MPhil in ACS students undertake a substantial research project during the Lent and Easter terms, and submit a project report of no more than 15,000 words via Moodle by 11:00 a.m. on Tuesday 9th June 2026. Each project must be supervised by a member of the academic staff (who will also act as one assessor). The Examiners advise that candidates should aim to submit no more than 50 pages for the body of the project report.

More information on ACS projects (timetable, guidelines) ...

Part III students undertake a research project similar to the MPhil in Advanced Computer Science project above of no more than 12,000 words. Part III students submit their project reports via Moodle by 11:00 a.m. on Monday 1st June 2026. Each project must be supervised by a member of the academic staff (or alternative approved by Head of Department) who also acts as one assessor. The Examiners advise that candidates should aim to submit no more than 40 pages for the body of the project report.

More information on Part III projects (timetable, guidelines) ...

Resources for students and supervisors

Project proposals

Students who wish to undertake a project of their own devising (including self-proposed projects to be supervised by staff in the NLIP group) must identify a willing supervisor and have their agreement to supervise the project. Phase 2 of the project proposal must be submitted a week earlier than those projects suggested by the teaching staff, that is 19 November. The Postgraduate Education Committee will consider the project being proposed to ensure it meets the criteria for the MPhil or Part III. If the proposal is not acceptable, the student and supervisor should select a project from those published and submit the alternative proposal, as above, by 21 November.

Project proposals have 2 phases:

1. Phase 1 Due 5 November: complete the Moodle online form indicating project supervisor's name and topic and confirm the supervisor has agreed to supervise the project.
2. Phase 2 Due 19 November (12 November if self-proposed). Your proposal and coversheet needs to be uploaded to the Moodle page:
   1. Project proposal coversheet
      All project proposals must be accompanied by a proposal coversheet.
   2. Project proposal
      Write a project proposal, respecting the word limits and include your work schedule in blocks of two weeks including dates. A LaTeX template is available if required.
   3. A Project resource form must be completed by 19 November (12 November if self-proposed) even if you are using your own machine.

Some further guidelines and resources:

• Official ACS project guidelines
• Official Part III project guidelines
• Link to sample project report and LaTeX template
• Link to information about GPU facilities
• Link to information about HPC facilities

Submission and assessment

• Submitting your research project report
• Assessment and marking guidelines for MPhil project reports
• Assessment and marking guidelines for Part III project reports
• The Faculty's statement on plagiarism and collusion