Suspension, Termination and Resumption of Studies

Suspension of studies

If a student (unclassified student) is no longer able to continue studying due to justified reasons, the head of the core academic unit can allow the student to suspend his studies for no more than one year.

A student (unclassified student) who is temporarily unable to continue his/her studies due to an illness, pregnancy or child care, and who provides documents proving such circumstances, shall be granted an academic leave of absence. Academic leave of absence may be granted for the following periods of time: due to an illness – for up to two years; due to pregnancy and child care – for a period established by the laws, but for no longer than three years. Academic leave of absence is granted by the head of the core academic unit. The duration of academic leave of absence shall be counted from the application submission date.

A student (unclassified student) may also be granted an academic leave of absence due to personal reasons. It should be noted that an academic leave can be granted for personal reasons only once during the study period, and for no more than one year. At the end of this period, the student may submit a study suspension application.

Resumption or continuation of studies

Suspended studies can be resumed. Studies can be resumed if the person has fulfilled the first semester study plan of the University's first cycle, second cycle or integrated study programme, and has no financial obligations to the University. Studies may be resumed, if the credit difference between a student’s previous and intended study programme does not exceed 15 ECTS credits.

The course unit (module) difference resulting from a minor change in the study programme can be eliminated within one year from the resumption of studies. Such differences are not considered to be debts / academic debts. If the person has more than 15 ECTS credits differences in course units (modules), the person shall eliminate the differences before the resumption of studies.

A person who studied in another higher education institution and terminated his studies may resume these studies in Vilnius University. In this case, the person must have completed the first semester without any academic debts and must submit a written application to the faculty (unit) where he wants to resume his studies. The learning outcomes of the person who wishes to continue studying in the University shall be credited after assessing their compliance with the requirements of the preferred study programme. The semester of the studies from which the student is allowed to continue to study shall depend on the ratio between the portion of the study programme completed by the student during his previous studies, and the course units (modules) of the study programme to which the student is admitted to continue the studies.