MPhil Adaptive Organismal Biology: The University of Manchester

Course description

The MPhil is a one-year research degree where students get the opportunity to study a specific research project. The MPhil degree can act as a stand-alone degree for applicants who would like to gain experience in a specific area, or can be linked to a PhD programme. Rather than register on a direct entry 3 or 4 year PhD, some postgraduates may first register on a one-year MPhil programme. Subsequently students may then wish to transfer on to a full PhD programme with a further 2 or 3 years of study.

Adaptive Organismal Biology seeks to understand the responses of complex biological systems to environmental challenges. Research involves comparative and model hopping approaches at whole organism, tissue, cell and gene expression levels. At The University of Manchester there are three main focuses of research within Adaptive Organismal Biology.

• The Integrative and Comparative Physiology group study torpor and lung surfactant in arousal of bats, sustainability of fish and reptile heart function in changing thermal environments and osmoregulatory physiology of fish migrating between sea and freshwater.
• The Aquatic Integrative Biology group examine bioavailability and toxicology of aluminium in freshwater snails and crayfish, while developing novel techniques (eg Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy analysis) to resolve lake plankton population dynamics.
• The Biomechanics group combines computational simulation analysis of bipedal movement in hominids, mechanical investigations of anti-herbivore defence in grasses and in vivo studies of respiratory movements in birds.

Career opportunities

The majority of their MPhil students choose to study for a subsequent 2 or 3 years to gain a PhD qualification. Other students use the skills they have acquired to move into related areas such as education, information technology, consultancy and management, helped by the comprehensive skills training they gain during their programme of study.

Entry requirements

Academic entry qualification overview:

The standard entry requirement for MPhil study is a First or Upper Second class honours degree, or the overseas equivalent, in a relevant subject. In certain circumstances, a Lower Second class honours degree supplemented by appropriate relevant experience, may be acceptable.

English language:

For MPhil applicants whose first language is not English an IELTS score of 6.5, TOEFL 577 (paper based), TOEFL 233 (computer based) or TOEFL 90 (internet based) is required as a minimum.