Overview

MD degrees are a higher degree available to qualified medical doctors and dentists. During an MPhil/PhD you will undertake an in-depth research study that will relate specifically to your own medical practice. Completion of the doctorate will identify that you are an expert in your field and will demonstrate a proven ability to problem-solve and to perform original research at a very high level contributing to the existing body of knowledge within your own specialist field.

You will be required to:

• identify a research project that is original and will make a contribution to subject knowledge.
• attend research training/seminar programmes which are University wide and within our Faculty of Health, Social Care & Education
• work under the guidance of a supervisory team to develop ideas into an original research proposal
• submit your research proposal (normally) within one month of registration
• obtain any necessary research governance approvals. Whilst our University operates a Research Ethics Committee, your project may require application to external Research Ethics and Research & Development Committees, or similar
• following approvals, implement your project
• complete annual progress reviews.
• submit academic material to the Research Degrees Committee, normally within 2 years (3 years if part-time) of receiving approval of the proposal as Confirmation of Candidature, for transfer from MPhil to PhD
• submit a written thesis based on the work - an MPhil thesis is normally up to a maximum of 40,000 words, and a PhD 80,000 words
• complete a viva voce examination attended by a specialist examiner on your chosen topic who is external to our University.

Supervision and support

Our supervisory team will consist of an experienced first supervisor, with responsibility for overseeing your studies, and at least one other supervisor. They will set up regular meetings with you to develop and implement the agreed research project. Your needs will be identified by the use of a skills diagnostic tool, and a personal development plan and learning contract formulated in conjunction with this. Your progress will be monitored annually. University and Faculty training programmes are provided.

Facilities

You will have access to a range of resources, including our University Library on both the Cambridge and Chelmsford campuses. Face-to-face teaching is supplemented by the use of a Virtual Learning Environment, with facilities for online discussion. Equipment will be available for loan and use in data collection.

Funding

Our research programme periodically offers 3 year, fully funded studentships. We offer advice on external and internal funding to any interested prospective applicant for our PhD degree. There are also funds available within our Faculty for which you may apply.

Career development and training

We are committed to offering training and career development opportunities for all research students. Many of our PhD candidates hold teaching responsibilities. You will be given the opportunity to present within our Postgraduate Research Training Framework programme and within our other University programmes. We encourage you to write for publication and to present your findings at local, national and international conferences.

Generic research degree training will be offered at University level and specialist and advanced training will be offered at Faculty level. This includes the following areas:

• ethics
• general overview of the philosophy of research
• reading research critically and designing research projects
• quantitative research methods and instrument design
• qualitative research methods
• mixed methods research
• data collection and analysis
• bibliographic skills and the use of databases
• communicating and disseminating research
• research as a contribution to academic practice.

Research is an integral part of our Faculty of Health & Social Care and Education. We provide a creative and energetic environment for undertaking research that addresses real issues across the full spectrum of health and social care and education.

We currently focus on the core areas of Acute care, Public and Mental Health, Childhood in Society and Communities, Social Inclusion and Participation, Professional and Practice-based Education.

We welcome proposals from students wishing to undertake higher research degrees in these areas and topics linked to staff expertise. Some of our current research projects are listed below:

Acute care

• Patient reported experience measures (PREMS) COPD
• Social Innovation Platform for Active and Healthy Ageing and Research Activities to Develop New Products that Improve the Quality of Life of Older Citizens and Society as a Whole (SAHARA)
• Evaluation of 'A Year in the Life' COPD Project in Outer North East London (ONEL)
• Supporting carers in their care: The hospice setting
• Effectiveness of pre-habilitation exercise for laparoscopic colorectal patients

Public Health

• Health promotion and Public Health in Nursing
• HIV/Hepatitis C/Drug Misuse
• Emergency care/Accident and Emergency
• Community development and minority health with a special focus on Gypsy/ Roma health
• Early years overweight and obesity
• Health visiting
• Patient-Provider communication for behaviour change
• Public health nutrition
• Dental/oral public health
• Healthcare decision making and behaviour
• Quality of Care and health improvement

Family and Child Health

• Making Involvement Matter in Essex
• ESTEEM (Effective Support for Self Help/Mutual Aid Groups)
• Participation and Responsibility in Modern European Healthcare (PRIME)
• Self-Help/Mutual Aid Groups in Health & Social Care: Exploring their role in the health and wellbeing of individuals and communities
• Taking Place Seriously. Young people's use and perceptions of space.
• Guidelines on Alternative Care
• Foster care in Europe
• Social care in Croatia
• EU Initial Training Network
• Street Life Safety
• Citizenship
• Italian Community Policing
• Rural Inequalities
• Kidesye: Young People's Perspectives on Risky Places
• The Economic Crisis and Violence against Women
• Deaf Young People experiences of Victimization
• Fenland Transitions Project
• Cambridge and Peterborough Mental Health Trust Evaluation of Cambridgeshire County Councils experience with the Hackney Model of Child Protection
• Assessing Parenting Project
• Impact of CSV on Child Protection Outcomes

Education

• Evaluation of Social Services Training
• Evaluation of Make Believe Arts Helicopter Storytelling Technique
• Service Families Decisions About Childcare
• Evaluation of Safeguarding
• Investigation of the Benefits of Forest Activities
• Initial Training Network on Youth Employment
• Initial Training Network on Looked After Children
• International Research Community on Outdoor Learning
• EU SUPREME Suicide prevention project
• Outsourcing of e-learning platforms
• Balancing the demands of in-school placement with out-of-school study
• 3D Warehouse
• Enterprising Academic
• Mobile Technology is secondary education
• Virtual Incident Crime Environment (VICE)
• Digital Equalities
• Impact of Early Years Professional Status on outcomes for children

Allied Health

• Reflexology and stress reduction in patients with breast cancer
• Stress in the Workplace: An Appreciative Approach
• Intervention by an acute psychotherapeutic and counselling service to reduce frequent attendances and admission to acute medical services by patients attending for non-medical or only partially-medical reasons
• Using self-efficacy in science to promote bioscience learning by pre-registration
• A RCT of the effectiveness of pre- and post-operative exercise regimes on postoperative outcome measures and quality of life following laparoscopic colorectal surgery
• Engagement, procedural justice and stress outcomes in a public sector organisation

This programme is open to applications from graduates in Medicine or Dentistry.