Pre-PhD programme

The EF Pre-PhD programme prepares university graduates for entrance to a PhD programme in England. Students preparing for their PhD receive intensive classroom tuition over the course of three terms in Cambridge. The PhD preparation programme in Cambridge is led by experienced PhD qualified tutors who assist you with finding a PhD supervisor, framing proposals and the university application process in England.

A complete PhD preparation programme

The focus of the Pre-PhD programme in England changes as the course progresses and is designed to allow students to work on their proposals right from the start. In the second half of the PhD preparation programme, students concentrate on the specific skills needed to produce winning doctoral research and work on getting published in an academic periodical in order to strengthen their academic portfolio even further. In addition they are expected to carry out significant autonomous self-study in order to complete homework tasks and write their thesis proposal and literature review. Pre-PhD students are also required to attend a minimum of two tutorials per term. These form part of the ongoing monitoring and evaluation of all course participants.

PhD preparation programme results

Successful graduates of our Pre-PhD programme are guaranteed admission to a PhD programme in the UK at one of our partner universities. Your University Pathway Manager can also assist you with applying to any PhD programme in England. A third of our postgraduate students are admitted to universities in England that rank in the top 20 in the country.

PhD preparation programme details:

• Start dates: January, April, and September

• Location: Cambridge

• Weekly tuition: 20 hours

• Duration: 6 months

Academic outline:

• Term one: PhD Proposal Development and Application, Advanced Language Skills, English for Academic Purposes

• Term two: IELTS, Advanced Research Methods (Q&Q), Data Collection and Ethics

• Term three: Getting Published, PhD Authoring, one specialist subject to be selected from a range of subjects including Economics, Chemistry, Engineering, Physics, Maths, Linguistics, Communication, Psychology, Art History, and Social Science.

Admission requirements

The Pre-PhD programme for international students requires that you have already completed a Master's degree and be ready to begin work on your thesis proposal. The English language requirement for admission to the programme is an IELTS 6.0 . If you have not taken the IELTS, we can supply a free English placement test to assess your level.

Students who do not yet meet the required level of English but who do meet other requirements may consider an intensive English preparation course in Cambridge prior to the start of the PhD preparation programme to bring their English skills up to the necessary level.