Supervisions, Lectures and Seminars
Supervisions
One of the great strengths of studying at Cambridge is the level of individual support you will receive from an expert in your field. The Faculty assigns all graduates an individual academic supervisor to guide them through their course. You will meet with them regularly to discuss progress and submit written work for scrutiny and comment at appropriate times. The Faculty has around forty academic staff teaching on the Graduate programme offering a very wide range of expertise.
Your supervisor will help you to clarify your ideas, keep you on target and help you to meet and understand the standard of work required. He or she will direct you to information and resources, and should help you to produce research at a very high level. They will take a major role in supporting the conceptualisation and execution of the research whilst allowing you to develop the skills of an independent researcher and take responsibility for all aspects of planning, carrying out, and writing-up a small-scale research project.
Lectures and Seminars
All Masters research students submit a 20,000 word thesis. They are supported towards this with regular supervisions, lectures and seminars. The timing of these varies according to whether a student is full or part time and according to which route they are following.
Full time study
Full time MPhil (with one exception ) research students are supported by two or three lectures per week, plus supervisions and tutorials. MPhil students are required to live in or close to Cambridge (within 10 miles of the city centre).
Part time study
Part time MEd research students are supported through weekly lectures and seminars or in some cases through blended learning. Students submit their thesis in late August at the end of the two year programme. Currently, the weekly seminars for most routes take place on a Wednesday afternoon from 2-7pm (generally during university term times, although sessions do run through school half term and occasional sessions take place outside of university term time). Detailed timetables will be made available towards the start of the course but these may vary or be subject to change. Sessions for the MEd in Educational Research route are currently either a Tuesday or a Thursday afternoon, depending on your year of entry. The blended learning routes involve Saturday conferences and an online element.
There is no formal requirement for MEd research students to live in or close to Cambridge but please be aware that on all routes except Researching Practice and Science Teacher Researchers and Practitioners, you will be required to attend the Faculty weekly during term time. Students are expected to attend all sessions and a number of face-to-face supervisions.