Information for Current Postgraduate Students

Photograph of student studying in the Haddon Library, University of Cambridge.Lecture Lists

Timetables are available from the first floor of the Social Anthropology building.

Diaries

Useful links

Ethical Guidelines

The Annual Year: Terms and Weeks

There are three terms:
•    Michaelmas (Oct-Dec)
•    Lent (Jan-Mar)
•    Easter (Apr-June)

Each full term lasts eight weeks. Terms begin on a Tuesday and end on a Friday. Lectures always start on the first Thursday of term. The lecturing week runs from Thursday to Wednesday. See University term dates.

Residency Arrangements

Graduate degrees at Cambridge are residential degrees and students are expected to come into residence at the start of the first (‘Michaelmas’) term – normally the first week in October.

Registration

If you are taking the PhD or MRes in Social Anthropology, once you have successfully completed the first year, and received clearance to proceed to fieldwork from the PhD Committee the Degree Committee will consider recommending to the Board that you be registered for the PhD degree. Alternatively, students are sometimes registered for the MLitt degree, the requirements for which are less exacting than those for the PhD. In either event the date of registration will be backdated to the date on which you started your pre-fieldwork training. You cannot initiate the registration procedure yourself.

Facilities for PhD/MRes Students

Common Rooms, Lockers and Desk Space

The basement reading room (Rivers Research Unit) is reserved for the use of graduate (MPhil/ MRes/ PhD) students. The Division currently has a limited amount of desk space for PhD students, located in the basement. In allocating desk space, priority will normally be given to students engaged in writing-up their dissertations after fieldwork. The desk space is allocated on a maximum 15 month basis from the date of occupancy. In order to be able to offer space to students returning from the field who require it, we must adhere to the 15 month allocation. Requests for desk space should be addressed to the Academic Secretary, and copied to the Social Anthropology office. See Space Allocation Policy (pdf)

Computers, Telephones, Photocopier and Fax

All computers give access to email and the Internet through the university network. Telephones are located in the basement and on the second floor. A photocopier in room G10 is available for student use; user cards may be purchased from the Social Anthropology office, where there is also a fax machine. Parallel resources exist in all colleges.

Technical Support and Equipment

The Division has a supply of equipment for use in research. This includes still cameras, video cameras, audio recorders, a flatbed scanner, film and slide scanner, OHP and data projectors for presentations and assorted software under licence.

Health & Safety

The Little Green Safety Book

All students should read the University’s Little Green Safety Book, which is available at: http://www.admin.cam.ac.uk/cam-only/offices/safety/publications/hsd150m/

This book covers all aspects of health and safety within the University.

The Social Anthropology Division’s Safety Policy and Lone Working Policy

Please also see the Safety Policy, which is available here (pdf), and the Lone Working Policy, which is available here (pdf).

Policy on Copyright and Plagiarism

Please also see the policy on copyright and plagiarism.

Funding

Funding is a complicated issue for most post-graduate students. We try to keep our information up to date, but please be sure to investigate sites published by the University, Research Councils and other Research funders.

William Wyse Prize for PhD research can be found here

For MPhil/MRes students seeking to fund a PhD, see here.

Information for ESRC-funded students can be found here.

Information about funding fieldwork expenses can be found here.

Information about funding attendance at conferences and other small-scale expenses can be found here.

Information about funding the final stages of writing up can be found here.