Master's degree in Stem Cell Medicine (taught)

Our 1-year (full-time) Master's degree - 'MPhil in Stem Cell Medicine' taught course will provide training and research in the area of Stem Cell Biology and Medicine.  The majority of the course will consist of hands-on experience on a specific research project, in the lab. Lectures will be given by experts in the field, mostly consisting of Cambridge Stem Cell Institute Principal Investigators.

The course aims to:

• Give students with relevant experience at a first-degree level, the opportunity to carry out focused research in the discipline under close supervision
• Give students the opportunity to acquire or develop skills and expertise relevant to their research interests.

Taught material:

This will comprise a combination of course-specific teaching and transferable skills training.

Course-specific teaching will include approximately 60 hours of lectures and tutorials in stem cell medicine, covering fundamental theory, state-of-the-art topics, and technical seminars, along with selected guest lectures. Teaching will be delivered primarily by the course team, including Principal Investigators (PIs), senior technical staff, and postdoctoral researchers developing their teaching skills.

Around 30 hours of transferable skills training will be provided within the Institute, covering scientific writing, public engagement, and public speaking, and drawing on the Biostatistics and Bioinformatics initiative from the Cambridge Centre for Data-Driven Discovery.

Lectures and transferable skills training will be scheduled primarily in the first seven weeks of Michaelmas Term, before the commencement of the research project, with further material delivered through weekly lectures and seminars throughout the remainder of the year.

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Thesis / Dissertation

This course will be partly assessed on a dissertation based on the research project, not exceeding 10,000 words in length.

Essays

The taught material will be assessed via a biostatistics written test towards the end of the first term and a written essay question set in the lent term based on lecture material.

Other

An oral presentation based on a topic of the student’s choice distinct from the Research Project e.g. a laboratory/analytical method, a public engagement activity, a separate piece of research work or a mini-grant proposal will be assessed by the academic leadership team.

• This MPhil does not come with funding, so candidates are required to source their own funding.
• The Cambridge Stem Cell Institute are pleased to be able to offer two bursaries to UK students to cover the "Home" rate fees. Candidates will be considered for these alongside the standard course interviews in January 2026, so no additional application is needed. These are fees-only awards, so successful candidates will still need to cover their annual maintenance costs ("stipend").
• For Master's applicants from Africa, there's also a fantastic opportunity available for funding through the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program at the University of Cambridge.
• Please tick the box in your application form to "be considered for Cambridge funding" to be considered for various Cambridge funding opportunities - https://www.postgraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/funding/how-to-apply. Note these are very competitive so it's also advised to seek out your own external scholarships. 
• Application deadline to be considered for Cambridge funding = Tuesday 2nd December 2025.

Applications for October 2026 entry will open in September!  All applications must be made via the Applicant Portal.

Applicants are not required to identify a supervisor at application stage. Research projects/supervisors will be chosen once the course has started.

Annual Recruitment Timeline (for Michaelmas Term starters)