Coronavirus Protocols

If you have mild symptoms, it is recommended to make an appointment at campussaludable@uc.cl to be treated at the San Joaquin Medical Center. Once at the doctor’s office, tell the receptionist that you are covered by the students’ health program and handle them your ID and student card, or any other valid student certificate. In the case that you need to buy a medical voucher, the payment will remain pending. If you have a fever, cough, shortness of breath, pain or pressure in the chest, go to the nearest emergency room according to your health insurance plan. Make sure to inform the receptionist that you have COVID-19 suggestive symptoms so the medical staff can activate the established protocols.
If you need to stay at a sanitary residence, please call +569 3949 9589 or send an email to residenciasrm@redsalud.gob.cl
All the information related to UC protocols for COVID-19 prevention is on the document called #CoronaVirusEnChile. Check the information here.
In case of doubts, please contact the government program Salud Responde at 600 360 7777. This line is available 24/7, and so is the email address campussaludable@uc.cl

• Information and benefits for UC students during the COVID-19 pandemic: check here
• Temporary suspension of Graduate School contests period due to COVID-19. Check the details here
• Guidance for flexibility regarding graduate requirements due to the sanitary emergency. This document is available to download here.

1. If you think you might have COVID-19, or if you are experiencing symptoms such as fever, cough and shortness of breath, seek medical attention at the UC-CHRISTUS Clinical Hospital, which is open at all times. This hospital is located on 347, Marcoleta street, Santiago Centro. You will need to show the receptionist your university card (TUC) or any other valid student certificate, and your ID.
2. In case of receiving medical attention at a different medical center, ask for a refund on MetLife’s website.
3. In case of mild symptoms, it is recommended to make an appointment at the San Joaquin Medical Center and send an email to ask for a refund to Ana María Román (aromani@uc.cl)

Yes, you can get it at the moment of your enrollment. You can also hire it directly at the Students Welfare Department (located on the third floor of the University Hall, at San Joaquin Campus) or sending an email to ecastrom@uc.cl – eestay@uc.cl.

At our UC Welfare Department you can access the following services:

• Psychological and psychiatric online counseling: You can learn more about this kind of service and how to make an appointment by entering the students’ health care department website.
• Online counseling for anxiety, stress and sleep disorders: To make an appointment for counseling, fill out the application form that you can find here.
• You can also access the UC Self-Help platform here.

VRI’s Graduate School will cover up to 9 semesters of permanence in the doctoral program as long as you are an active student with no other health care coverage either public or private, and no other scholarship such as ANID or any scholarship that covers health care.

Yes. Once the semester starts, you can drop courses of your current academic calendar by filling out an application form and submitting it to the corresponding Academic Uni. The deadline to drop a course is 8 weeks counting from the start of the semester (August 10, 2020), according to the calendar of UC academic and students activities of the Admissions Office.

Yes. Once the semester starts, you can drop CPD courses of your current academic calendar by filling an application form and submitting it to the VRI Graduates School, sending an email to curriculardoctorados@uc.cl with your full name, ID number, the doctoral program you belong to, NRC of the subject, acronym and section. The deadline to drop a course is 8 weeks counting from the beginning of the semester, according to the calendar of UC Academic and Students Activities of the Admissions Office.

You can request a Leave of Absence until August 28, presenting the required documentation here.

If you need to leave for a longer period of time, you can also request a seldom permission following the established protocol given by the Academic Admissions Office.

You can still apply for a leave of absence out of date, following the established protocol given by the Academic Admissions Office published here.

You can request a Leave of Absence until August 28, presenting the required documentation here.

If you need to leave for a longer period of time, you can also request a seldom permission following the established protocol given by the Academic Admissions Office.

Leave of Absence can only be granted for one semester, according to what has been established by the Academic Admissions Office on the calendar of UC activities for students and academics calendar, available here.
Students who need to drop out or quit their studies for medical reasons, whether physical or psychological, must apply to the Health Care Students Program for an evaluation. For further information, access saludestudiantil.uc.cl.

If withdrawing from your studies is the only option for you, please consider that the deadline to submit this decision to our Academic Admissions Office is December 4, 2020, according to what is published on the calendar of UC Activities for students and academics available here. Before making the decision, we strongly recommend you talk to your dissertation advisor and head of the program.

Remember that we understand “quitting” as your written intention of no longer continuing your doctoral studies, submitted to the Academic Admissions Office. To make this decision effective, you need to certify that you are “debt-free” from the University. Once your withdrawal is processed, you will not be able to take the same doctoral program for two years, starting from the end of the semester you quit. Please see the full list of details for withdrawing here.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it is recommended that students postpone their residency stays abroad until 2021. If not, and the chance of getting a degree is at risk, the Postgraduate or Doctoral Committee of each Academic Unit must suggest alternatives to carry out the graduation ceremony without it implying that the student has to relocate or travel. For further information and details, check our guidelines for the flexibility of graduation requirements due to COVID-19, available here (file number 0).

If you took the Advance English 1 Course (CPD7000) and passed it with a final grade above 5.5, the requirement will be met. The VRI Graduate School and the Academic Affairs Office will make sure to automatically confirm that you passed the CPD8000 and update your academic file unless you decide to take the certification test. If so, please send an email to curriculardoctorados@uc.cl before July 30, 2020.

If you had difficulties to make progress on your dissertation work due to the closing of labs or because you weren’t able to do field research, talk to your dissertation supervisor to define a back-up plan and complete other activities remotely (like writing articles or bibliography chapters), or reformulate either the project or some of its objectives if needed. If, after discussing the circumstance with your dissertation advisor, you’re still not able to make progress on your doctoral research, you can apply for a Leave of Absence or a Medical Leave, based on the situation you are going through. Check the procedures for both options.
Check the infographic on 10 Tips and Strategies for Doctoral Students to face COVID-19, available here (file 2)

Yes. There are programs already incorporating this format of online defenses via streaming services. Ask the doctoral management team about the steps to give a successful virtual presentation. We also made available some resources to support the presentations that are listed below.

Infographic on Tips to the Dissertation Defense online, available here (file 3)

Tips for making a virtual presentation to a remote audience, available here (file 4)

Yes. These scholarships are disbursed as usual, as long as your academic situation in the program remains regular. If your scholarship disbursement has been delayed, please send an email to Francis Silva: fsilva@uc.cl

No. Scholarship disbursements will stop because you will no longer be in a regular academic program. However, this disbursement may be reactivated once LOA notifies of your return. The only eligibility criteria to keep receiving the scholarship disbursement will be maternity leave.

VRI Scholarship disbursement could be extended to the Teaching Assistant Category for a maximum of one semester for those students who are overdue with their Candidature Milestones due to the COVID-19 pandemic, hence switching from the Teaching Assistant category to the Instructor Assistant category after two years. Regardless of the above, it is worth noting that this semester will be included in the 4 semesters of teaching assistant internship and it does not imply an extension in the end.

Given the sanitary conditions, competitions associated that imply traveling or relocation are temporarily suspended until December 2020. Students who were given awards in previous competitions, please prefer remote activities such as webinars, virtual seminars and workshops with experts of foreign academic institutions, or rescheduling activities such as internships for 2021.

If you have any questions, please contact concursosdoctorados@uc.cl

Only in exceptional cases, and if the sanitary conditions allow it, doctoral residencies will be evaluated considering the circumstances of each case and as long as there are no other accountable or viable alternatives endorsed by the doctoral program committees.
These conditions also apply to those joint supervisions with signed agreements or in the final stage of the process. To request an evaluation, please contact concursosdoctorados@uc.cl

The most important aspect is to protect your safety and your health. That is why it is essential to take extra sanitary precautions concerning your trip and accommodation. We recommend talking to your dissertation advisor and the doctorate committee, to see the possibility of rescheduling your doctoral stay date to a more adequate and safe one. On the other hand, considering the case, we recommend seeing the chance of developing part of the dissertation work remotely, as long as the research objectives and planning of your work can be achieved remotely and the host university allows it.

The temporary suspension of competitive calls is only due to sanitary conditions, so you should not cancel your plans for 2021. We recommend that you plan the arrangements and signature of the agreement in the meantime.

If you were granted the ANID scholarship, you are allowed to return to your country as long as the national state of emergency remains in place in response to the Coronavirus crisis. This authorization must be granted by the doctoral program you belong to. This absence will not be considered as a leave for academic reasons (with a maximum of 12 months). Check the available information on the FAQ section of ANID website here.
If you are a VRI Scholarship beneficiary, you can return to your country and keep receiving the benefits, as long as you are an active student in the program, you keep working on your dissertation and courses, and you have the Head of the Program’s authorization. The Graduate School will maintain the VRI scholarship disbursements while you are abroad and the sanitary conditions continue. This is an unusual situation due to the current circumstances and will not be permanent.

Yes, we will be informing you about the requirements and conditions to receive these scholarship benefits. This is an unusual situation due to the current circumstances and will not be permanent.

If you have a leave of absence for a semester, you won’t classify as an active student anymore. Therefore, in case you need to renew your student visa, you won’t be able to obtain a regular student certificate.
If you are awarded a VRI or an ANID scholarship, you will no longer be eligible to receive the benefits until you return to your program of study. This means that you will need to find a way to support yourself in the country and to prove a source of income. It is a personal decision and each student’s responsibility to accept and be aware of the consequences when making this decision.

Yes. Admissions cycles are on. Please check the doctoral academic offer and calendars on our website under Admissions Applications, events and tuition fees, available here.

Given the current sanitary circumstances, you may postpone your entry making the request to your program supervisor. Consider also that if you are a foreign student who received an ANID Scholarship, you may request a postponement of the starting date for your studies, and/or an extension of the deadline for signing.

See all the available services for students during the COVID-19 pandemic here.