The PhD degree is a minimum of three years of full-time research with an individual supervisor. At the end of their degree, students will produce a written thesis, which will be assessed by independent experts during a viva. This is the principal research degree offered in the Department of Zoology and the great majority of our students are registered for this degree.

Zoology is a Department that brings together researchers from a great diversity of disciplines, ranging from cell biology to field ecology. What unites us is an interest in the whole organism, and in how systems interact across different levels of organization to generate the complexity of form, function and behaviour that are observed in the living world. Evolution is a theme that underpins and unites much of our work, as does an appreciation of the interaction between living organisms and their environments.

Students are directly supervised by one of our Group Leaders, who will support them in developing an independent and novel project in their field of interest. Students will learn how to review relevant literature, to phrase and answer scientific questions, and how to report their findings to the scientific community, at conferences and through peer-reviewed scientific publications. We very much encourage students to get experience in undergraduate teaching, which can be either as demonstrators during practical classes or supervisors teaching small groups. 

At the end of their first year of study students are required to complete a satisfactory First Year Report and Viva. A brief report (without viva) is required at the end of the second year and third year.

All candidates are expected to take part in the Department’s Graduate Training Programme and the Graduate School of Life Science’s Researcher Development Programme.

Most candidates taking this option start in October, to take advantage of Departmental and University induction programmes, but admission in January or April is also possible.

Feedback

Students can expect to receive an online feedback report each term

Assessment

Thesis

You will be expected to submit a thesis of up to 60,000 words excluding tables, footnotes, bibliography, and appendices within 48 months of the initial date of registration (taking into account any periods of authorised intermission), followed by a viva voce examination.

• Magistr (Master's Degree) at Pass level. Diploma Specialista (completed post-1991) with a minimum overall grade of good or 4/5 Bachelor's from Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology and other prestigious institutions with an overall grade of 4/5 Bologna Bachelor's from other institutions with an overall grade of 5/5, Excellent
• Diploma Specialista (completed post-1991) with a minimum overall grade of Excellent or 5/5 Bachelor's from Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology and other prestigious institutions with an overall grade of 5/5
• IELTS (Academic) 7.0
• TOEFL Internet Score 100
• £50 application fee
• First Academic Reference
• Second Academic Reference
• Transcript
• CV/Resumé
• Research Proposal. Research proposals should be 1 - 2 pages long. There is no strict format or word limit for the proposal, but it should be based both on your own ideas and on discussions with your prospective supervisor.
• Personal Reference

• Global Education
• Gates Cambridge Scholarships