment

If you defend your thesis and completely finish your studies before the end of your final year of employment, your employment will not be extended due to departmental duties or other exceptional reasons for extension. Remember to consult the HR generalist at your academic school before accepting departmental duties in you final year of employment.

How your departmental duties are decided

Departmental duties must be agreed between your supervisor and your head of department before they start. The supervisor decides on suitable departmental duties and their scope. You also need to check the number of clock hours you receive for them with your subject coordinator or head of department.

Problems with departmental duties

If you are experiencing problems with your departmental duties, such as an excessive workload or too short an extension, you can get support from the union. If your employer breaks the law or the local agreement, the union can negotiate for you. They also monitor compliance with local agreements.

If you encounter problems obtaining departmental duties, the union can provide support at an individual level. If, for example, your supervisor who is putting obstacles in the way, there may be various reasons. Contact your local union association for help.

Reporting departmental duties

You do not need to report the departmental duties you undertake, but you and your principal supervisor must always have an advance agreement on departmental duties with your head of department, so they know how many hours of departmental duties you will have and which will need staffing in the coming semester.

Contact your head of department or HR generalist if you have questions about your departmental duties.