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PhD First Year Probationary Review Requirements

You need to submit a report as part of the first year probationary review assessment process, as well as attending the compulsory elements of our training programme. You can find detailed information regarding the first year probationary review here . This webpage includes important information that is specific to the Chemistry Department and includes information on submission, assessment and outcome.

In your first year, you are registered for the PhD (Probationary) in Chemistry. Towards the end of your first year you will need to write a report for the probationary review process, in which your progress and aptitude for continuing to doctoral research is carefully assessed. If all goes well, you will emerge from this process registered for the PhD. If it goes less well, a range of options exist to try to help get you back on track or identify a suitable pathway for you.

The format of the report is not strictly laid down and quite flexible however, in addition to covering the research work completed in this year it should contain a review of the appropriate literature and a clear indication of the way in which you expect your PhD project to develop (future work).  There is no minimum length but it must not exceed 12,000 words, including summary/abstract, tables and footnotes, but excluding table of contents, photographs, diagrams, figure captions, list of figures/diagrams, list of abbreviations/acronyms, bibliography, appendices and acknowledgements. The Degree Committee will not normally accept any reports that go over the word limit. 

Your Supervisor will advise on length, style and content and will have examples of recent reports you can look at: you should also find a ‘good’ report or thesis in your lab before you start to give you an idea of what you should be aiming for. Please also take note of the university  plagiarism rules and research best practice before you begin.

Note 1 : Derivations, code and spectra should routinely be included in the first year report as Appendices, unless they form part of the connected argument presented in the report. 

Note 2 : Experimentalists who find that their experimental section is taking them over the 12,000 word count should retain only the key compounds in the Experimental Section (part of the main report body, i.e. included in the word count); all other compounds (including preparation method and experimental data) should be moved to an Appendix entitled 'Supporting Information', i.e. rendering them excluded from the word count.

Note 3 : Occasionally, it may be necessary to submit information electronically that it is not possible to include in the printed version, e.g. datasets, movies/simulations or computer code. If you need to take up this option and are unsure of how to do this, please contact the Postgraduate Student Co-ordinator . It will not be included as a part of the materials uploaded onto Moodle in the Degree Committee submission process.

Note 4 : For the first year report, there is no requirement to include a Declaration at the beginning of the report because it is all included in the form which you submit where you will also required to declare that you have completed all of the first year compulsory elements. For a PhD however, a Declaration is required as part of the thesis; details of what this needs to say can be found at here.

What if I am Missing Some Data?

It is not completely unusual to have missing analytical data at the time of your first year report submission however, you should aim to have a complete report including all analytical data if possible. However, if you are missing some data and are worried, please get in touch with the Postgraduate Education Team or inform your supervisor. 

What to Submit and Where?

By the deadlines for you first year report, all students must upload to the Degree Committee Student Submissions course in Moodle:

• A pdf of your report. Please name your report file in the format of [Surname]_[FirstName]_Report
• A completed Probationary Review Declaration & Certificate of Submission form ( Submitting your first-year report ) saved as a .pdf with the naming format of [Surname]_[FirstName]_Certificate.

Please also note that no reports should be submitted by students to Assessors via email: you may only be Assessed on copies uploaded to Moodle.

Should you wish to make a voluntary disclosure of any disability/chronic illness that might affect the conduct of your viva please complete this  disclosure form  and submit to the email a copy to the Postrgaduate Student Co-ordinator  and  Degree Committee . You should do this up to two months in advance of the submission deadline to allow the Degree Committee to make appropriate arrangements for your viva - you should not wait until you are ready to submit to notify the Degree Committee as this could delay the date of your viva.

When to Submit?

Your submission  deadlines  vary according to when you begin your PhD. The current report submission deadlines can be found here on the degree committee website.

If you are unable to meet your submission deadline then, where there is a genuine problem, it may be possible to obtain an extension. You should contact the Postgraduate Student Co-ordinator as soon as you anticipate having to submit late .

** Please note that if you need to obtain approval from an Industrial sponsor before submitting your report this should be taken into account during the planning stages of your report. Sponsor approval DOES NOT constitute a valid reason for applying for an extension to your deadline for either a First Year Probationary Report or ultimately your PhD.

How do I organise my viva?

1. Before your submission date you will be informed as to who your two Assessors will be: one of whom is your Academic Mentor and one recommended by your Supervisor, both officially appointed by the Degree Committee.  We will also invite you to submit a form if you wish to make a voluntary disclosure of any disability that might affect the conduct of your viva .  You will need to submit the form (should you require it) and your provisional viva date to the Postgraduate Student Co-ordinator at your earliest convenience.

2.  You may then contact your Assessors to arrange a provisional viva date and time: in order to allow sufficient time following submission for checks, release of reports to Assessors and completion of pre-oral reports, please arrange this no sooner than two weeks from submission date .  No provisional vivas should be arranged to take place before this and you may find that some Assessors prefer to wait until your report is in hand before they agree to set the provisional viva date. If you have any difficulty organising your provisional viva date, please let the Postgraduate Student Co-ordinator know and we will assist you.

What Happens After Submission of the Report?

• Degree Committee will check and release your report to your assessors, who will then be able to download directly from Moodle.
• If you do not already have your provisional viva date and time set, you need to do so as soon after submission as possible. 
• The Assessors will read your report and each prepare a brief independent preliminary report on it before the oral examination.

Please note: Assessment should ideally be completed within 2 months of submission and within 4 weeks of submission wherever possible.

What Happens in the Viva/ Oral Assessment?

• You should be prepared to give a 10 minute talk, introducing your project background, aims, results and projected future work to your Assessors (check with them beforehand the best format for this, e.g. projecting ppt onto a screen, using ppt on the computer, ‘chalk and talk’).
• You will be asked about all aspects of your report and possibly about your training by the Assessors in a session usually lasting for around one hour, sometimes longer.

What Happens After the Viva/ Oral Assessment in Straightforward Cases?

In most cases, the situation is straightforward (around 90% progress onto PhD) and the following process occurs:

• The Assessors submit their independent pre-assessment and joint post-assessment reports to the Postgraduate Student Co-ordinator; these are then uploaded to Moodle.
• The Degree Committee will send the Assessors’ reports to you as feedback. The reports will also be sent to the Department's Postgraduate Education team and to your Supervisor. 
• Your Supervisor will be asked to comment on your progress in the light of the Assessors’ reports by email, and to indicate his or her support for the assessors recommendation, as well as to confirm your PhD project title. 
• The Department's Postgraduate Education Team will consider the Assessors’ reports together with your Supervisor’s comments and recommend an outcome to the Degree Committee on CAMSIS. The Degree Committee will then confirm to Student Registry on the details of your registration, and your status on CAMSIS should change shortly thereafter. 

What Happens if There is a Negative or Inconclusive Recommendation?

In some cases it is less clear and the Department/Degree Committee will then recommend alternative pathways to students .  The Departmental actions described below are IN ADDITION to the procedures set out for First Year Probationary Review by the Degree Committee and designed to provide the smoothest path possible for students who do not progress to PhD in a straightforward way.

In such cases, the Degree Committee will consider appropriate future steps in consultation with the Department. Anybody for whom Assessors recommend some specific action (e.g. resubmission of the 1st year report) or who are experiencing difficulties at the end of the first year will meet with a member of the Postgraduate Education Team so that, in conjunction with advice from your Supervisor, your Assessors and yourself, we can work out how best to support you at this stage and give the right outcome. 

a)  Continue to PhD following acceptable resubmission of first year report within three months of initial Assessment :

In all cases of this type, the following procedure is usually followed:

• Upon the submission of Assessor forms which indicate that a report needs to be rewritten, the Degree Committee will notify you, your Supervisor and the Postgraduate Student Co-ordinator (GSC).
• With the Assessor comments in hand, the Postgraduate Education Manager will speak with the student and their Supervisor (in a joint meeting) to ensure the pathway being followed is optimal for the student. 
• This conversation and the agreed pathway forward will then be communicated by email to the student, Supervisor, first year report Assessors and Postgraduate Student Co-ordinator: all parties are then invited to make alterations to the proposed plan of action and areas in which the student needs to demonstrate improvement.  The Postgraduate Student Co-ordinator will retain all this information, as an accurate record agreed by all those involved, including any future communications.
• Following resubmission/assessment of an acceptable report, the Assessors may if they wish allow the student to proceed without a second viva , subject to the quality of the revised report and the other actions that the student has taken following their initial recommendations.
• The student’s Supervisor will follow Degree Committee guidance (which is communicated by email and bespoke to each individual case) for registration of student following successful completion of First Year Probationary Review at this second opportunity.

b)  Other options :

Every student who does not undergo a satisfactory first year probationary review will normally be first given the option of re-writing their report within three months to a standard appropriate for progression to PhD.  However, there may be cases where the report is still not of this standard or it is agreed prior to such a re-write that the student will progress via an alternative route and in these cases, the following recommendations are possible:

• Change Degree Registration from PhD to MPhil
• Leave with a Certificate of Postgraduate Studies (CPGS)
• De-registration and withdrawal with no formal outcome

If you are asked to leave at the end of the first year with either a CPGS or MPhil for a variety of reasons, the following procedure will be followed:

• The student will normally be interviewed by the Postgraduate Education Manager;
• A summary of the discussion and conclusion will be sent to the Postgraduate Student Coordinator, the student and the student’s Supervisor;
• Student will need to confirm that they agree with the summary, have discussed the recommendation with their Departmental Academic Mentor and College Postgraduate or Senior Tutor prior to taking the next steps.

The Degree Committee will consider the Assessors reports and the Department’s recommendation and make a considered recommendation on how to proceed to the Board of Postgraduate Studies. The next steps will vary depending on what that recommendation is and are as follows:

If the recommendation is to change degree registration from probationary PhD to MPhil:

• The student will write up and submit the MPhil thesis in a time-frame agreed by the Department, their Supervisor, the Degree Committee and Student Registry (normally not more than three months).
• The MPhil thesis will be examined by two Examiners (usually one internal, one external) and a viva carried out with the Examiners and student.

If the recommendation is to write up and leave with a  Certificate of Postgraduate Studies (CPGS) :

• If it is considered that a student will not be able to generate sufficient material for an MPhil, they will usually be offered the opportunity to have their first year’s work considered for a CPGS and then leave.
• The student will then write up and submit a CPGS report in a time-frame agreed by the Department, their Supervisor, the Degree Committee and Student Registry (usually one month, normally not more than three months).
• The report submitted will normally be examined by two Examiners (usually both internal) and a viva carried out with the Examiners and student.

If the recommendation is to remove you from the University Register of Students with no formal outcome (also applies to MPhil students), we will do everything we can to properly support you through this process.

Funding: all students who embark upon a PhD will do so with funding which is specifically intended for students carrying out a full PhD.  If the decision is made to transfer Degree Registration from Probationary PhD to MPhil or write up and leave with a CPGS, extensive consultation with student and supervisor will be carried out, including a full financial assessment.  Normally, up to 3 months funding will be offered where required to complete any dissertation/thesis, typically drawn from the same source of funds that is currently supporting the student, unless the Sponsor objects, in which case it will be from Department reserves.

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1st Year Report & Formal Registration for the PhD Degree

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Formal Registration for the PhD Degree:  First Year Report

You will be required to present a First Year Report for assessment by two assessors appointed by the Degree Committee during your third term of research.   The assessors’ reports will be the basis upon which the Degree Committee will recommend your formal registration for the PhD degree to the Board of Graduate Studies.

The First Year Report is required as evidence of your ability to prepare a piece of extended writing, while also providing the two assessors with sufficient information to form a judgement about the likelihood of successful completion.  The assessors need to be satisfied that the work is feasible as a PhD and that it is progressing at an appropriate rate which can be brought to a successful conclusion within a three year period.  You will be required to undertake an oral assessment which will take about an hour (this usually takes place in June if you are an October starter) with at least two assessors, neither of whom will be your supervisor.  A report will be made by the assessors on:  i) the outcome of the assessment, ii) their recommendation on registration and progression and iii) any feedback they wish to provide to you and your supervisor.

What to Submit:

You will need to submit your First Year Report electronically via Moodle as well as your signed Logbook by the end of May if you are an October starter.  The submission deadline will be reminded nearer the time via email.

Word Length

10,000 words.  You may submit a longer report if your supervisor recommends this. Documents and catalogues may be submitted as appendices up to a word limit of 5,000 words. It should be stressed that appendices should never be a means to increase the overall word limit of the documentation. Rather, they should be used only if strictly necessary in order to introduce supporting material integral to the paper.

Please discuss this with your Supervisor.  The following content is recommended, though the exact content and form of the Report, as well as how you organise and present the material, will depend on the nature of your individual research, and on what you and your Supervisor decide will be most beneficial to your personal progress:

• A description of the general area of your research, explaining why the work is being undertaken and its potential significance.
• An outline of the specific research focus and methodology.
• A programme or timetable showing the main phases of the research and the timescale within which you plan to undertake them.
• The issues that the research will seek to explore or answer – including a summary of the objectives, and the research questions that you will investigate.
• A review of the literature you have already read, setting out your understanding of past and current work in the subject area both here and abroad.
• An outline of the research methods and sources of evidence or data that you anticipate using; the means by which you will inspect and/or acquire this evidence or data; and the analysis to which you will subject it. This may include fieldwork, archival work, technical investigations, case studies, interviews, or surveys, and should identify how you will gain the necessary access and permissions, including problems that may arise and how you will deal with them.
• A brief description of what you expect to find and its impact on scholarship including, if appropriate, who is likely to benefit from your work and how.
• You may wish to submit a draft chapter.
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PhD and MPhil Research Degrees

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At the start

During the first week the focus is on meeting your supervisor, attending inductions, finding your desk and meeting some of the others starting their research degrees.

Please take time to have a look through the Graduate Studies Office webpage , under the Research Students tab, where you will find all the information, procedures, forms and deadlines you will need in your first term and thereafter.

All IfM students are allocated a mentor from among the existing research student community to help with initial questions and to find your way around the IfM. The atmosphere at the IfM is friendly and there are few barriers to communication between members of the group, either for work or social activities!

During the first year

All students have a supervisor to provide direction and support throughout their research. Each student is also allocated an advisor from among senior colleagues to provide additional guidance. Most students also benefit from the experience and knowledge of other members of the IfM.  

Courses for first year students 

All first year students must meet the  First Year Requirements to support the development of research and transferable skills. These are agreed during your first term and include:

• Research Development Course: To support the development of transferable skills.
• Reading Clubs: To introduce key literature in the domain, encourage critical review and reflection about the literature and to provide experience of synthesising arguments based on the literature.
• Research methodology courses
• Other engineering or related courses

First year review

The first-year report is submitted at the end of the first year and students must demonstrate satisfactory progress at the end of the first year before they can continue with the final two years of the PhD. Information about the review can be found in the Engineering Department Student Handbook which can be found on  this webpage .

There is a second year review to ensure that progress is continuing well. Otherwise there is no standard timetable for a PhD. Instead, it is dependent upon factors such as the type of research, the motivations of the student and supervisor, and the requirement of collaborating businesses.

Other useful information

Travel to conferences, industrial visits and case studies  .

Throughout the research there are various reasons to travel for conferences, seminars and cases.  

All students are able to apply for Engineering Department Conference Grants, details of which can be found here  and most colleges also have travel schemes available.

Many students apply to work away from Cambridge in order to undertake fieldwork (interviews or case studies) in an industrial or business context or to work in a research and development environment.

Teaching opportunities

Depending on their skills and research subject, students have been able to gain teaching experience within the IfM and Engineering Department through laboratory demonstrations, supervisions or accompanying undergraduate industrial visits.

Student Handbook

The Engineering Department Student Handbook (which can be found on this webpage ) contains a lot of useful information about the Graduate Student process and experience in the IfM. If you have any further queries, please do contact us .

Studying Part-Time  

The IfM has a number of part-time students studying for a PhD and the majority of supervisors are familiar with this mode of study. The PhD is not available on a distance learning basis.

The University provides  information for students about part time study . If the supervisor is willing to accept a student on this basis, the student and supervisor must agree a schedule of study including the mandatory courses for completion which can be time intensive during the first five terms of study.

MPhil students  

Students on the MPhil programme undertake a one-year period of supervised research, leading to submission of a thesis. Some MPhil students go on to complete a PhD.

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Provided by: Researcher Development Programme (RDP)

This course is not scheduled to run.

Writing Your First Year Report (Engineering) Prerequisites

It’s that time of year, the report is looming on the horizon and the reality of writing is here!

Aimed at 1st year PhD students this course is designed to get you thinking and working effectively on your end of first year report/CPGS. How do you start? What’s expected? How do you make it work for you? These and many other important questions, hints and tips will be addressed in this half day session.

PhD Students Year 1 in Engineering Further details regarding eligibility criteria are here

• Come prepared to do some work and make a real start on your report
• To enable you to structure your report and start writing
• To explain plagiarism and its consequences
• To demonstrate what the requirements are
• Provide some tips and useful techniques for writing

Presentations, demonstrations and practicals

One half day session

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Registration

Monitoring progress, intermission, working away, preparation of thesis, questionnaires.

Research students are expected to be in residence in Cambridge pursuing their research between terms, except during periods of holiday agreed with their supervisor, normally up to 8 weeks in a 12 month period. Students who make time to take some holidays, or a break away from their studies, tend to do better.

PhD candidates may submit their theses after nine terms (three years) of research, and MLitt candidates after six terms (two years).  The Student Registry and the Degree Committee expect a thesis to be a piece of work which can be produced by a capable, well-qualified and diligent research student, properly supervised and supported, within those times.  It is very important that you design your project with these time-limits firmly in view. It is good both for morale and for your CV to submit your thesis within the stated times – and most PhD funding runs out after three years. 

If your PhD research is suitably related to your MPhil work, you will usually be allowed to count some or all of your three MPhil terms towards the residency requirements of the PhD, if you are ready to submit your thesis before the minimum terms of study have elapsed. This means that you may submit a PhD thesis after only six more terms, if you wish. Please see the following webpage for further information:

https://www.cambridgestudents.cam.ac.uk/your-course/postgraduate-study/your-student-status/allowanceexemption-research-terms

The Student Registry and the Degree Committee recognise, however, that original research is liable to unforeseen difficulties and delays, so all PhD students are allowed 4 years in which to complete and submit their thesis (3 years for the MLitt). Unless there are extenuating circumstances, which would permit a student to apply for an extension to their submission date, candidates who do not submit by these final deadlines would be asked to withdraw from the University, until such time as they are ready to submit, and apply for reinstatement .

All students accepted for the PhD are on probation for their first year. In your third term of research, the Degree Committee will decide whether to register you as a candidate for the PhD (the registration then being backdated to your date of admission). You will have a registration interview with two Faculty assessors, other than your Supervisor. Central University information on the requirements of a registration review is here:

https://www.cambridgestudents.cam.ac.uk/self-evaluation

In some (rare) cases, your assessors may decide that you should be registered for the MLitt degree, instead of the PhD, at this stage. This registration interview cannot be delayed without good cause (e.g., illness). With your supervisors’ help, you start working out your plan of research, and the topic or topics of your written work, as soon as possible after you arrive.

Before registering you as a PhD candidate the Degree Committee must be satisfied (i) that you have a suitable plan of work and (ii) that you have begun to write about some part of it, in a sustained way, at a standard likely to get you the degree in a reasonable time. You are therefore required to email the following documents to your two assessors and the Postgraduate Administrator by the last day of Lent full term*:

• a statement (1,000 words) of your plan of research.
• a piece of recent written work (6,000-10,000 words) on some topic within this plan; and
• an account of research already completed (1,000 words)

These submissions must be properly written up: rough drafts are not acceptable. The registration interview will take place shortly after the end of Lent Term, with your two assessors who will have read the submitted documents. The exact date of the review will be agreed on by the two assessors and the student. The requirements for registration are as outlined above. Students will be sent a copy of their review report once it has been approved by Degree Committee at their May meeting.

Prospective PhD candidates whose work does not show sufficient progress will be given the opportunity to submit an improved set of work by the last day of Easter full term*. A further interview will then take place with the two Faculty members writing independent reports for the Degree Committee in late June/early July*.

The Degree Committee will recommend that prospective PhD candidates whose resubmitted work is still deemed to be unsatisfactory either withdraw from the University or, less severely, be registered only as MLitt candidates. In the latter case they may later be re-registered as PhD candidates (with registration again backdated to the date of admission) if they submit sufficiently improved work at the same time in their second year (i.e. at their fifth term review).

The Degree Committee will recommend that prospective MLitt candidates whose resubmitted work is still deemed to be unsatisfactory withdraw from the University.

Monitoring progress

Your supervisor is required to report termly to the Student Registry and the Degree Committee on your progress. You will also be invited to submit self-evaluation reports on your progress on CamSIS. More information on the Feedback and progress reporting systems for postgraduate students is here:

In addition, there are the following reviews:

Fifth Term Review

This review takes place in the fifth term for a student who is registered for the PhD or MLitt.  For this review you need to email the following documents to your supervisor, advisor, and Postgraduate Secretary by the last day of Lent full term*:

• an account of research you have already completed (1,000 words)

These submissions must be properly written up: rough drafts are not acceptable.  The review will take place shortly after the end of Lent Term, normally with the supervisor and advisor, who will report in writing to the first meeting of the Degree Committee in the Easter Term. The exact date of the review will be agreed on by the two assessors and the student. Students will then be sent a copy of their review report once it has been approved by Degree Committee at their May meeting.

In the unlikely event that your work does not show sufficient progress you will be given the opportunity to submit an improved set of work by last day of Easter full term*. A further interview will then take place with the supervisor and advisor writing independent reports for the Degree Committee in late June/early July*.

Seventh Term Review

This review takes place in the seventh term for a student who is registered for the PhD. For this review you are required to email the same three documents as are described above, again demonstrating ongoing progress, to your supervisor and advisor by the last day of Michaelmas full term*.

The review will take place shortly after the end of Michaelmas Term, normally with the supervisor and adrvisor, who will report in writing to the first meeting of the Degree Committee in the Lent Term. The exact date of the review will be agreed on by the two assessors and the student. Students will then be sent a copy of their review report once it has been approved by Degree Committee at their January meeting.

If the supervisor and advisor are not happy with a student's progress they may recommend to the Degree Committee that a student's registration be changed from PhD to MLitt. They may also recommend that candidates who are not making satisfactory progress towards completing their theses withdraw from the University. The student will be fully consulted before any such recommendation is made. Note also that students withdraw from the University for this reason (or because they have failed to submit on time), but who manage to complete their theses on their own, may apply to be reinstated in order to submit their theses for examination. Please see:

https://www.cambridgestudents.cam.ac.uk/your-course/postgraduate-study/your-student-status/reinstatement

Although this monitoring may sound onerous, experience shows that most often the reviews function as useful markers of progress, and as good opportunities to take stock and to talk about useful ways forward, in a forum slightly different from that of a normal supervision.

If your work is hindered or interrupted by medical, financial or other problems you may apply for leave to intermit your research for a period of time from 2 weeks, to up to 3 terms (for full time students). Terms intermitted do not count towards the above deadlines. Consult your Supervisor and the Postgraduate Secretary if you would like to discuss this option at any point in your studies. You can also find further information here:

https://www.cambridgestudents.cam.ac.uk/your-course/postgraduate-study/your-student-status/medical-intermission

Working away from Cambridge

It is possible to apply for leave to work away from Cambridge for a maximum of 3 terms at a time Some PhD students find this is useful if they wish to work with a supervisor who is external to the University of Cambridge for some of their PhD study. More information on the process of how to apply for leave to work away can be found here:

https://www.cambridgestudents.cam.ac.uk/your-course/postgraduate-study/your-student-status/work-away

To support students working away from Cambridge, it is recommended that students apply to the University for free travel insurance: https://www.insurance.admin.cam.ac.uk/travel-insurance/travel-insurance-students

The Faculty has a small allocation of funding for fieldwork, that students can apply for via the Postgraduate Office. As part of this application process, students will also be required to complete a risk assessment: https://www.safety.admin.cam.ac.uk/risk-assessment

The Faculty can provide a template risk assessment – please ask the Postgraduate Secretary for further information.

Preparation of theses

PhD (MLitt) theses in philosophy must not be more than 80,000 (60,000) words long. The word count includes appendices and footnotes but excludes bibliography. See here for further information:

https://www.cambridgestudents.cam.ac.uk/your-course/examinations/graduate-exam-information/submitting-and-examination/phd-msc-mlitt/word#philos

The University’s regulations require that to qualify for the award of the PhD degree, a thesis has to be in English (apart from quotations and technical formulae), to be clearly written, to take due account of previously published work on the subject, and to represent a significant contribution to learning (for example through the discovery of new knowledge, the connection of previously unrelated facts, the development of new theory, or the revision of older views). The Degree Committee of Philosophy, in its advice to examiners, adds as an informal gloss on this that an acceptable thesis should contain some material of sufficient originality to merit publication and this material should be adequate to form the basis of, for example, at least two articles (together amounting to 15,000 - 20,000 words) or of a short monograph.

To qualify for the award of the MLitt degree, a thesis must be clearly written, take due account of previously published work on the subject, and represent a useful contribution to learning.

Candidates may get an idea of the standards expected of PhD and MLitt theses in philosophy by reading the copies of successful theses deposited in the University Library.

The detailed procedure for submitting PhD and MLitt theses for examination, which candidates should follow carefully, is at:

https://www.cambridgestudents.cam.ac.uk/your-course/examinations/graduate-exam-information/submitting-and-examination/phd-msc-mlitt/prepare

In what follows only a few salient points are picked out.

Candidates should apply for the appointment of examiners, through the Philosophy Postgraduate Secretary, when—but only when—their theses are nearly complete. (In particular, if they are going to submit their theses during the Long Vacation they should apply in good time for the late June/early July meeting of the Degree Committee*.) Together with the candidate, the supervisor should compete the form found here:

https://www.phil.cam.ac.uk/curr-students/postgraduates/Graduate-Forms

and submit this by e-mail to the Postgraduate Secretary. The candidate will also need to email the Postgraduate Secretary a one page summary of the thesis, to guide the Degree Committee in appointing suitable examiners. This abstract should be around 300 words in length – a candidate’s supervisor can provide further guidance on the expected content of the abstract.         

Theses are examined independently by two examiners, one of whom will normally be from outside Cambridge. Candidates are required to submit their thesis initially via Moodle, the University’s Online Teaching Platform. The Postgraduate Secretary will provide further information on the process for softbound submission. As of 1 st October 2017, once their PhD has been approved, students are also required to submit an electronic copy of their PhD thesis to the University’s repository, Apollo. At the point of upload, students are given the choice of different access options, including the choice to make their thesis available Open Access immediately or to embargo access for an initial 12 months . The upload of the thesis can be done via the upload form in Symplectic Elements .

Once the award of the degree is approved, students should submit one hard bound copy to be deposited in the University Library.  More information on the submission of electronic theses can be found on the Office of Scholarly Communication website:

http://osc.cam.ac.uk/theses

It is important that thesis examiners actually receive theses when they expect to do so; otherwise their other commitments may seriously delay the examination. In giving submission dates, candidates should therefore take care to be realistic, and not underestimate the time it takes to complete writing up, make final corrections, check references and proofs, and get their theses printed and bound.

What to expect from the viva

The examination is undertaken with two examiners, and may include an independent chair if the Degree Committee has deemed it appropriate.  There are no rules for its duration, but as an approximate guide, the examination will normally take at least 90 minutes and is likely to conclude within three hours at a maximum.

The oral examination should allow:

• The defence of your dissertation and the clarification of any matters raised by the examiners
• the examiners to probe your knowledge in the field
• the examiners to assure themselves that the work presented is your own and to clarify matters of any collaboration
• the examiners to come to a definite conclusion about the outcome of the examination

What to bring with you to the viva

• You can take a (marked up) copy of the thesis in with you.  You may want to take a tablet or notepad and pen to make notes.
• Water will be available in the room where you will be examined but you may like to take your own with you.

The default  viva  format is an in-person examination held in Cambridge, but students will have the option to choose an online  viva  if they wish.  The University has provided additional information about the online viva process, which can be found here:

https://www.cambridgestudents.cam.ac.uk/files/guide_to_conducting_vivas_online.pdf

Examiners write independent reports on theses for the Degree Committee, making recommendations, which may or may not be conditional on the results of the oral examination. Because it often takes a considerable time for examiners to get round to, and to complete, this assessment, candidates must expect to wait (or return) for their oral examination up to two months (but no more than four months) after submitting their theses. Examiners may allow candidates who have had to return, e.g., to America or Australasia, the option of conducting the oral examination by video conference; but they are under no obligation to do so, and candidates must not assume that they will. If a candidate would like to request adjustments to their viva on the grounds of disability, they should complete a ‘voluntary disclosure form’ and return this to the Postgraduate secretary. The form can be found here: https://www.cambridgestudents.cam.ac.uk/files/voluntary_disclosure_form.pdf

An examiner who thinks that a PhD or MLitt thesis fails to reach the required standard, but could do so with suitable revision, may recommend allowing the candidate to submit a revised thesis. This can only happen once; a thesis which has already been resubmitted once cannot be submitted again.

An examiner who thinks that a PhD thesis fails to reach the standard required for that degree, but does reach the standard required for the MLitt, may recommend approving the candidate for that degree. A PhD examiner who thinks both of the above may recommend giving the candidate the alternative of submitting a revised thesis or of taking the MLitt (but not both).

If the examiners’ recommendations agree, the Degree Committee will normally accept them, unless the examination has been improperly conducted in some way, in which case new examiners may have to be appointed. If the original examiners’ recommendations disagree, the Degree Committee may resolve the disagreement by appointing a third examiner.

The University’s statement on academic misconduct, including plagiarism can be found at:

http://www.admin.cam.ac.uk/univ/plagiarism/students/statement.html

We ask PhD & MLitt students to provide their feedback at regular intervals throughout their course, in the form of a questionnaire sent from the Postgraduate Office. Usually there is one questionnaire sent at the time of each review. Feedback from students is important in helping us to improve the course, and we ask that all students complete all questionnaires.

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Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

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The degree of Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) is the University's principal research degree for graduate students and is available in all faculties and departments.

A Cambridge PhD is intellectually demanding and you will need to have a high level of attainment and motivation to pursue this programme of advanced study and research.

In most faculties, a candidate is expected to have completed one year of postgraduate study, normally on a research preparation master's course, prior to starting a PhD.

Completion normally requires three or four years of full-time study, or at least five years of part-time study, including a probationary period.

Terms of research are normally consecutive and, for full-time students, require residency in Cambridge. Not all departments offer part-time research degrees.

Various routes to the PhD are possible and, if you are made an offer of admission, it will be made clear whether you are required to study for a master's degree or certificate in the first instance, or will be admitted directly to the probationary year for the PhD. You are registered for the PhD only after a satisfactory progress assessment at the end of the probationary year (five terms for part-time degrees). The assessment is designed also to focus your mind on the stages necessary for the completion of your research within the normal time limit and to address any structural problems that have arisen during the first year. Students must pass the first year assessment in order to continue their PhD study.

During your PhD, your effort will be focused on writing a dissertation. The word count of the dissertation is dependent on the department and the Student Registry or Educational Student Policy will be able to tell you the maximum word limit. This 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. Some Cambridge dissertations go on to form the basis of significant publications.

Although you will spend long hours working independently, your department and College will both support you throughout your PhD. You are also able to attend regular seminars in your subject area and could be involved in teaching, perhaps giving seminars or supervising, or in the social life of your department and College.

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Go to the Course Directory and filter courses using the relevant checkboxes.

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