Glossary of Qualification Types
This section includes a summary of each qualification type offered by the University, and which office administers the applications.
Qualifications are divided into two categories:
Courses with Taught Elements
| Qualification | Applications Administered by |
|---|---|
| Cambridge Graduate Course in Medicine (CGCM) | Undergraduate Admissions Office |
| Diplomas and Advanced Diplomas | Graduate Admissions Office |
| Executive Master of Business Administration (EMBA) | Judge Business School |
| Master of Advanced Study (MASt) | Graduate Admissions Office |
| Master of Business Administration (MBA) | Judge Business School |
| Master of Corporate Law (MCL) | Graduate Admissions Office |
| Master of Education (MEd) | Graduate Admissions Office |
| Master of Finance (MFin) | Judge Business School |
| Master of Law (LLM) | Graduate Admissions Office |
| Master of Music (MMus) | Graduate Admissions Office |
| Master of Philosophy degree (MPhil) | Graduate Admissions Office |
| Master of Science (MSc) | Graduate Admissions Office |
| Master of Studies (MSt) | Institute of Continuing Education |
| Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) | Faculty of Education |
Research Programmes
| Qualification | Applications Administered By |
|---|---|
| Bachelor of Medicine/Doctor of Philosophy (MB/PhD) | Graduate Admissions Office |
| Certificate of Postgraduate Study (CPGS) | Graduate Admissions Office |
| Doctor of Education (EdD) | Graduate Admissions Office |
| Doctor of Engineering (EngD) | Graduate Admissions Office |
| Doctor of Medicine (MD) | Graduate Admissions Office |
| Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) | Graduate Admissions Office |
| Master of Letters (MLitt) | Graduate Admissions Office |
| Master of Philosophy (MPhil) | Graduate Admissions Office |
| Master of Research (MRes) | Graduate Admissions Office |
| Masters and PhD (Mphil/PhD) | Graduate Admissions Office |
| Postgraduate Diplomas in Law | Graduate Admissions Office |
Information on higher degrees can be found in the 'Examinations' section. This includes Higher Doctorates (DD, LLD, ScD, LittD, MusD), Bachelor of Divinity, PhD or MD by special regulations.
Courses with Taught Elements
Cambridge Graduate Course in Medicine (CGCM)
Hughes Hall is one of three colleges together with Lucy Cavendish and Wolfson Colleges, offering places to students on the Graduate Medical Course at the University of Cambridge. It aims to bring into medicine people with wider experience and broader perspectives, thus allowing graduates in other disciplines to take the undergraduate MB BChir degree. Currently the degree is only open to students from the UK or EU, taking approximately 20 graduates per year.
Graduates may apply for the Cambridge Graduate Course (CGCM), or study the standard course as an affiliated student. As medicine has a quota for its clinical places, applicants who wish to apply for both the affiliated and CGCM courses, must apply to the same college. Wolfson and Lucy Cavendish have quota places available for both CGCM and affiliated medicine. Hughes Hall only offers the CGCM. Applications for CGCM may be made directly to the college of choice, or via an open application to the Clinical School.
The Graduate Course in Medicine is a 3 year, 9 month course with 3-4 weeks holiday per year. First 2 years take the standard medical 2nd MB exams plus clinical attachments in vacations. The vacations are filled with a clinical strand from the first year based at the West Suffolk Hospital, Bury St Edmunds. Please see the Programme Specification for an in-depth view of the course (in the Downloads section on the left). The Clinical School website has an Outline Curriculum map available to download which gives a full overview of the course.
- Further information
Diplomas
The Diploma in Economics is a one year taught undergraduate course, however applications are made through the Graduate Admissions Office.
Advanced Diploma in Theology and Religious Studies
This is a nine-month postgraduate qualification especially designed for those who already have a degree, but in a subject other than Theological and Religious Studies. Taking this course may be a first step to doing an MPhil or PhD in Theology and/or Religious Studies in this or another university, but does not count towards such a degree.
Executive Master of Business Administration (EMBA)
These are awarded by the Judge Business School, to whom application should be made.
- Further information
Master of Advanced Study (MASt)
These are the equivalent of a fourth undergraduate year. Application procedures may vary: consult the appropriate departments for latest information.
Master of Business Administration (MBA)
These are awarded by the Judge Business School, to whom application should be made.
- Further information
The Master of Corporate Law (MCL)
The Master of Corporate Law is awarded by the Faculty of Law, although application is made through the Board of Graduate Studies.
- Further information
Master of Education (MEd)
The Master of Education is the part-time equivalent of the MPhil in Education.
- Further information
The Master of Finance (MFin)
These are awarded by the Judge Business School, to whom application should be made.
- Further information
The Master of Law (LLM)
The Master of Law is awarded by the Faculty of Law, although application is made through the Board of Graduate Studies.
- Further information
Master of Music (MMus)
The Master of Music is awarded by the Faculty of Music. Application is made through the Board of Graduate Studies.
Master of Philosophy degree (MPhil)
Most Cambridge MPhils have taught elements and you will be part of a cohort of students (see the A-Z of Masters and Diplomas), although a few are research programmes examined by thesis and oral only.
Nearly all MPhils with taught elements are one-year full-time courses; the current exception being Environmental Design Option B which is a two year, full-time course,. It is also possible to study a small number of MPhils part-time over two years, please see individual course entries for information.
MPhils are assessed in a variety of ways: these can include essays of 3,000 - 10,000 words; perhaps a dissertation; possibly a timed examination; and in some cases an oral examination on your coursework and/or dissertation and the field of knowledge in which it falls.
Both types of MPhil provide an excellent transition to full-scale PhD research. They introduce you to research skills and specialist knowledge, and an MPhil dissertation may be a valuable introductory experience in the preparation of and work on a research dissertation. In fact, in some subjects, an MPhil is a prerequisite for continuing on to research work.
There is no automatic continuation from an MPhil to a PhD - an application must be made to 'continue', and a suitable supervisor must be identified. If an offer of admission to the PhD is made, it will be conditional on your performance in the MPhil, as well as on providing evidence of your ability to fund your PhD studies. Other conditions may also be specified.
Master of Science (MSc) or Master of Letters (MLitt) degree
The MLitt and MSc are research degrees requiring six full-time (or ten part-time) terms of research. Terms of research are normally consecutive, and, for full-time students, require residency in Cambridge. Not all departments offer part-time research degrees.
Candidates for research who feel that the quality (in terms of originality) of research required for the PhD on a given topic might be beyond their reach within the required time limit, or who have only two years of guaranteed funding, may consider applying for the MLitt or MSc degree instead. A degree committee may also recommend this as an outcome of a probationary period of research. Part-time research students are positively encouraged to consider applying for these degrees as a way-mark towards the longer PhD course. Subject to satisfactory progress, an upgrading may be applied for in due course.
Examiners also have the choice of recommending the award of the MLitt or MSc, rather than the PhD, to candidates whose dissertation is substantial and which takes due account of the previously published literature in the subject, but which nonetheless falls short of the quality and originality which is expected from a successful PhD thesis.
Please also read the section on PhD degrees.
Master of Studies (MSt)
The MSt is a part-time master's degree, designed for individuals who are typically studying in addition to working full-time, allowing students to develop their professional and academic interests for career progression or diversification and/or personal development. Many MSt students will have some years of experience prior to undertaking the programme.
MSts are academically-rigorous postgraduate programmes, containing a significant taught element and a research project and associated dissertation, usually undertaken over two years. Taught elements are normally broken down into discrete modules and research projects may be work-related, if appropriate.
MSt programmes are not simply full-time programmes studied on a part-time basis - they are specifically designed as part-time programmes and to be flexible and accessible to accommodate the needs of working professionals. Furthermore, the modular structure of consolidated teaching blocks enables students living farther away from Cambridge, including international students, to undertake an MSt.
Applicants are normally expected to have a good first degree or other evidence of capability to complete a Masters degree. Applications are not made to the Board of Graduate Studies. Further details are provided by the Institute of Continuing Education.
- Further information
Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE)
The degree is awarded by the Faculty of Education, to whom application should be made.
- Further information
Research Programmes
A research degree involves a practical or investigative project for an extended piece of scholarship in which a student has the opportunity to study in depth a topic chosen on the basis of the student's own interests, the staff available to supervise, and the feasibility of the topic proposed in the light of resources and time available. It must demonstrate the qualities set out in the relevant Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) descriptors in order to qualify the candidate for the degree sought. The output is an extended piece of written work, the dissertation.
The environment in which graduate students undertake research varies widely between subjects. Students in some subjects will find themselves engaged in highly individualistic, largely solitary, investigations and may meet their supervisor and other scholars only at fixed times and in seminars, while students in other areas will be embedded in busy laboratory research groups, working in day-to-day contact with their supervisor, postdoctoral researchers and other graduate students. The challenges the students and their supervisors have to meet vary accordingly, but all research students are subject to the same basic rules and guidelines for the conduct of their research and examination.
Bachelor of Medicine/Doctor of Philosophy (MB/PhD)
The MB/PhD Programme leads to the MB, BChir and PhD degrees and is designed for medical students who are interested in academic or research careers by enabling them to integrate a three-year period of research within their clinical education.
The clinical component of the curriculum is designed to equip students for a lifetime of medical practice in a changing world, with emphasis on the acquisition of clinical skills by direct patient contact. At the start of the programme, students follow the Standard Course Stage 1 curriculum up to and including the Stage 1 student selected component. Following a clinical academic module and subject to satisfactory progress, this is followed by a three-year period of full-time research combined with three hours a week clinical education. It concludes with students rejoining the clinical course to complete their studies with either the Standard or Cambridge Graduate courses, depending upon the time of completion of the PhD.
During the research component, students are based mainly in the laboratory or department of their choice at the Addenbrooke's complex or at one of the University sites in central Cambridge.
Applications are submitted for the Clinical Course.
Certificate of Postgraduate Study (CPGS)
The Certificate of Postgraduate Study is a research course requiring one year full-time or five terms' part-time study in Cambridge. It is normally taken as the probationary year of a PhD. It is not usual for applicants to apply directly to this course.
Doctor of Education (EdD)
The Doctor of Education is a 5 year, part-time, research degree, which is designed for educational professionals working in the United Kingdom. The EdD is not a distance learning course.
Doctor of Engineering (EngD)
The EngD (currently only offered by the Department of Materials Science and Metallurgy) is a Professional Doctorate, in which doctoral training is delivered through vocationally orientated advanced study and research. It is of specific relevance for those expecting to pursue or who are already pursuing, a career in industry, and is not primarily intended for those seeking a career in higher education.
The EngD is intended to enable a student to develop a combination of a high level of technical expertise and well-developed skills in problem solving, teamwork, and the design and implementation of research projects. The EngD is a four-year, full-time, programme, involving approximately 25% taught course-work and 75% research project work. The research element in undertaken both at the University and at a collaborating organization.
The residence requirement for the EngD is the same as for the full-time PhD.
Doctor of Medicine (MD) degree: a research degree by dissertation
The MD degree is a doctorate awarded to clinicians who have undertaken an extended period of scientific research. It provides an opportunity for doctors to receive recognition for research achievement within an approved academic programme.
The MD programme, on a par academically with the PhD, spans a maximum of six years, allowing candidates to undertake their research alongside clinical or other responsibilities, at the end of which their dissertation is examined by viva.
Those candidates working in Cambridge will be assigned a University supervisor and become registered students of the University and members of a College. Those candidates intending to work at an institution outside Cambridge must already hold a Cambridge degree and must apply to take the MD by Special Regulations.
Application is via the Graduate Admission and Scholarship Application Form (GRADSAF).
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
The degree of Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) is the University's principal research degree for graduate students and is available in all faculties and departments. A Cambridge PhD is intellectually demanding and you will need to have a high level of attainment and motivation to pursue this programme of advanced study and research. In most faculties a candidate is expected to have completed one year of postgraduate study, normally on a research preparation masters course, prior to starting a PhD.
Completion normally requires three or four years of full-time study, or at least five years of part-time study, including a probationary period. Terms of research are normally consecutive and, for full-time students, require residency in Cambridge. Not all departments offer part-time research degrees (see Part-time study).
Various routes to the PhD are possible and, if you are made an offer of admission, it will be made clear whether you are required to study for a masters degree or certificate in the first instance, or will be admitted directly to the probationary year for the PhD. You are registered for the PhD only after a satisfactory progress assessment at the end of the probationary year (five terms for part-time degrees). The assessment is designed also to focus your mind on the stages necessary for completion of your research within the normal time limit and to address any structural problems that have arisen during the first year. The progress examination/assessment at the end of year one is a substantial academic hurdle and continuation to the PhD is not automatic.
During your PhD, your effort will be focused on writing a dissertation of up to 80,000 words. This must represent a significant contribution to learning, for example through the discovery of new knowledge, the connection of previously unrelated facts, the development of a new theory, or the revision of older views, and must take account of previously published work on the subject. Many Cambridge dissertations go on to form the basis of significant publications.
Although you will spend long hours working independently, your department and college will support you in different ways. You are also able to attend regular seminars in your subject area, might be involved in teaching, perhaps giving seminars or supervising, and can play an integral part in the social life of your department and college.
Master of Philosophy (MPhil)
Most MPhils are courses with taught elements. However, a few are research programmes examined, like a PhD, by thesis and oral only.
All these are one year courses (two years part-time, where available).
There is no automatic continuation from an MPhil to a PhD - an application must be made to 'continue', and a suitable supervisor must be identified. If an offer of admission to the PhD is made, it will be conditional on your performance in the MPhil, as well as on providing evidence of your ability to fund your PhD studies. Other conditions may also be specified.
Master of Research (MRes) degree
The Master of Research degree prepares prospective PhD candidates for doctoral research in a specific area; a programme of projects, seminars and lectures is offered an area of research and can be tailored to help the student identify a specific PhD topic. Some programmes are designed to allow students to gain a breadth of experience across a range of multidisciplinary approaches to a particular topic.
An MRes has a major research element - which may be in the form of a number of short lab projects in rotation, which you will write up for assessment - but also a menu of taught elements providing training in a variety of general and discipline-specific research methods.
The MRes is generally offered as part of a four-year doctoral programme. In these four-year programmes, the MRes is offered ONLY in conjunction with the PhD; and continuation to the PhD is subject to satisfactory performance in the MRes and the indentification of a suitable topic and supervisor.
Four Year Doctoral Programmes: Masters + PhD
A few departments offer a 4 year programme, where a one-year MPhil or MRes is linked to a three year PhD. They are available full-time only.
In the Graduate School of Life Sciences these comprise a year of research training, normally involving laboratory rotations leading to the refinement of a research proposal and a Masters degree (MPhil or MRes), followed by a three-year PhD. The programmes are based either in one of the institutes or in a department and involve co-operation between a number of departments and institutes.
Postgraduate Diplomas in Law
There are two research diplomas in law, one in International Law, and one in Legal Studies. These are one year full-time research programmes but with a discretionary oral.
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