The MPhil is a programme of independent, self-directed research reviewing or surveying and collating and evaluating existing knowledge in an approved topic and presenting the findings in a thesis for examination including a viva. Like the PhD, the MPhil develops your research and generic skills and is pursued under the guidance of a team of expert supervisors. It differs from the PhD in that it is a smaller scale of work, conducted over a shorter period of time and does not create new knowledge in the field. The MPhil can be taken as a separate, target award, but most commonly forms the initial stage of study within a linked MPhil/PhD programme, where the registration is upgraded to PhD once it is established that the work has the potential for an original contribution to knowledge. Research in the School of Life Sciences encompasses a wide range of disciplines from pure to applied science, integrating areas from structural biology, molecular genetics, applied microbiology and biotechnology through to human performance, Chinese medicine, Public Health Nutrition and Well being at the other. We welcome applications within the areas covered by our seven research groups: Against Breast Cancer, Applied Biotechnology, Tissue Architecture and Regeneration, Psychology, Translational Physiology, Water Science.