PhD opportunities: Assessment

Each student in the MMC has, in accordance with College guidelines, a primary and second supervisor. They will also, during the course of their first year, acquire a thesis committee who will carry out 1st and second year assessments to provide continuity and expertise. The thesis committee will be made up of the first and sceond supervisors, possibly a day-to-day supervisor such as a postdoc, an external committee member (ideally someone who is not based in the MMC but who has some degree of familiarity with the student’s subject area; certainly someone from outside the student’s section) and a Chair, who should be someone of at least Senior Lecturer level who has a good deal of experience with PhD supervision.

At each thesis committee meeting, students will be given the opportunity to talk to the Chair and external in the absence of their supervisors, and supervisors can also comment after the student has left the room. There are three stages of assessment...