Biological Science (Sanger Institute)

Entry requirements

Applicants are expected to hold, or be about to achieve, a 1st or 2:1 class UK degree or equivalent overseas qualification in a relevant scientific subject.

Months of entry

January, April, October

Course content

The Wellcome Sanger Institute occasionally takes on MPhil students providing they have the support of a faculty member at the Institute.

This is a one-year full-time research MPhil. Assessment is by submission of a thesis and an oral examination. Students start in October, with the submission of the thesis by the end of August.

The MPhil aims to provide research opportunities in the field of genomic science that reflect the unique nature of Sanger Institute science, with an emphasis on large-scale, high-throughput approaches and the development of a blend of wet-lab and computational skills. The Institute also aims to provide students with general research and transferable skills training in addition to training in their specific research area.

Applicants will generally have a bioscience background, but applicants with a computational or mathematical background can also apply.

Learning Outcomes

By the end of the MPhil, students will be expected to have acquired a detailed understanding of the relevant areas of genomics that underlie their research project and write a thesis on their work (of not more than 20,000 words in length, excluding figures, tables, footnotes, appendices and bibliography). They will also be expected to have attended courses or lectures on general research and transferable skills, covering subjects such as bioinformatics, statistics, ethics, research integrity, scientific writing and presentation skills, together with the Institute’s Graduate Student Lecture Series and student journal club.