The MPhil is offered by the Department of Physics as a full-time period of research and introduces students to research skills and specialist knowledge. 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. The MPhil in Physics is 12-month full-time and involves minimal formal teaching. Students are expected to attend the Department's programme of research seminars and other graduate courses but most research training is provided within the group structure and overseen by their research supervisor. Informal opportunities to develop research skills also exist through mentoring and other opportunities by fellow students and members of staff. The scheme of examination for the MPhil in Physics shall consist of a thesis, of not more than 15,000 words in length, exclusive of tables, footnotes, bibliography, and appendices, on a subject approved by the Degree Committee for the Faculty of Physics and Chemistry. The examination shall include an oral examination on the thesis and on the general field of knowledge within which it falls. The thesis shall provide evidence to satisfy the Examiners that a candidate can design and carry out investigations, assess and interpret the results obtained, and place the work in the wider perspectives of the subject. By the end of the programme, 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.