MPhil/PhD in Biology or Biochemistry

Department of Biology & Biochemistry

University of Bath

The MPhil/PhD programme is designed for graduates who are aiming for a career in academic, Government, or industrial research. The PhD is a research degree that is assessed by submission of a thesis that is externally examined. Students coming to do a PhD are normally registered for a MPhil degree and then transferred to the PhD course after one year if there has been satisfactory progress. This is done without submission of a thesis. All the year one work is then incorporated within the PhD thesis that is normally submitted between 3 years and 4 years after initially arriving at the University.

The Department has a range of different PhD routes available, which allows the traditional PhD programme to be tailored to the needs of individual students. Available PhD routes are:
• Traditional 3-year PhD
• 4-year integrated PhD
• 1 plus 3-year PhD
• 4-year PhD

The Department accepts about 25 new research students each year and has about 15 fully funded studentships available. Most of these studentships are funded by the national Research Councils. We also admit several overseas research students supported by awards from their own countries. Outstanding overseas applicants are also eligible to be nominated for Overseas Research Student awards that pay the difference between domestic and overseas fees. In addition to the conventional 3 and 4-year PhD we now offer some 4-year degree programmes consisting of the one year MRes followed by a 3-year PhD. These are suitable for those who need additional training at the Masters-level in order to optimise their research at the PhD level. We also support Split-Site PhD programmes that are ideal for overseas students who are also junior faculty members and who wish to get a research qualification. S/he would enrol for a PhD at Bath, spend the first one to two years in the department and then complete the research at the sponsoring institution with both University of Bath and local supervision. Contact us for further details. We can help select the route that is most suitable for you.

In addition to research-specific development opportunities, it is expected that research students should undertake at least two weeks per year of generic skills training each year. The Department offers a range of generic skills training opportunities, which are designed to ensure that our research students acquire a range of competencies including personal effectiveness, communication and networking skills, and career management. As international speakers and visitors. They also attend lunchtime internal seminars, which are given by post-doctoral and graduate students, and at which they must each present their work annually to the department. Students are encouraged to attend national and international scientific meetings for which additional funds are made available. The Department also holds an annual Winter Research Conference, at which students are expected to display their work in poster sessions. This conference, which involves the organisation of commercial company participation & sponsorship, poster sessions, oral presentations and networking opportunities, is organised and run by the department’s Postgraduate Association.This student society, PGBio, organises both academic and social events to promote communication and personal development within the Department. For new Department members, PGBio is the best way to meet people for leisure activities and to get help with work.

The Department has a number of available research projects, as detailed on the Department’s website at http://www.bath.ac.uk/bio-sci/postgrad/phd/opportunities.html.
The recruitment process has already started, and so for confirmation about project or funding availability, please contact the Postgraduate Administrator.

If you identify a specific project, research area or an academic that they would be interested in working with, please contact the Department’s Postgraduate Administrator (RT ADDRESS) for further information.