Applicants can Apply Online or if you are unable to apply online we will also accept paper applications.
A separate taught/research MSc in Biomedical Sciences Research is offered by the School of Medical Sciences.
For a listing of fees for home/EEC/overseas students, all fees are listed on the fees information page.
The University occupies a relatively compact site close to, and overlooking the city centre (don't come if you don't like hills!!). The School is located primarily in the Medical Sciences Building, University Walk, although it has some laboratories in the nearby Pre-clinical Veterinary School. In recent years, there has been considerable refurbishment work, and this has provided new, very high quality laboratories for a number of research groups. The rest of the old laboratory space will be refurbished and upgraded over the next 2-3 years. It is a large School with over 100 members including about 20-25 postgraduates at any one time. There is a good social interaction among our students, between students and staff, and between their counterparts in other schools in the Medical Sciences Building.
In the School of Physiology & Pharmacology degrees are awarded only for research.
A separate taught/research MSc in Biomedical Sciences Research is offered by the School of Medical Sciences.
In Physiology & Pharmacology, the majority of our students are studying for a PhD and it is expected that the laboratory work and production of a written thesis should take no more than four years. We do have a small number of students who are conducting research for an MSc, but we have no taught Masters courses.
The choice of a research project is, as far as possible, led by you, the student. We do not allocate scholarships to individual supervisors, rather we select the best students from those who apply and allow them to choose a project by mutual agreement with the project supervisor. In general we take on between 6 and 9 students every year. We have 20-plus active research laboratories and each has a web page outlining their current research interests and some recent publications. We ask students who are interested in applying to directly contact the supervisor(s) of projects they find most interesting by email and, if possible, arrage to visit the lab(s) of their choice to discuss the details of various projects and to meet members of the lab. Remember, when considering a choice of project, in the first instance the topic of your research is almost less important than being at ease with, and able to relate to, the people you are working with. If you are genuinely interested in research, you will readily develop an interest in any project that you commit yourself to.
Funding for PhD studies comes from a number of sources. Most students are supported by Research Council (e.g. the Medical Research Council), or University Scholarships. These pay an annual personal stipend for 3 years plus University Tuition fees. Other students are funded by Charity studentships (e.g. the Wellcome Trust, the British Heart Foundation) which pay a higher stipend, but which are contingent upon individual project supervisors being granted the scholarship by the Charity. Pharmaceutical companies, again via agreement with individual supervisors, occasionally fund students. Finally, some students are employed as Research Assistants on specific grants awarded to supervisors, and by agreement with the supervisor, may register for a PhD.
Although the major part of your PhD will be spent conducting your research project, you will be required to attend a number of short courses, seminars and workshops, which will provide you with formal training in lab practice (e.g. safety, radiation protection), certain transferable skills (e.g. teaching, oral presentation, writing, statistics and IT related skills) and information about research related topics (e.g. ethics, intellectual property, entrepreneurship). The Graduate School in Biomedical Sciences now runs these courses for all students in Anatomy, Biochemistry, Pathology and Microbiology, Pharmacology and Physiology. The Graduate school also runs seminars on research methods (e.g. genome analysis, production and use of antibodies), which are optional. These courses and workshops are arranged at set times each week to allow you to incorporate them in to your research schedule. Finally, regular research seminars are also presented by senior members of the School and invited National and International speakers, to give you exposure to a wide range of research areas and techniques presented by experts in the field.
We are keen for you to become skilled research scientists but we also want you to develop other skills too. Thus, we will ask you to contribute to School teaching from time to time. This may involve Demonstrating in practical classes for our Science, Medical, Veterinary or Dental undergraduates. In your second or third year, you may also be asked to take on some small group tutorials. The School gains from this help, and you do too by including the experience on your CV, but more importantly, by being paid for it!
Informally, you are monitored on a day-to-day basis by your primary supervisor. In addition, you also select a secondary supervisor or mentor from amongst the academic staff or senior fellows, from whom you can seek advice and help, and who will also monitor your progress on an informal basis. Our formal monitoring procedures include:
(Back to top)In year 1 you are required to present two short Work-in-Progress talks, which allow us to monitor your progress and oral presentation skills. They are primarily aimed at the School but are open to all.
You will be asked to prepare an in depth review of literature (approximately 5000 words) related to the topic of your research, which will be assessed by your supervisor about 4-5 months after starting.
At the end of your first year you have to produce a written report that addresses (a) progress with experimental work, and (b) a plan of future work. This is used to assess both satisfactory experimental progress and planning, and the development of writing skills.
Following submission of the written report (usually in August), the Head of School (HoS) and Postgraduate Tutor will interview you. At these interviews, we will question you on the scientific content of the report, but you will also get the chance to discuss general progress and any problems that might have arisen during the year. For most students this is when they are transferred from Msc to PhD student status.
In year 2 we have the same monitoring procedures as those in Year 1 except that no literature review is required, you only give one Work-in-Progress talk and your written report should indicate a timetable for completion of experimental work and for writing and submission of your thesis.
At the 2.5 year timepoint you will be interviewed for the last time by the HoS and PG Tutor and when your experimental work is complete you will present a final talk to the School, which will last about 45 minutes and summarize the body of work that will contribute to your thesis.
A final word: The School is lively, friendly and open. The University has a great reputation. Bristol is a fantastic place to live, study and enjoy yourself. Come and work here!
Having had a look through the research pages of our website you will hopefully have found one or two laboratories and projects that look exciting to you and we urge you to first contact the PIs of these labs directly by email to discuss opportunities for postgraduate study. Very likely they will request you send them a CV (with names and addresses of two academic referees). and arrange a visit to their lab. After informally discussing potential projects, formal applications must be made through the Faculty using the generic Bristol postgraduate application form.
Dr Stuart Mundell, Postgraduate Tutor - Recruitment & Admission
School of Physiology & Pharmacology
Medical Sciences Building
University Walk
Bristol
BS8 1TD
Fax: +44 (0) 117 331 1440
S.J.Mundell@bristol.ac.uk
Dr David Sheppard, Postgraduate tutor - Postgraduate progression
School of Physiology & Pharmacology
Medical Sciences Building
University Walk
Bristol
BS8 1TD
Further information on how to find us is found on our contacts page.
Information on the School of Medical Sciences MSc in Biomedical Sciences Research is available here
