This is a full-time research degree. Students also attend relevant lectures and seminars and participate in skills development training activities organized by the Department and the Graduate School of Life Sciences. Its main aims are: to give students with relevant experience at first-degree level the opportunity to carry out focussed research in the discipline under close supervision and to give students the opportunity to acquire or develop skills and expertise relevant to their research interests. By the end of the MPhil, students will have: a comprehensive understanding of techniques, and a thorough knowledge of the literature, applicable to their own research; demonstrated originality in the application of knowledge, together with a practical understanding of how research and enquiry are used to create and interpret knowledge in their field; shown abilities in the critical evaluation of current research and research techniques and methodologies and demonstrated some self-direction and originality in tackling and solving problems, and acted autonomously in the planning and implementation of research.