• name the MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit as the Department you wish to apply to, selecting ‘PhD in Medical Science (MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit)’ or ‘MPhil in Medical Science (MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit’
• upload a 2 page (PhD) or 1 page (MPhil) research proposal detailing the topic you wish to cover in your PhD
• upload a copy of your CV
• name two referees who you feel confident will provide fabulous references
• tick any funding sources you believe you are eligible for, so that you are given consideration in all relevant funding competitions, thus maximising your chances of being awarded funding

All the above will need to be provided electronically via the Cambridge University Applicant Portal, ensuring you upload all supporting information by the deadline. The University Postgraduate Admissions Office will then send us your application once it is complete. We will automatically consider all our applicants for MRC funding.

Full details of the application process are given on the Postgraduate Study website.

We prefer CBU students to begin their course in Michaelmas term (i.e. the beginning of October), as induction events and postgraduate training seminars for first year students take place at the beginning of Michaelmas term. Having said that, there are occasional exceptions where we permit deferred entry with a later start. Please contact us in advance if there are good reasons why a deferred entry might be better for you or your supervisor.

In addition to being a member of the University and also the Department (which in this case is the CBU), all Cambridge postgraduates will also be a member of a Cambridge College. Further information about selecting a college is here.

If you need any further information please do not hesitate to contact grad-admin [@] mrc-cbu.cam.ac.uk (without the brackets and spaces).

Eligibility

Competition for admission to postgraduate programmes at the University of Cambridge is intense, and the CBU, like all departments, requires you to have:

• minimum of a good upper second class (good 2:1) honours degree from a UK university or an equivalent standard from an overseas university
• two outstanding references
• fluency in the English language, as described here

These minimum entry requirements are set by the University, and further details can be seen here.

Part-time study

We welcome applications from individuals wishing to undertake a part-time PhD (5-7 years). We are accustomed to supporting part-time students and making appropriate adjustments to the timing of annual review meetings and provision of training. If you wish to consider part-time study, we recommend that you contact your potential supervisor in the first instance and contact us before applying.

MPhil study

Though in the minority at the CBU, we do sometimes have students who wish to undertake a one year (research) MPhil. If this is an option you are interested in, we encourage you to contact your potential supervisor before submitting your application. Please also do not hestitate to contact us with any questions.

Interviews

If we shortlist you following submission of your application, you will contact you in December to invite you to an interview. Interviews are generally held in early January and often by Zoom. A typical interview lasts 30 to 40 minutes, and is used as an opportunity to chat about your experience of research to date and your ideas about the research you would like to do in a PhD or MPhil. You will also have an opportunity to ask us questions about what it is like to be a student at the CBU, the colleges, the University, or anything else. Interviews generally involve a panel of three to five individuals – the CBU admissions tutors and staff with more expertise in the particular area of research. Don’t let this worry you, though – we are friendly! We aim to let you know whether we have offered you a place to embark on postgraduate study at the CBU within one to two weeks of your interview.

Membership of the University of Cambridge

Students at the CBU are registered as PhD candidates at the University of Cambridge and as such, must fulfil the admissions requirements of the University. Information about fees, funding, the application process and more (including for overseas students) can be found on the University’s Postgraduate Study page, where there are answers to many frequently asked questions and a Contact Form to facilitate inquiries to the Admissions Office. Students will initially be registered as ‘probationary’ PhD students (referred to in the Student Registry and in CamSIS as ‘Not at first registered’, or ‘NOTAF’), and students are only fully registered for a PhD upon satisfactory completion of their first year of study, assessed via a first year review meeting typically held in June of the first year of study.

You will also be a member of the School of Clinical Medicine which will oversee the progress of your research. While carrying out your research you will have access to the advantages of the University facilities and your college. There are also substantial links with other experimental, clinical and neuroscience groups in the University of Cambridge, including the Departments of Psychology, Neurology, and Psychiatry, and the Wolfson Brain Imaging Centre (WBIC) at Addenbrooke’s Hospital.

Current and past CBU postgrads, and student testimonials

To learn more about individuals who have been offered a place in previous years, please have a look here, and for a more informal sense of what it is like to be a postgraduate at the CBU, you can read our student testimonials.