| Postgraduate Study

The PGCert is part of the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership’s mission to empower individuals and organisations from the built environment to use leadership and collaboration to tackle critical global challenges facing our future.

This programme aims to:

Equip professionals for strategic decision making, inventive problem solving, and team leadership
Develop skills in effective collaboration and communication, particularly between clients, consultants, contractors, specialists and occupiers
Provide a strategic overview of the production of the built environment, including current challenges faced by the construction industry such as global climate change and sustainability.

The course is aimed at practising professionals with at least three years' work experience in the built environment since graduating and is for all those involved in the commissioning, design, construction and management of projects in the built environment. The course attracts students from a range of professions from across the sector including, but not limited to; architects, engineers, surveyors, asset managers, planners, landscape architects, project managers, facility managers, surveyors, urban designers, property developers and contractors, who wish to develop their understanding of and responses to the global challenges and opportunities facing the built environment. It is delivered by the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership.

The course is part-time and lasts for ten months. During that time, students spend two separate residential weeks studying in Cambridge as well as taking part in online modules. Each residential weeks comprises an intensive programme of formal lectures (from leading practitioners and university academics), workshops and seminars, and a design project in small interdisciplinary teams.

The programme explores how successful, sustainable built environment projects rely on the coordinated effort and visioning of multiple disciplines and professions, and it encourages the integration of skills between specialists from different background disciplines to improve project design.

The core modules are:

Leadership, professionalism and interdisciplinary practice
Sustainability and resilience
Innovation and technology
Design thinking
Research skills

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes

Knowledge and understanding

Knowledge of design opportunities and challenges emerging within the wider built environment discourse.
Knowledge of assumptions, methods, design criteria and motivations of built environment stakeholders beyond each student’s home discipline.
Understanding of the positive and negative impacts of students’ personal attitudes, values and behaviours within a team setting
Understanding of team roles and team behaviour
Knowledge of the structure of the construction industry
Knowledge of recent research in the field of the built environment
Awareness of sustainability and climate change and the broad range of mitigation and adaptation strategies in the built environment

Skills and other attributes

Intellectual skills

A systematic understanding of the status of knowledge and the way in which techniques of enquiry and research are used to create and produce new knowledge in the discipline.
A critical awareness of current issues and new insights emerging at the forefront of the discipline and which inform advanced professional practice.
The ability to pursue a reasoned argument, including the critical evaluation of assumptions, abstract concepts and evidence in the making of judgments, together with
the ability to frame appropriate questions to achieve a solution – or identify a range of
solutions – to a problem.
A reflective attitude towards practice and learning, including awareness of the differing (and sometimes conflicting) motivations and values of professional colleagues from other disciplines, and the criteria and expectations of users and other stakeholders including society at large.
A positive approach towards continuing professional development including an independent and self-directed learning ability to advance knowledge and understanding.
An understanding of professional ethics including personal and professional responsibilities to individuals and to wider society as a whole.

Practical skills

An understanding of techniques and methods applicable to the discipline, including the theoretical and practical limitations on their use in professional practice.
Demonstration of originality and inventiveness in the application of knowledge and the solving of problems.
Effective planning and implementation of design project work at a professional level, including decision-making in complex and unpredictable situations.
An ability to deal with complex issues systematically and creatively, make sound judgements in the absence of complete data, and communicate conclusions clearly to specialist and non-specialist audiences.

Transferable skills

Knowledge of available information sources and their effective use and implementation.
Development of academic rigour in identifying and analysing evidence and presenting it in written argument.
Intellectual curiosity and an ability to pursue it systematically.
Negotiation skills, including effective communication and collaboration and a constructive attitude to identifying and resolving conflict if and when it arises.
Informal presentation skills (communication within design team)
Formal presentation skills (communicating with the media)
Problem solving in a context of multiple criteria
Team membership and leadership skills.
Knowledge of research methods and the criteria of significance, rigour and originality
The conduct of a research project, including the carrying out of a literature search, the identification of research objectives, the framing of research questions, the gathering and
analysis of data, the drawing of conclusions, and an appreciation of the significance of the resulting findings including their limitations.

Open Days

The Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership runs 'Meet the Directors' virtual open day webinars throughout the admissions period. Visit the CISL website for dates and registration details.

Departments

This course is advertised in the following departments:

Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership

The Sustainability Leadership for the Built Environment master’s is part of the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership’s mission to empower individuals and organisations from the built environment to use leadership and collaboration to tackle critical global challenges facing our future.

This programme aims to:

Equip professionals for strategic decision making, inventive problem solving, and team leadership
Develop skills in effective collaboration and communication, particularly between clients, consultants, contractors, specialists and occupiers
Provide a strategic overview of the production of the built environment, including current challenges faced by the construction industry such as global climate change and sustainability.

The master's is aimed at practising professionals with at least three years' work experience in the built environment since graduating and is for all those involved in the commissioning, design, construction and management of projects in the built environment. The course attracts students from a range of professions from across the sector including, but not limited to; architects, engineers, surveyors, asset managers, planners, landscape architects, project managers, facility managers, surveyors, urban designers, property developers and contractors, who wish to develop their understanding of and responses to the global challenges and opportunities facing the built environment. It is delivered by the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership in association with the Departments of Architecture and Engineering.

The master's is part-time and lasts for two years. During that time, students spend six separate residential weeks studying in Cambridge at three-or four-month intervals as well as taking part in online modules. Each of these residential weeks comprises an intensive programme of formal lectures (from leading practitioners and university academics), workshops and seminars, and a design project in small interdisciplinary teams.

The core modules are:

Leadership, professionalism and interdisciplinary practice
Sustainability and resilience
Innovation and technology
Design thinking
Research skills

The programme examines these modules across a diversity of contexts:

Living environments
Working environments
Moving environments
Heritage environments
Future urban environments

Learning outcomes

1. The changing global context, the case for a radical shift from current systems and professional paradigms, and the role of built environment professionals

LO1A: Understand, analyse, and evaluate structural dimensions of global economic, environmental and social pressures and trends from a systems perspective

LO1B: Articulate, analyse, evaluate, and establish the need for radical changes in current systems and professional paradigms to address sustainability and resilience related challenges and opportunities

LO1C: Understand, analyse, assess, and generate the relationship of built environment professional practice to this systemic change

2. Sustainability and resilience and the potential pathways for achieving them, and managing synergies and trade-offs

LO2A: Understand, analyse, and assess essential theoretical concepts in sustainability and sustainable development literature and conceptual frameworks

LO2B: Identify, analyse, and evaluate the role of high-level pathways and change theories in achieving desired outcomes through systems change

LO2C: Identify, analyse, evaluate, and generate responses to address synergies, tensions and trade-offs in delivering and maintaining the sustainability and resilience of built environments

3. The leverage points that can shape sustainable and resilient outcomes in built environments, and levers such as design, innovation, technology and socio-cultural actions that control and influence leverage points

LO3A: Understand, analyse, and assess theoretical concepts and practical examples of the use of levers and leverage points to effect change in built environment practice

LO3B: Identify, analyse, evaluate, and apply a broad and deep range of research and best practice using levers and leverage points in organisations and professional practice to manage systems in order to achieve positive impact

4. Insight, knowledge and research for the design, delivery, management, and use of sustainable and resilient built environments

LO4A: Identify, analyse, critically evaluate and apply a broader and deeper range of existing academic and practitioner knowledge and insights to address sustainability challenges and opportunities

LO4B: Generate advanced primary and secondary research in individual and group contexts to formulate critical responses to sustainability, resilience, and interdisciplinary practice challenges and opportunities.

5. Personal, team, organisational and professional leadership and effective action as an agent of change in diverse built environment contexts

LO5A: Identify, develop, assess, and apply advanced concepts that enhance the skills, knowledge and competencies that support effective leadership and teamworking

LO5B: Engage with, develop, critically evaluate, and apply concepts of leadership through reflective practice as a competency to improve personal and professional practice

LO5C: Identify, develop, and generate impact through individual contribution to effective action as an agent of change

LO5D: Identify, develop, and generate impact through interdisciplinary and collective collaborations to effect positive outcomes

6. Communication and engagement, individually and collaboratively, to advance the sustainability agenda

LO6A: Create clear, concise and logically ordered written and verbal communications appropriate to an advanced academic level, and professional contexts

LO6B: Contribute to and generate effective and collaborative engagement with peers and wider networks as part of learning and practice communities

Open Days

The Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership runs 'Meet the Directors' virtual open day webinars throughout the admissions period. Visit the CISL website for dates and registration details.

Departments

This course is advertised in the following departments:

Through a combination of interdisciplinary insights, academic analysis, practical business application, peer learning and personal reflection, the Master's aims to develop a community of leaders who have:

a wide awareness and deep understanding of the social, environmental, ethical and economic challenges and opportunities facing the world
the vision and ambition to drive business leadership to achieve real systems change
the knowledge, experience and ability to critically evaluate a range of strategic levers for change
the leadership capacity and confidence at a personal and organisational level to best use these levers to effect transformation

Learning outcomes

The list below indicates the expected learning outcomes of the programme. The learning outcomes for the PGCert and PGDip are included to show the progression between CISL’s portfolio of qualifications.

1. The changing global context, the case for a radical shift from current systems, and the role of business

Understand, analyse and evaluate structural dimensions of global economic, environmental and social pressures and trends from a multi-disciplinary and systems perspective
Articulate, analyse, evaluate and establish the need for radical shifts in current systems to address challenges and opportunities
Understand, analyse, assess and generate the case for business leading systemic change

2. A sustainable future, and the potential synergies, tensions in achieving it

Understand, analyse and assess conceptualisations of sustainability and key dimensions of a sustainable future, such as regeneration, inclusion, net zero carbon and resilience
Identify, analyse, evaluate and generate responses to address synergies and tensions between dimensions of a sustainable future

3. Potential levers, leverage points and pathways to achieve change both within and beyond organisations to
achieve sustainability

Identify, analyse, evaluate and apply a broad and deep range of research and best practices on levers and leverage points for embedding sustainability within organisations
Identify, analyse evaluate and apply a broad and deep range of research and best practices on levers and leverage points that are applied beyond organisations for wider system change
Identify, analyse and evaluate pathways and apply a broad and deep range of change theories and innovations within and beyond an organisation and at a wider system level

4. Personal and collective leadership and effective action as an agent of change

Identify, demonstrate, develop, assess and apply advanced concepts that enhance the thinking, values and practices that support effective personal and collective leadership
Identify, demonstrate, develop and generate impact through personal contribution to effective action as an agent of change

5. Sustainability insights, knowledge and research for specific contexts

Identify, analyse, evaluate and apply a broader and deeper range of existing academic and practitioner insights and knowledge to address sustainability challenges and opportunities in specific contexts
Generate advanced sustainability-relevant research in an individual and group context

6. Communication and engagement, individually and collaboratively, to advance the sustainability agenda

Create clear, concise and logically ordered written and verbal communications appropriate to an advanced academic level, and organisational contexts
Generate effective and collaborative engagement with peers and wider networks as part of a learning community

Open Days

The Institute holds 'Meet the Directors' webinars periodically throughout the admissions periods. Please check the CISL events webpages for details of upcoming webinars.

The Master’s in Sustainability Leadership is part of CISL’s mission to empower individuals and organisations to take leadership to tackle critical global challenges.

More specifically, through a combination of interdisciplinary insights, academic analysis, practical business application, peer-learning and personal reflection, it aims to develop a community of leaders who have:

a wide awareness and deep understanding of the social, environmental, ethical and economic challenges and opportunities facing the world;
the vision and ambition to drive business leadership to achieve real systems change;
the knowledge, experience and ability to critically evaluate a range of strategic levers for change; and
the leadership capacity and confidence at a personal and organisational level to best use these levers to effect transformation.

The following taught modules are delivered. They comprise both in-person teaching at residential workshops and online learning.

Module 1: Foundational concepts (for sustainability)
Module 2: Levers within organisations (for wider sustainability impact)
Module 3: Enabling levers for sustainability (for sustainability)
Module 4: Levers beyond organisations (for sustainability)
Module 5: Leadership for sustainability
Module 6: Academic skills

Learning outcomes

1. The changing global context, the case for a radical shift from current systems, and the role of business

Understand, analyse and evaluate structural dimensions of global economic, environmental and social pressures and trends from a multi-disciplinary and systems perspective
Articulate, analyse, evaluate and establish the need for radical shifts in current systems to address challenges and opportunities
Understand, analyse, assess and generate the case for business leading systemic change

2. A sustainable future, and the potential synergies, tensions in achieving it

Understand, analyse and assess conceptualisations of sustainability and key dimensions of a sustainable future, such as regeneration, inclusion, net zero carbon and resilience
Identify, analyse, evaluate and generate responses to address synergies and tensions between dimensions of a sustainable future

3. Potential levers, leverage points and pathways to achieve change both within and beyond organisations to achieve sustainability

Identify, analyse, evaluate and apply a broad and deep range of research and best practices on levers and leverage points for embedding sustainability within organisations
Identify, analyse evaluate and apply a broad and deep range of research and best practices on levers and leverage points that are applied beyond organisations for wider system change
Identify, analyse and evaluate pathways and apply a broad and deep range of change theories and innovations within and beyond an organisation and at a wider system level

4. Personal and collective leadership and effective action as an agent of change

Identify, demonstrate, develop, assess and apply advanced concepts that enhance the thinking, values and practices that support effective personal and collective leadership
Identify, demonstrate, develop and generate impact through personal contribution to effective action as an agent of change

5. Sustainability insights, knowledge and research for specific contexts

Identify, analyse, evaluate and apply a broader and deeper range of existing academic and practitioner insights and knowledge to address sustainability challenges and opportunities in specific contexts
Generate advanced sustainability-relevant research in an individual and group context

6. Communication and engagement, individually and collaboratively, to advance the sustainability agenda

Create clear, concise and logically ordered written and verbal communications appropriate to an advanced academic level, and organisational contexts
Generate effective and collaborative engagement with peers and wider networks as part of a learning community

Open Days

The Institute holds 'Meet the Directors' webinars periodically throughout the admissions periods. Please check the CISL events webpages for details of upcoming webinars.

The Master of Surgery (MChir) by thesis is a research degree which is open to clinicians only and serves an important role in the development of the career of trainee surgeons, affording them an opportunity to carry out academic research, in a clinical (or laboratory) setting across a broad range of departments and faculties.

This degree would be attractive to surgeons who would like to pursue a clinical career but would also like to formalise research effort and experience during training. This would be well suited to all types of rotational trainee surgeons in the East of England, who rotate through Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (CUH). Similarly, it would provide an opportunity for clinical surgical fellows, for example those attached to CUH for 2 years, to undertake translational research in Addenbrooke's and have this recognised by the University of Cambridge.

The degree also supports an interdisciplinary approach potentially involving a supervisory team drawn from different areas of the University (eg. departments within the Schools of Clinical Medicine and Biological Sciences and the Department of Engineering) as well as clinicians working within the Cambridge University Health Partnership (CUHP) or other health trusts within the East of England.

The degree is a part-time degree with a minimum period before which a thesis can be submitted of one year and a maximum period before which it must be submitted of 4 years. As students must have completed the equivalent of six terms of study to submit their thesis, it is only under exceptional circumstances that a student would plan to submit their thesis after only one year - this would be discussed with your proposed supervisor prior to making your application. Generally, students should expect to study for a minimum of two years.

The degree aims to allow engagement with research with a view to the writing of a thesis.

The thesis should not exceed 20,000 words (excluding references and notes) and must represent a significant contribution to learning, for example through the discovery of new knowledge, the connection of previously unrelated facts, the development of a new theory, or the revision of older views, and must take account of previously published work on the subject.

Most time will be spent working independently, but the department, supervisor and College will support you throughout the degree.

The Degree will allow attendance at regular seminars in your subject area and involvement in the social life of your department and College.

Learning outcomes

By the end of the programme, students will have:

a comprehensive understanding of techniques, and a thorough knowledge of the literature, applicable to their own research;
demonstrated originality in the application of knowledge, together with a practical understanding of how research and enquiry are used to create and interpret knowledge in their field;
shown abilities in the critical evaluation of current research and research techniques and methodologies;
demonstrated some self-direction and originality in tackling and solving problems, and acted autonomously in the planning and implementation of research.

Continuing

Those who wish to progress to a PhD after completing the Master in Surgery degree will be required to satisfy their potential supervisor, Head of Department and the Faculty Degree Committee that they have the skills and ability to achieve the higher degree.

Open Days

The University hosts and attends fairs and events throughout the year, in the UK and across the world. We also offer online events to help you explore your options:

Discover Cambridge: Master’s and PhD study webinars - these Spring events provide practical information about applying for postgraduate study.
Postgraduate Virtual Open Days - taking place in November each year, the Open Days focus on subject and course information.

For more information about upcoming events visit our events pages.

Central to our research strategy in the Department of Surgery is a strong clinical emphasis and a shared mission to improve the surgical management of disease through basic and translational research, together with clinical trials. Our ‘bench to bedside’ focus links laboratory work to applied clinical research and a key feature of the Department is the close integration of University and NHS surgeons.

Our main clinical themes are:

Transplantation
Trauma and orthopaedic surgery
Urology
Vascular surgery

These broad clinical themes are aligned to world class underpinning research strengths in stem cell medicine, immunology, organ perfusion, cell biology and surgical oncology.

Specific research training relevant to your own project will be given by the team in which you work.

Further training is provided within the Addenbrooke's Biomedical campus and elsewhere in the University and includes postgraduate workshops on research techniques, research seminars, and postgraduate student education seminars on generic subjects such as intellectual property rights, statistics, bioinformatics, communication skills, writing a thesis or paper, entrepreneurship.

The course introduces students to research skills and specialist knowledge. Its main aims are:

to give students with relevant experience at a first-degree level the opportunity to carry out focused research in the discipline under close supervision; and
to give students the opportunity to acquire or develop skills and expertise relevant to their research interests.

Learning outcomes

During the course of this study, programme students will be expected to:

read and assimilate relevant background information;
formulate a clear and well-defined hypothesis;
design an experimental strategy to address the hypothesis;
acquire the necessary skills and carry out laboratory work;
interpret experimental data appropriately and draw sound conclusions; and
write a suitably detailed and formatted thesis.

Continuing

Those who wish to progress to a PhD after completing an MPhil will be required to satisfy their potential supervisor, Head of Department and the Faculty Degree Committee that they have the skills and ability to achieve a higher degree and have funding in place.

Open Days

The University hosts and attends fairs and events throughout the year, in the UK and across the world. We also offer online events to help you explore your options:

Discover Cambridge: Master’s and PhD study webinars - these Spring events provide practical information about applying for postgraduate study.

Postgraduate Virtual Open Days - taking place in November each year, the Open Days focus on subject and course information.

For more information about upcoming events visit our events pages.

This PhD course is part of the Centre for Doctoral Training (CDT) programme in Superconductivity: Enabling Transformative Technologies, led by the University of Bristol.

The CDT will create a step change in superconductivity training in the UK by using a cohort-based approach to provide a diverse new generation of researchers with the interdisciplinary and teamwork skills required to develop transformative technologies needed to engineer Net-Zero, advance healthcare, and deliver novel quantum devices.

The programme will provide the skills that are strongly needed by industry which is expanding in various directions to address the challenges outlined above. Experimental projects will train students in practical skills such as cryogenics, materials synthesis and characterisation, precision measurements, instrument development, and working at international facilities. Theoretical/computational projects will train students in advanced theoretical and computational techniques such as machine learning.

Open Days

The CDT will arrange open days at which prospective students can meet a diverse group of students and researchers associated with the CDT. Potential applicants are encouraged to attend the open days at a minimum of two of the three participating universities (Cambridge, Bristol and Oxford), so they get a broad perspective on what we are offering across the CDT and meet several of our potential supervisors.

The University hosts and attends fairs and events throughout the year, in the UK and across the world. We also offer online events to help you explore your options:

Discover Cambridge: Master’s and PhD study webinars - these Spring events provide practical information about applying for postgraduate study.

Postgraduate Virtual Open Days - taking place in November each year, the Open Days focus on subject and course information.

For more information about upcoming events visit our events pages.

Departments

This course is advertised in the following departments:

Department of Engineering

The MPhil in Strategy, Marketing, Operations and Organisational Behaviour (SMOOB) is an intensive nine-month programme that prepares you for continuation to the Cambridge Judge Business School (CJBS) PhD in the fields of strategic management, marketing, operations and technology management, or organisational behaviour.

The educational aims of the programme are to prepare students for doctoral work in the fields of strategic management, marketing, operations and technology management, or organisational behaviour at CJBS. The programme is an integral part of the CJBS PhD programme for these fields, by:

providing teaching in research methodology, in particular in econometrics and mathematical modelling;
providing teaching in foundational subjects, such as economics;
providing research seminars in which students will learn about the current debates in their field of specialisation, and about the canonical literature that underpins these debates;
providing guidance on the structuring, writing and critiquing of academic research papers;
giving students the opportunity to experience research first-hand, either through an individual research project or a dissertation.

Learning outcomes

By the end of the course students should have:

critiqued research papers on the basis of content and methodology;
developed and defended a research proposal for their subsequent PhD year, including a clearly articulated research question, its positioning in the literature, and appropriate research methodology:
acquired or consolidated foundational knowledge and methodological skills necessary for research in their chosen field of specialisation;
demonstrated an ability to critique research papers; and
presented their own ideas in a public forum and learned to contribute constructively within an international environment.

Continuing

Students may apply to continue to the PhD, but success is subject to satisfactory performance at the admissions interview in the Lent Term 2026, and achieving a minimum average grade of at least 70 per cent on the MPhil in Strategy, Marketing, Operations, and Organisational Behaviour. Students are required to also achieve at least 70 per cent in their dissertation (if not replaced by additional modules).

Open Days

The University hosts and attends fairs and events throughout the year, in the UK and across the world. We also offer online events to help you explore your options:

Discover Cambridge: Master’s and PhD study webinars - these Spring events provide practical information about applying for postgraduate study.

Postgraduate Virtual Open Days - taking place in November each year, the Open Days focus on subject and course information.

For more information about upcoming events visit our events pages.

Cambridge Judge Business School also hosts Experience Days throughout the year. Please see Cambridge Judge Business School wide-events page for further information.

The Cambridge Stem Cell Institute (CSCI) is a world-leading centre for stem cell research. Its mission is to transform human health through a deep understanding of stem cell biology. Our scientists study stem cell behaviour, both normal and pathological, and use their findings to improve the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of diseases.

The Institute currently consists of 27 outstanding research groups working across three key research themes: Stem Cell States, Stem Cells in Disease, and Stem Cells & Therapeutics.

The Institute offers this Masters (MPhil) programme to students under the supervision of a Principal Investigator ('Principal Supervisor') during their research project. During the MPhil, students are based in a research group, supported by their Principal Supervisor and associated laboratory staff.

We welcome applications from individuals wanting to work towards a Masters (MPhil) in any of the labs belonging to the Cambridge Stem Cell Institute (CSCI) - a list of CSCI Principal Investigators can be found on the website.

Successful applicants must meet the University's minimum academic admissions criteria.

The Masters course introduces students to research skills and specialist knowledge. Its main aims are:

to give students with relevant experience at a first-degree level, the opportunity to carry out focused research on stem cell biology under close supervision

to give students the opportunity to acquire or develop skills and expertise relevant to their research interests

Learning outcomes

By the end of the course, students will be able to demonstrate:

Advanced knowledge and understanding of stem cell biology and biological mechanisms of disease through attendance and engagement at the lecture series;

A broad understanding of modern research techniques applicable to human biomedical science from the series of technical lectures;

In-depth knowledge of the background to their selected research project including the research techniques and methods of data analysis used;

Knowledge of the theoretical approaches relevant to their specialisation and demonstrate training in critical thinking relevant to their chosen project;

Expertise in research methods, data analysis and statistics;

Originality in the application of knowledge, together with the practical understanding of how research and enquiry are used to create and interpret knowledge in the field, obtained through undertaking the prolonged research project;

A broad overview of research in medical science as well as career opportunities both in research and industry.

Continuing

Continuation from MPhil to PhD is possible, although it is not automatic. Those who wish to study for a PhD after completing an MPhil will be required to satisfy their potential Supervisor, Head of Department, and the Faculty Degree Committee that they have the skills and ability to achieve the higher degree. All applicants are judged on their own merits based on a number of factors, including evidence of progress and research potential, a sound research proposal, the availability of a suitable Supervisor and the resources required for the research.

Further information on continuing students can be found here.

Open Days

The University hosts and attends fairs and events throughout the year, in the UK and across the world. We also offer online events to help you explore your options:

Discover Cambridge: Master’s and PhD study webinars - these Spring events provide practical information about applying for postgraduate study.
Postgraduate Virtual Open Days - taking place in November each year, the Open Days focus on subject and course information.

For more information about upcoming events visit our events pages.

The Cambridge Stem Cell Institute (CSCI) is a world-leading centre for stem cell research. Its mission is to transform human health through a deep understanding of stem cell biology. Our scientists study stem cell behaviour, both normal and pathological, and use their findings to improve the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of diseases.

The Institute currently consists of 27 outstanding research groups working across three key research themes: Stem Cell States, Stem Cells in Disease, and Stem Cells & Therapeutics.

Specialist postgraduate training in Stem Cell Biology and Medicine is essential to produce a stream of highly skilled and innovative investigators equipped with a deep understanding of stem cell science and its significance for future medicine.

Our overarching goal is to produce well-trained and rounded PhD postgraduates who have generated significant and original research findings and are fully prepared for an ambitious and challenging career, whether continuing in stem cell science or moving to another profession.

The Institute offers this PhD programme of research under the individual supervision of a Principal Investigator. During their PhD, students are based in a research group, supported by their Principal Supervisor, and a Postgraduate Education Committee and Postgraduate Student Committee.

Students write a thesis assessed via an oral examination (viva).

The PhD introduces students to research skills and specialist knowledge. Its main aims are:

to give students with relevant experience at a first-degree level the opportunity to carry out focused research in the discipline under close supervision
to give students the opportunity to acquire or develop skills and expertise relevant to their research interests

Learning outcomes

By the end of their PhD, students should:

have a thorough knowledge of the literature and a comprehensive understanding of scientific methods and techniques applicable to their own research
be able to demonstrate originality in the application of knowledge, together with a practical understanding of how research and enquiry are used to create and interpret knowledge in their field
have developed the ability to critically evaluate current research and research techniques and methodologies
have self-direction and originality in tackling and solving problems
be able to act autonomously in the planning and implementation of research
have gained oral presentation and scientific writing skills

Continuing

Those who wish to progress to the PhD after completing an MPhil will be required to satisfy their potential Supervisor, Head of Department and the Faculty Degree Committee that they have the skills and ability to achieve the higher degree.

Further information for continuing students can be seen here.

Open Days

The University hosts and attends fairs and events throughout the year, in the UK and across the world. We also offer online events to help you explore your options:

Discover Cambridge: Master’s and PhD study webinars - these Spring events provide practical information about applying for postgraduate study.
Postgraduate Virtual Open Days - taking place in November each year, the Open Days focus on subject and course information.

For more information about upcoming events visit our events pages.

Learning outcomes

Open Days

Departments

Learning outcomes

Open Days

Departments

Learning outcomes

Open Days

Learning outcomes

Open Days

Learning outcomes

Continuing

Open Days

Learning outcomes

Continuing

Open Days

Open Days

Departments

Learning outcomes

Continuing

Open Days

Learning outcomes

Continuing

Open Days

Learning outcomes

Continuing

Open Days

Postgraduate Admissions Office

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