Frequently asked questions on applying to Cambridge can be found on the Board of Graduate Studies website at FAQs
Course specific queries are below:
Do you have any funding sources?
The Energy Technologies Course is currently unable to help with providing any funding for prospective students.
Do I need an ATAS?
Both the Energy Technologies and the Nuclear Energy MPhil courses require some students to have an ATAS. On our acceptance of your application you will be provided with an ATAS statement. This must be copied word for word on your ATAS application as supplied, failure to do so has resulted in rejection and you will have to re-apply.
How long are the terms?
For the first two terms the courses largely follow the undergraduate academic year of eight weeks of lectures, however, both courses are 11 month courses (October to September of the following year) and we reserve the right to extend those terms by one week where appropriate. The final term is usually spent doing exams and dissertation research.
When do we have to choose between the long and the short dissertation?
You do not have to choose immediately and we would expect you to discuss this with the Course Manager or Course Director if you should wish.
When can we choose our electives?
We do not expect you to choose your electives before you arrive - in
fact, the mechanisms are not set up for you to do so until you've
arrived and have attended 2-3 weeks worth of lectures. However, once you have started you will have two weeks in which to make your decision for Michaelmas term lectures and two weeks in the Lent term to chose Lent electives.
Concerning the thesis, during the application process I understood we would have to suggest our own research topic. However the website says we are given a list to choose from by the member of staff.
The application form for the MPhil is the same as for a student applying to do a PhD. The MPhil application, however, does not require you to suggest a research topic; by the end of the Michaelmas term, a selection of projects should be available from which you can choose or, if you have a particular topic in mind, you can suggest one. However, this latter point is no guarantee that we will have anyone working in your specific area willing to take on an MPhil project.
-Is there a certain flexibility in the topic choice?
Yes and no. We do not offer projects without having a supervisor in mind, however, if you wish to propose a project, and you and the Course
Director can find a willing supervisor, we would be prepared to accommodate that.