Teaching
The PhD in Global Risk and Resilience is a 3-4 year full-time (up to 7 years part-time) programme of individual research on a topic agreed by the student and the Centre for the Study of Existential Risk (CSER) under the guidance of a staff member as the student's supervisor.
The PhD programme also includes development of transferable skills through broader activities and skills development within CSER and the Institute for Technology and Humanity (ITH).
PhD students are expected to attend weekly CSER Work-in-Progress (WiP) seminars. Students will be expected to present their work at CSER events each year, for example during one of the weekly WiP seminars or the Cambridge Conference on Catastrophic Risk. Students will also be encouraged to present their work at other institutional, national and international conferences.
At the discretion of the supervisor and the module convenors, students may be permitted to audit modules of the MPhil in Global Risk and Resilience and modules offered in other departments.
| One to one supervision |
All PhD students are assigned a Principal Research Supervisor and at least one Academic Advisor. It is likely that the student will also be assigned a Secondary Supervisor; this is assessed on a case-by-case basis and depends on the proposed topic and available supervisory expertise. The Primary Research Supervisor and student are expected to meet regularly on a 1:1 basis. Frequency of meetings will vary according to the need of the student and the nature and stage of their research. Further supervisory contact may occur during CSER seminars or activities. 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 |
PhD students are usually expected to attend weekly CSER seminars (Work-in-Progress Seminars) and other less frequent CSER activities (e.g., the CSER conference). |
| Lectures |
Attending lectures is optional, but students are encouraged to take advantage of lectures offered across the University that are relevant to their research. |
| Taught/Research Balance |
Entirely Research
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Feedback
Feedback on progress is provided through regular meetings with the Primary Research Supervisor.
Termly supervision reports are written and are made available to the student online. Students also obtain feedback through their first-year probationary review (3rd Term for full-time study, 4th or 5th Term for part-time study).
Assessment
Thesis / Dissertation
In their final year, students will be required to submit a thesis for examination. The thesis should not exceed 80,000 words including footnotes, tables, in-text citations, and figure captions, and excluding any appendices and the bibliography. The thesis is assessed by two examiners who then conduct an oral examination of the subject of the thesis and the general field within which it falls.
Other
All research students are admitted to the PhD degree on a probationary basis and will be asked to keep a log of their personal development opportunities and record attendance at seminars and other training opportunities throughout the first year.
Progression to the second year (or part-time equivalent) and registration for the PhD depends on a successful first-year (second-year for part-time students) review. This review involves the submission of a registration report, containing a plan of the thesis (i.e., a clear indication of how the PhD will develop in subsequent years), an account of research undertaken over the past year and forward planning (i.e., the personal development log), and a piece of written work (e.g. a draft chapter or preparatory study of some aspect of the research topic) of 10,000 words. The report will be reviewed and assessed via an oral examination chaired by two assessors.