Programme description

The MPhil is a one-year research degree where students get the opportunity to study a specific research project. The MPhil degree can act as a stand-alone degree for applicants who would like to gain experience in a specific area, or can be linked to a PhD programme. Rather than register on a direct entry 3 or 4 year PhD, some postgraduates may first register on a one-year MPhil programme. Subsequently students may then wish to transfer on to a full PhD programme with a further 2 or 3 years of study.

A network of electrically active neurones is found in almost all multicellular animals. The function of this nervous system is to control physiology and behaviour by receiving and integrating sensory information and conveying executive commands to muscles and glands. Diversity in the fundamental properties of individual neurones and glia, and in the nature of their connectivity, provides the nervous system with unparalleled scope for complexity. This intricacy is central to its function and provides the substrate for advanced cognitive functions in higher vertebrates and man. Modern neurobiology research is characterised by the application of new technology to traditional behavioural, anatomical and cellular analyses, and the integration of contemporary molecular and post-genomic techniques. The Neurobiology group uses this multidisciplinary strategy to explore the development and normal activity of the nervous system, as well as the origins and mechanisms of degeneration and dysfunction.

Coursework and assessment

All research degree programmes are based on supportive supervision in an outstanding research environment. As well as a supervisor each PhD student also has an advisor who is available to oversee the progression of the student and provide additional support during their research degree.

The Faculty of Life Sciences is proud to have one of the largest and most innovative training and development programmes for postgraduate students in Europe, which has undergone continual development over the past 10-15 years. The Graduate Training Programme (GTP) is a series of compulsory and optional workshops, seminars, and skills training modules that are designed to complement a student's research laboratory training. Every student benefits not only from the outstanding academic environment, but also from the opportunity to acquire a broad and individualised range of personal and transferable skills that are of great value in future careers. For more information about the Graduate Training Programme please see the Faculty of Life Sciences website.

Each year the postgraduate community is joined by all members of the Faculty of Life Sciences to formally celebrate their substantial research achievements at the Faculty Research Symposium. During this important day in the Faculty calendar, a selection of postgraduate and postdoctoral researchers present their work, through talks and posters, to their peers, academic and support staff and invited guests. This event provides all of our postgraduates with an important opportunity to showcase their research.

Facilities

The Faculty of Life Sciences at The University of Manchester comprises 250 independent research groups, and is one of the largest and best biology research groupings in Europe. The Faculty's research encompasses the entire spread of life sciences from the molecule to cell to organism to population.

The Faculty occupies a series of superb new buildings, each of which incorporates an enviable collection of equipment core facilities. These include analytical research facilities, bioimaging facility, bioinformatics facility, biomolecular analysis and mass spectrometry facilities, microarray facility, botanical experimental grounds, electron microscopy facility, fermentation facility, flow cytometry facility, histology facility, mammalian transgenic technologies facility, nuclear magnetic resonance facility, and x-ray crystallography facility.