Cancer Biology

Entry requirements

Applicants for this course should have achieved a UK Good II.i Honours Degree.

If your degree is not from the UK, please check International Qualifications to find the equivalent in your country.

This is a highly-competitive programme and we anticipate that most applicants will have a first-class degree from a well-regarded University. However, students with good II.i degree, with additional relevant experience, may also be considered.

Months of entry

October

Course content

At the end of the MRes/PhD programme, candidates will be prepared for further postdoctoral training to produce the cancer research leaders of the future.

The first year of this programme, the MRes in Cancer Biology, has research elements as well as additional training elements.

The overall MRes programme is designed to give students a broad understanding of both the basic biology as well as clinical management of the whole spectrum of malignant diseases. It also allows students to develop their own skills in experimental science as well as in project design and management.

The first-year MRes degree comprises two research rotations, a weekly 'Lectures in Cancer Biology and Medicine' series, together with a short intensive teaching period in genomic medicine, and a short placement in a patient-facing clinical setting. The placement will enable insight into the rewards and challenges of cancer research and development of diagnostics and treatments. Project write-ups, group presentations and the formation of a PhD proposal are also integral to the programme.

The MRes programme aims to introduce students to research skills and specialist knowledge as well as a more general grounding in cancer biology. Its main aims are:

to give students with relevant experience at the first-degree level the opportunity to carry out focussed 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;

to give students a broad grounding in both the theory of cancer genomic medicine and also more insight into the practicalities of clinical cancer treatment and care.

Successful completion of the one-year MRes programme will lead to a three-year PhD, usually in one of the rotation project host laboratories, which will allow in-depth study of a particular area of cancer biology.

PhD students are probationary during their first year. Full PhD registration occurs after the successful completion of a report and viva at the end of their first year of the PhD stage. The PhD itself is examined by thesis and viva.

Information for international students

Language Requirement

IELTS (Academic)

Element Score

Listening 7.0

Writing 7.0

Reading 6.5

Speaking 7.0

Total 7.0

TOEFL Internet Score

Element Score

Listening 25

Writing 25

Reading 25

Speaking 25

Total 100

CAE

Score: Grade A & B (overall score of 193, with no element lower than 185 plus a Language Centre assessment)

CPE

Score: Grade A, B, or C (with at least 200 with no element lower than 185).