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Teaching
The course is exclusively by research.
All students on 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 Researcher Development page on the PSLS website 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 member and postdoctoral scientists within the team on a daily or weekly basis. Their 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 during 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 are able to attend a number of training courses in transferable and general research skills. |
| Lectures | Students are expected to attend the Institute's Postgraduate Student Lecture series which comprises approximately thirty 45-minute lectures by the Institute's faculty members, held between October and February. |
| Journal clubs | Students are expected to attend the fortnightly Students' Journal Club. Students are also expected to 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 held within 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, and 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 degree of Master of Philosophy consists of a thesis, of not more than 20,000 words in length, exclusive of tables, footnotes, bibliography and appendices. The examination includes an oral examination on the thesis and on the general field of knowledge within which it falls.