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Teaching
One to one supervision | Postgraduate students are expected to meet regularly with their supervisor and update their student log to reflect those meetings. In addition, students also have a "second supervisor", or adviser, whom they may meet termly. An adviser maybe someone who can advise on certain aspects of the thesis, but can also advise on the overall shape of a student's project. In addition, the department provides support and annual reviews with the course directors. The University of Cambridge publishes an annual Code of Practice which sets out the University’s expectations regarding supervision. The supervisor will provide written feedback to the student each term with progress reports submitted online. The feedback will relate to the progress the student has made and include a specific comment on their research project. This will be discussed with the student in advance of the submission of the report to the University. |
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Seminars & classes | There is a student seminar every Friday where two students present their work, this is open to all staff and students in the Department. Students will do a seminar once each year they are with us, so three times for PhD and one for an MPhil. The student seminars are an important part of the PhD/MPhil journey and a chance to hear about other research that is going on in the Department as there is a wide range of research being carried out. The Department also has Thursday seminars which are open to the Department, these are generally weekly, but may vary depending on availability of speakers. |
Journal clubs | There is a student lead journal club that is run by the student rep as well as student open meetings where only students attend to discuss topics and a chance to interact with their peers. |
Posters and Presentations | Each group has lab meetings where staff and students will get a chance to present. Depending on research groups there could be opportunities to go to conferences to present, this will vary within each group. |
Feedback
The Education team meets with all students annually to review progress. In addition, the Education team are available at any time to receive feedback from students or meet them to discuss any matters arising. The principal supervisor will write an online progress report at the end of each term, and these can be accessed by the student.
Assessment
Thesis / Dissertation
All PhD students are required to submit a thesis of no more than 60,000 words within a maximum of four years of study (full-time). This is examined at a viva by two examiners, one internal and one external.
Other
All PhD students are probationary in their first year and are required to undergo formal assessment (by written report and viva) at the end of their first year, which they must pass.
If successful, the student moves from being "probationary" to being formally registered for the PhD and can proceed with their project.