Up to five supervisors, in order of preference
The application asks for the names of any potential supervisors you are interested in working with, listed in order of preference, with a maximum of five.
Doctoral · Cambridge Clinical Neurosciences
Cambridge PhD in Clinical Neurosciences: name up to five supervisors
The Cambridge PhD in Clinical Neurosciences asks you to name up to five potential supervisors in order of preference, and then a supervisor and the department's postgraduate committee review your application together. Cambridge asks for a Good II.i Honours degree, says it considers applicants from all research backgrounds, not only neuroscience, and strongly encourages contact with supervisors before you apply. For a graduate from biology, medicine, psychology, engineering or another field, the decision is whether your background and your preferred supervisors make a credible match. This guide sets out what Cambridge says for the 2027-28 cycle, marks Avandy's judgment separately and ends with next steps.
Official information · last verified for 2027-28 entry
What Cambridge asks for in Cambridge PhD in Clinical Neurosciences
Taken from Cambridge's PhD in Clinical Neurosciences course pages (overview, study, requirements and apply tabs) and read on 1 November 2026. The page describes 2027-28 entry. For a 2028-29 start, applied for in 2027-28, every requirement below is last verified for the previous cycle and may change; Cambridge's requirements, dates and funding for 2028-29 are awaiting publication, and none is stated here.
Any research background
The Department says it considers applicants from all research backgrounds, not only neuroscience, and asks for a Good II.i Honours degree.
Contact supervisors first
Cambridge strongly encourages you to contact the supervisors you would like to work with before applying, to discuss research proposals and test the fit.
A supervisor and a committee read the file
Your application will be reviewed by the supervisor as well as the department's postgraduate committee.
Offers are subject to security checks
Offers are conditional on clearing any security checks the University deems necessary.
Official sources
- University of Cambridge: PhD in Clinical Neurosciences (how to apply)postgraduate.study.cam.ac.uk
- University of Cambridge: PhD in Clinical Neurosciences (requirements)postgraduate.study.cam.ac.uk
Read on 1 November 2026 on Cambridge's PhD in Clinical Neurosciences course pages (overview, study, requirements and apply tabs), which describes 2027-28 entry. Cambridge's deadline, fee and funding sections, the department's own pages, the University's application guidance and international qualifications pages were not used and are not stated. No deadline, fee, funding amount or place number is stated.
The decision
Do your background and your supervisor list make a credible match?
This guide concerns only the Cambridge research degree. The reading below is Avandy's judgment (heuristic), built from what the pages say about entry and the application.
It fits if
you hold a Good II.i or equivalent, can describe a research interest that matches the work of identifiable supervisors and have contacted at least some of them.
Think again if
you cannot yet name any supervisor. The form asks for names, and the page says the review is by the supervisor as well as the committee.
Outside neuroscience
The Department says it considers applicants from all research backgrounds, so a different first degree is not a stated barrier. Say how your training connects to the supervisors' work.
How the application is read
Supervisor contact, a ranked list and a committee
Cambridge strongly encourages contact with supervisors before applying, to discuss research proposals and decide whether your interests and theirs fit, and recommends reading a supervisor's research profile before writing. The form then asks you to name up to five supervisors in order of preference. If one has not replied by the time you apply, you can still nominate them. Your application is reviewed by the supervisor as well as the department's postgraduate committee. Applications other than those for funding are reviewed on a rolling basis after each term's deadline, three times a year; for applications by the funding deadline, the page says interviews are held in early January.
How the degree runs
A project at the centre, with an adviser and seminars
Each student has a principal supervisor and an associated adviser, and there are weekly student-led seminars. The research project is the first and foremost component of training; students are also required to attend seminars and round-tables and to attend courses, many run by the Postgraduate School of Life Sciences. The Department expects its students to publish in high-quality journals and says nearly all do. This is the 2027-28 page and may change.
Avandy's judgment
Where an application can go wrong
These points are Avandy's heuristic reading of the pages. They are not Cambridge rules and carry no probability.
Writing without reading the profile
Cambridge recommends considering a supervisor's research profile before writing.
Listing five names without a reason
The list is in order of preference and a supervisor reviews the file. Be ready to say why each name is there.
Waiting for replies
The page says you can nominate a supervisor who has not yet replied, so a missing reply need not hold the application back.
Ignoring the security-check condition
Offers are conditional on clearing any security checks the University deems necessary.
Next steps
A sensible order of work
The order is Avandy's suggestion, built from the pages' own steps.
Find the supervisors
Use the Department's research areas to identify supervisors close to your interests and read their profiles.
Write to them
Discuss a research proposal and test the fit, then choose up to five in order of preference.
Prepare the file
Gather two referees, a transcript, a CV and any English-language evidence the page asks for.
Plan around the checks
Note that offers are conditional on security checks and that an ATAS is needed only after an offer.
Planning for 2028-29 entry
Planning for 2028-29 entry: what carries over and what awaits publication
Cambridge's course pages describes entry in 2027-28. A start in 2028-29 means applying in the 2027-28 cycle, under rules Cambridge has not yet published. Each item below is either last verified for 2027-28 entry, which means Cambridge published it for the previous cycle and it may change, or awaiting publication for 2028-29 entry.
The structure of the route and the application
The entry standard, the application items and the programme structure are described on Cambridge's pages for the 2027-28 cycle. Cambridge has not published the following cycle.
Deadlines, places, funding and fees
This guide states none of them. Cambridge publishes them per cycle on the course pages; read them again when they show 2028-29.
What to do now
Identify supervisors, write to them about a research proposal and rank up to five on the form.
Support
Independent support with the research statement and fit
Avandy provides independent academic and admissions support. It is not affiliated with the University of Cambridge or any of its departments, and it has no relationship with any member of staff. Support sits within the Avandy Trinity Advisory Model: a Strategic Admissions Consultant and a PhD-level Academic Mentor help the applicant test a research idea against the department's published research areas and plan their own statement. Support here is limited to testing a research idea against the department's published research areas and planning the applicant's own statement; it does not extend to contacting staff on the applicant's behalf. Avandy does not write or submit any part of an application, cannot arrange a supervisor and promises no outcome or funding.
Questions
Questions applicants ask
Do I need a neuroscience degree for the Cambridge PhD in Clinical Neurosciences?
Not according to the Department, which says it considers applicants from all research backgrounds, not only neuroscience. Cambridge asks for a Good II.i Honours degree.
How many supervisors can I name?
Up to five, in order of preference. A supervisor you have contacted but not heard back from can still be nominated.
Who reads my application?
Cambridge says your application will be reviewed by the supervisor as well as the department's postgraduate committee.
Is an offer unconditional?
No. Offers are conditional on clearing any security checks the University deems necessary. An ATAS is needed after an offer for some applicants.
Does the PhD include funding?
This guide did not read Cambridge's funding sections and states no funding. Check the course pages for the cycle you apply in.
Students and families
Talk to us about the Cambridge PhD in Clinical Neurosciences
Tell us about your degrees, your research experience, the research question you want to pursue and the supervisors or groups you have in mind. A senior adviser will review the academic profile before recommending how to develop the research statement.