Course summary

The MD degree – on a par academically with the PhD – is aimed at medically-qualified clinicians working in Cambridge who hold suitable research appointments within Cambridge University Health Partners (CUHP, i.e. the University of Cambridge, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust, and Royal Papworth Hospital NHS Foundation Trust). Research projects, allied to the area in which the candidate is currently employed, can be undertaken across the whole spectrum of medical science from basic biology to clinical therapies and should relate to the science, art, or history of medicine. All applicants must be employed by a CUHP institution at the time of their application and have sufficient dedicated research time (at least two years full-time, or the part-time equivalent) permitted by their employer to enable the completion of their proposed research. Applicants are asked to submit a detailed research proposal with their application. If accepted, a University supervisor will be appointed and the candidate will be expected to work on the project part-time (usually alongside their clinical commitments within CUHP), and to submit their thesis within a maximum of six years. Like the PhD, the MD is examined by thesis and viva. As registered part-time students of the University, MD candidates will have access to a wide range of library and computing facilities, as well as the social and pastoral resources in their Colleges.