All research students* are required to attend a Researcher and Development Course (RDC) and to take one module during their first year. Modules can be chosen from the approved list of Part IIB (fourth year Engineering undergraduate) modules, modules from fourth year courses in other Departments or certain MPhil courses, and specialist research modules and reading clubs. You should choose your module in consultation with your supervisor within the first two weeks of your course and register for it via METEOR.
Please note that all students at the University of Cambridge are entitled to attend all lectures, so you do not need to have registered for a module before you can start attending lectures.
Choosing modules
Available modules
Modules should be selected from the approved list of modules. Most of this list is drawn from Part IIB of the Engineering Tripos (the fourth year of our undergraduate general engineering programme); it also includes some courses borrowed from various Master’s-level courses in the Department and elsewhere in the University. This list also includes a number of Reading Clubs. A reading club can be taken in place of your module with the permission of your Supervisor and the PO.
Relevant Master's level courses in other Departments are acceptable alternatives to those offered by the Department of Engineering. If you wish to take a module that is not on the list of approved modules, your supervisor should obtain permission from the department concerned and you should inform the Postgraduate Office by the METEOR registration deadline (see below under "Register via METEOR").
Timetables and syllabuses
The timetable and syllabuses for the IIB courses (those where the module number starts with a '4') can be found on the Engineering Undergraduate Teaching website. Teaching for Michaelmas Term starts on 9 October 2025. All teaching will be in person for 2025/26, unless notified otherwise.
Arrangements for non-IIB lectures may vary. Please check the Moodle site for the module, or email the course leader. Note that access to Moodle sites is granted overnight following registration for a module on Meteor.
Exemptions
There are no exemptions. Those students who have already completed suitable modules as part of an earlier Cambridge MEng, MPhil or CDT can select the most suitable module they have completed for assessment as part of the first year review process.
Registering for modules and RDCs
Register via Meteor
You must register your module choice and for an RDC online, via Meteor, by 23 October 2025 (for Michaelmas Term starters) or by 5 February 2026 (for Lent Term starters). If you cannot access Meteor, please email the Postgraduate Office. You can change your choices freely up until this deadline, but this will not be possible after this date. Registering on METEOR will inform module leaders of your attendance; you do not need to contact them separately.
To register for one of the modules in the "Additional borrowing" section of the approved modules list, please forward confirmation from the named person that they agree to you taking the module, and the PO will manually register you for the module on Meteor.
If you agree with your supervisor that you should take a module that is not on the approved list, or you wish to substitute it with a Reading Club, please ensure that you or your supervisor emails the Postgraduate Office to obtain permission. In this case the email must provide at least the following information: (i) the title and code of the module or Reading Club;(ii) confirmation that the module is taught and assessed at an academic level at least equivalent to Part IIB of the Engineering Tripos: (iii) confirmation that the module has a similar workload to a Part IIB module (some flexibility is permitted on this final requirement).
The PO will then manually register you for the module or Reading Club.
Resources via Moodle
When you register for a module on Meteor, you will automatically be added to the course's Moodle site. This happens overnight, so you should not expect immediate access. De-registering on Meteor (eg if you change modules) will unsubscribe you on Moodle.
Auditing
If you wish to attend modules other than the one that you have registered for, you may do so; this is known as auditing. If you need access to a Moodle site for a module that you are auditing, you can self-enrol as a student observer on the site using the Moodle self-enrolment key available on the Teaching Office website.
Changing your choice
If you wish to change your choice within the first two weeks of term, you can do this yourself via Meteor. We discourage you from making changes after this date, but if you do need to change a module after the first two weeks, please email the Postgraduate Office.
Meteor will re-open for two weeks at the beginning of January, and during that period Michaelmas Term starters will be able to amend any Lent Term choices, if they wish.
Assessment of taught modules
Module results are part of the First Year Assessment process for PhD students. There is no requirement for taking a formal examination, but you must pass the module by submitting a module research essay (MRE) for assessment at the Preliminary Meeting. More details about the modules and the MRE can be found here.
All postgraduate research students must complete the Researcher Development Course (RDC) relevant to your research Division and submit an RDC logbook at the Preliminary Meeting.