If you are interested in studying for an MPhil or PhD in History and Philosophy of Science at Cambridge, these pages are for you.
Here you will find an introduction to the Department, the courses and the application process, with links to further information on the University's Postgraduate Admissions website.
Applicants can choose from three options:
MPhil in History and Philosophy of Science and Medicine
This MPhil (Master of Philosophy) provides students with an unparalleled opportunity to explore topics across history and philosophy of science and medicine, laying deep foundations for further study, work and public involvement. The course is taught by lectures, seminars and supervisions, and assessed by research essays and a dissertation.
MPhil in Health, Medicine and Society
This MPhil course – run jointly with the Departments of Social Anthropology and Sociology – offers a uniquely interdisciplinary approach to teaching and research on health, medicine and society. No other programme can match Cambridge's breadth and concentration of expertise in this rapidly expanding and exciting subject area.
PhD in History and Philosophy of Science
The PhD (Doctor of Philosophy) is a research degree. Applicants will be admitted directly to the PhD only if they already have an exceptionally strong background in the field – usually through the MPhil or Part III course in this department or a similar course at another university – and an appropriate and focused research proposal.
PhD studentship
The history and heritage of the discovery of environmental change and the interpretation of place in the East of England
The University of Cambridge and its University Library are pleased to announce a fully-funded collaborative doctoral studentship under the AHRC's Collaborative Doctoral Partnership Scheme.
This project will explore how local and global understandings of climate and the environment have been created in the East of England. It will investigate the sites, museum collections and academic research groups working in the twentieth century that have delivered new understandings of place and changing climate in this region. It takes advantage of several archival and museum collections of documents, instruments, specimens, and sites to invite innovative research that investigates how deeper understandings of place in the east of England were developed.
- Start date: 1 October 2025
- Application deadline: 16 May 2025
- Interviews will take place online on 10 and 11 June 2025
- Information session online on 22 April at 4pm BST
Find out more about this studentship
Support programme for PhD applicants
The Department of History and Philosophy of Science will be participating in this year's AIM: PhD programme.
AIM: PhD is an application support programme, designed to support PhD applicants with their application for doctoral study at the University of Cambridge. Over the course of six months, participants receive support to prepare their PhD application through one-to-one mentoring and group online sessions.
The 2025 programme will support applicants who intend to apply to begin study in October 2026.