Research training within the Department has several essential components, the first and foremost being the research project itself, to which you will make a significant contribution. This will give you experience and training in a variety of experimental and/or clinical research techniques, but will also teach you how to organise research, plan experiments, and read and digest the scientific literature relevant to your research work. Most research groups have weekly or fortnightly meetings in which all members discuss each others work. You will be required to attend seminars and round-tables, and you may have the opportunity to go to scientific meetings both in the UK and abroad. These bring you into direct contact with prominent and active scientists in your field from around the world. You will also give scientific talks yourself and will also be expected to attend courses, either directly related to your research (for example, they might teach you a specific skill or expand your theoretical knowledge) or teach you general skills which are important for well-qualified scientist to know (for example, how to write a scientific paper, use databases, or interact with the media). There are a large number of these courses, and many of them are run by the the Graduate School of Life Sciences, but the Department has its own series of seminars and workshops and an annual Spring School, which is focused each year on a different topic. You will be assigned a principal supervisor, whom you should expect to see on a regular basis. The department will also appoint a second supervisor whom you will meet less regularly. Typically the second supervisor provides expertise in a related field. There is a weekly seminar programme that is given by all graduates students in the department. MPhil students get to present their work towards the end of their course. They receive formal feedback on their presentation from the course director. The MPhil in Medical Science is examined by dissertation and viva. The dissertation must be no longer than 20,000 words and must satisfy the examiners that the candidate can design and carry out an original investigation, assess and interpret the results obtained, and place the work in the wider perspective of the subject.