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Teaching
The course is exclusively by research.
All students in this programme will be members of the University's Postgraduate School of Life Sciences (PSLS), which offers a wide variety of core skills and professional development training. Visit the PSLS website Researcher Development page for more information. In addition, the Sanger Institute also provides students with general research and transferable skills training covering subjects such as bioinformatics, statistics, ethics, research integrity, scientific writing and presentation skills.
| One to one supervision | Students are supervised by their faculty members and postdoctoral scientists within the team daily or weekly. The supervisor, on average, will meet with the student on a one-on-one basis every two weeks to discuss progress with the student. The regularity with which postgraduate students meet with their supervisor varies throughout the year, but meetings are likely to be more frequent to start with, during the planning stages and the writing-up phase. All students should have the opportunity to seek formal feedback from their supervisor, and supervisors should have the opportunity to give such feedback. The University of Cambridge publishes an annual Code of Practice, which sets out the University's expectations regarding supervision. |
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| Seminars & classes | There is an active seminar programme on-site, and students can also attend seminars held in Cambridge. Students can also participate in a number of training courses in transferable and general research skills. |
| Lectures | Students are expected to attend the Institute's Postgraduate Student Lecture series, comprised of approximately thirty lectures by the Institute's faculty members, held in the first term. |
| Journal clubs | Students are expected to attend the fortnightly Students' Journal Club and participate in the programme of journal clubs held within their own research area. |
| Posters and Presentations | Students are expected to present their work at the research talks and laboratory meetings in their own research area. Students may also have opportunities to present their work at national and international scientific meetings. |
Feedback
Students will receive regular oral feedback and advice from their supervisor about performance and research direction throughout the course. Students can also expect to receive termly formal feedback reports via the online feedback and reporting system.
Assessment
Thesis / Dissertation
The examination for the one-year full-time or two-year part-time MPhil degree consists of a thesis of not more than 20,000 words in length, exclusive of tables, footnotes, bibliography, and appendices. It also includes an oral examination of the thesis and the general field of knowledge within which it falls.