Biological Science (MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology) by thesis

The MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology occasionally takes on MPhil students providing they have the support of a group leader in the Laboratory. To obtain support from a group leader, students should contact them directly. For information on our faculty members’ research interests, please visit the Research and the Group Leaders pages on the LMB website.

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

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

The MPhil aims to provide research opportunities in fields related to molecular and structural biology that reflect the unique research strengths of the Laboratory and that contribute to the specific research priorities of the Laboratory. The LMB also aims to provide students with general research and transferable skills training in addition to training in their specific research area.

Learning Outcomes

By the end of the MPhil, students will be expected to have acquired a detailed understanding of the relevant areas that underlie their research project and to have written 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 LMB Biophysical Techniques and Molecular Biology Techniques Lecture series.