Ive submitted my thesis and waiting for my viva. Am I eligible for Job Seekers Allowance? I'm registered as a full time student but not actually doing any full time studying, im waiting on my viva. I have no money at all coming in :-(

Anyone else going through this? My PhD is still stressing me out even though it's finished :-(

you are eligible for job seekers allowance if you are seeking a job - which I guess you must be doing? there are older posts about this I am sure.

You are not allowed to claim JSA if you're registered as a FULL-TIME student. A PART-TIME student may be able to claim depending on their situation and circumstances. Now that you've completed, could you not get registered as part-time? You should definitely ask the jobs and benefits agency to clarify things and to see what, if anything, you can claim.

Hope you get something sorted as it's terrible going without an income.

Thanks, I'm only registered as FT because im waiting on my viva. It's not fair :-s

That's just horrible!!!! All the excitement of submitting and now this! I hope you get something sorted soon - is there a possiblity as has been suggested that you could get transferred to p/t while you wait so at least you can maybe get a bit of an income?

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I dont know, I was a funded student so I might have to pay some fees if I go PT. I would give anything to have a job right now. I'm going to go into the university tomorrow and find out if I can. (up)

Thanks everyone (up)

If you're under 'writing up' status and not a FT student (and obviously seeking work), then you can claim JSA.

I've written up and submitted. I'm registered full time but not actually doing any studying, ie availible for full time work. Now I'm just waiting for my Viva(havent been given a date yet). :$

Seriously, contact the CAB or go to the jobs and benefits agency and ask to what, if anything, you're entitled to. It could be that you could get income support or whatever. What about placing an advert on Gumtree or in the University about tutoring or any other work you feel you could do.

It might be worth checking your status with your university, as I stopped being officially registered as a student once I'd submitted. It seemed to be a grey area where you're not registered as a student, but also not really completed until all the paperwork is done and you get the final certificate. Maybe other universities have slightly different official cut-off points for student registration though.

I think its quite confusing, maybe universities should have guidlines on this or something. I mean, I'm registered as a FT student, but now i've submitted my thesis i'm not doing FT studying. I mean if we were meant to be studying FT until our viva, surely would this not mean we should be funded until the very end? At this point im not even part time. So confusing! I spoke to a friend and he told me to go speak to the university registry about it.

:-s

Here's a somewhat vague guideline from Uni of Sheffield, that states writing up students (and I guess that means 'waiting on viva' students too) "may be able to claim" - however I doubt that the people down the local job centre will understand your situation - so CAB is the best place to go.

http://www.shef.ac.uk/union/advice/advicepdfs/studentbenefits.pdf

Unis of Bolton say you have to be part-time to claim - but according to Sheffield this is defined by the hours you are available for work (which for you is anytime I guess), not necessarily your registration status

http://www.ubsu.org.uk/UBSU/AdviceAndWelfare/Post%20Graduate%20Funding.pdf

http://www.shef.ac.uk/union/advice/advicepdfs/moneypg.pdf