iPhD Biomedical Science 2024-25

Academic Regulations: Faculty of Medicine

SchoolClinical and Experimental Sciences
Final Award

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) (with intermediate award of Master of Research (MRes))

With exit awards of:

Master of Research (MRes)

Master of Philosophy (MPhil)

Programme(s)Integrated PhD in Biomedical Science
Last modifiedApril 2024

The Academic Regulations apply to and regulate the programme(s) listed above.

On occasion, programmes can be exempted from one or more of the clauses in the Regulations; one or more of the clauses can be varied; and programmes can impose additional requirements.

  • Exemptions are characterised by the omission of the relevant clause.
  • Variations are characterised by the replacement of the clause with alternative wording.
  • Additions are characterised by requirements in addition to those detailed in the Academic Regulations.

The programmes listed have approval from the Academic Quality and Standards Subcommittee for the exemptions and/or variations and/or additions to the regulations noted below.

Exemptions

The clause listed below describe where an exemption to the Regulations exists:

Existing University Regulation

Progression, Determination and Classification of Results Postgraduate Master’s Programmes

Approved Exemption
6 Repeat 
6.1A student who has not passed at the first attempt or is not eligible to Refer, or who has Referred and not passed, may Repeat the taught part of the programme Internally or Externally as chosen by the student following academic advice from within the School.No Repeat Year is allowed.

Variations

The clause listed below describe where a variation to the Regulations exists:

Existing University Regulation 

Regulations for Research Degrees

Approved Variation
5. Additional Requirements for Integrated PhDs 
5.1

Integrated PhDs are typically structured as follows, with any specific additional requirements detailed in the Academic Regulations:  

  • The early stage of the programme (the taught phase) requires research students to complete a prescribed set of modules which are assessed under the Progression, Determination and Classification of Results: Postgraduate Master’s Programmes regulations. Students who complete these modules and pass the required assessments at the specified standard will be permitted to proceed to the research phase of the programme. On occasion, and where defined in the relevant Academic Regulations, an interim award of MA, MSc or MRes may be given. In the event of failure to achieve the required standard, to progress to the research phase of the programme, and where stated in the Academic Regulations, students may be eligible for an exit award of a Postgraduate Certificate (PGCert) or Postgraduate Diploma (PGDip), subject to the completion of further academic work.
  • The research phase of the student's programme will be devoted to supervised research and preparation of a thesis and may include the completion of further modules, training and development activities. 

Integrated PhDs are typically structured as follows, with any specific additional requirements detailed in the Academic Regulations:  

  • The early stage of the programme (the taught phase) requires research students to complete a prescribed set of modules which are assessed under the Progression, Determination and Classification of Results: Postgraduate Master’s Programmes regulations. Students who complete these modules and pass the required assessments at the specified standard, as well as successfully completing the PhD competence review, will be permitted to proceed to the research phase of the programme. On occasion, and where defined in the relevant Academic Regulations, an interim award of MA, MSc or MRes may be given. 
  • The PhD competence review will be held at three points during year 1, with the first two being formative and the last one summative. Feedback will be provided after each review. If the third PhD competence review is failed, a second attempt will be offered.  Should the second attempt be failed, the Faculty may, at the end of year 1, recommend to Senate that candidature for the PhD is terminated. Eligible candidates may be offered the exit award of MRes 
  • The research phase of the student's programme will be devoted to supervised research and preparation of a thesis and may include the completion of further modules, training and development activities. 
6.1

Duration of Research Degrees 

The duration of each research degree is set out in the following table: 

Degree Minimum Length of Candidature Maximum Length of Candidature 
Full-time Part-time Full-time Part-time 
PhD – Integrated route 36 months 48 months 60 months 108 months 

Duration of Research Degrees 

The duration of each research degree is set out in the following table: 

Degree Minimum Length of Candidature Maximum Length of Candidature 
Full-time Flexible routeFull-time Flexible route
PhD – Integrated route 36 months 48 months 54 months 108 months 

 

18.17
Summary of timings of progression reviews for research students who enrolled on their doctoral studies on or after 1 August 2016 (full-time programmes)
 First Attempt Second Attempt
Submission window Decision deadline Submission window Decision deadline 
First Progression Review 7 - 9 months Before the end of month 10 10 - 11 monthsBefore the end of month 12 
Second Progression Review (Confirmation) 18 - 20 monthsBefore the end of month 21 21 - 23 monthsBefore the end of month 24 
Third Progression Review 30 - 32 monthsBefore the end of month 33 33 - 35 monthsBefore the end of month 36 
Summary of timings of progression reviews for research students who enrolled on their doctoral studies on or after 1 August 2016 (part-time programmes) NB: All part-time students are required to undertake an Interim Progression Review if they have not undergone a Progression Review in the previous twelve months of candidature with timings for individual students set down in PGR Manager.
 

First Attempt 

Second Attempt 

Submission window 

Decision deadline 

Submission window 

Decision deadline 
First Progression Review 15 - 20 monthsBefore the end of month 21 21 - 23 monthsBefore the end of month 24 
Second Progression Review (Confirmation) 30 - 41 monthsBefore the end of month 42 42 - 47 monthsBefore the end of month 48 
Third Progression Review 61 - 65 monthsBefore the end of month 66 66 - 71 monthsBefore the end of month 72 

Approved Variation

Summary of timings of progression reviews for research students who enrolled on their doctoral studies on or after 1 August 2016 (full-time iPhD Biomedical Science programme)
 First Attempt Second Attempt
Submission window Decision deadline Submission window Decision deadline 
Year 1 Taught Modules    
First Progression Review 16 - 18 months Before the end of month 19 19 - 20 monthsBefore the end of month 21
Second Progression Review (Confirmation) 27 - 29 monthsBefore the end of month 3030 - 32 monthsBefore the end of month 33
Third Progression Review 39 - 41 monthsBefore the end of month 42 42 - 44 monthsBefore the end of month 45
Summary of timings of progression reviews for research students who enrolled on their doctorate studies on or after 1 August 2016 (flexible route iPhD Biomedical Science programme) NB: All students on the flexible route are required to undertake an Interim Progression Review if they have not undergone a Progression Review in the previous twelve months of candidature with timings for individual students set down in PGR Manager.
 

First Attempt 

Second Attempt 

Submission window 

Decision deadline 

Submission window 

Decision deadline 
Year 1 Taught Modules    
First Progression Review 36 - 40 monthsBefore the end of month 4242 - 44 monthsBefore the end of month 46
Second Progression Review (Confirmation) 52 - 56 monthsBefore the end of month 58 58 - 62 monthsBefore the end of month 64 
Third Progression Review 70 - 74 monthsBefore the end of month 76 76 - 80 monthsBefore the end of month 82 

Additional requirements

The clause(s) listed below are in addition to the Regulations:

Years 2-4 of this programme may be subject to DBS requirements, see clause 4 of the Policy and guidance for Aapplicants with criminal records.

These regulations should be read in conjunction with the Programme Specification. 

Disclaimer

As a research-led University, we undertake a continuous review of our programmes to ensure quality enhancement and to manage our resources. As a result, these regulations may be revised during a student’s period of registration, however, any revision will be balanced against the requirement that the student should receive the educational service expected. Please read our Disclaimer to see why, when and how changes may be made to a student’s programme.