The Wellcome Trust and University of Cambridge four-year PhD programme in Developmental Mechanisms has a one plus three structure: the first year is an integral MPhil in Developmental Biology after which students progress on to the PhD (years two to four of the programme). Around 45 developmental biology laboratories participate in the programme, across four University departments (Physiology, Development & Neuroscience [PDN], Biochemistry, Genetics, and Zoology) including members of these departments who are based at the Wellcome Trust and the Cancer Research UK Gurdon Institute. Interdisciplinary projects at the interface between the physical sciences and developmental biology are encouraged, with co-supervisors available in the Departments of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics, Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, and Physics.