Related taught courses < Research Degrees > Admissions - Entrance
The Research degrees of M.Litt. and D.Phil.
The faculty board will not normally admit students to read for an M.Litt. or a D.Phil. unless they have attained at the very least upper second class honours or the equivalent grades in their first degree examinations, and it may therefore be necessary for applicants who have not yet completed their undergraduate courses to receive a provisional offer of a place which will only be confirmed if they attain the standard required in their offer letter.
(i) First-year training
Candidates for research degrees hold initially the status of Probationer Research Students and are normally expected to obtain a qualification in historical research after three terms of study. Important exceptions are those students who wish to read for one of the specialist taught courses in preparation for a research degree in a relevant subject area, and students who wish to study the history of the United States who will normally take the History of the United States of America option of the M.St. in Modern History. Students who have successfully completed one of these courses, and reached the standard required for their re-admission to a research programme, or those who have completed an equivalent one-year graduate course either in Oxford or elsewhere, may be exempted from parts of our usual first-year requirements.
(a) M.St. in Historical Research
The Master of Studies (M.St.) in Historical Research. This degree is normally available to students wishing to go on to work for one of the research degrees of M.Litt. or D.Phil., and is assessed at the end of three terms of study. Candidates, who have the status of Probationer Research Student, follow an agreed programme of classes and seminars, make one seminar presentation, submit written work (an essay of up to 5,000 words, and a dissertation of up to 10,000 words) and undergo an oral examination in May/June.
The aim of the M.St. in Historical Research is to provide formal recognition of the work done in the first year of graduate study for those wishing to go on to research degrees. The programme is flexible and is determined by each Probationer Research Student in collaboration with his or her supervisor. No formal distinction is made until Hilary Term between students who wish to proceed to the M.St. in Historical Research and those who wish to take the qualifying test only which enables them to proceed either to M.Litt. or to D.Phil. status. But about the middle of Hilary Term, those who wish to work for the M.St. must declare their intentions and enter for the examination. Every candidate is required to
- attend such lectures, seminars and classes as his or her supervisor shall determine;
- present one seminar paper of 2,500 words during the course related to his or her intended research, and hand in a written version of the paper for assessment;
- submit an extended essay of up to 5,000 words on either material covered in a specific training course or a skill involved in the pursuit of research or historiography and/or bibliography in the broad area in which the candidate’s thesis topic lies;
- submit a dissertation of not more than 10,000 words, which should be either a section of the candidate’s proposed thesis, or an essay relevant to the topic, and should be accompanied by a brief statement, limited to 500 words, of the subject of the thesis and the manner in which the candidate proposes to treat it. This dissertations will serve as the basis of the oral examination for the degree, which may also serve as the interview for Transfer to M.Litt. or D.Phil. status (see below).
(b) M.St. in Historical Research (Medieval History)
The M.St. in Historical Research (Medieval History) specifically designed for students of medieval history who aim to continue working for one of the research degrees of M.Litt. or D.Phil. Candidates will follow an individualised programme of studies familiarising them with specialist skills and knowledge within their intended area of research (e.g., palaeography, diplomatic, linguistic competence). Candidates’ basic competence in reading Latin texts will be assessed in October/November, and in appropriate cases once more in early March. Assessment for the degree will be based on written work (an essay of between 3,000 and 5,000 words on a historical topic, an essay of between 5,000 and 7,000 words on specialist research skills/techniques, and a dissertation of up to 15,000 words) and an oral examination in September/October.
Every candidate is required to
- attend such lectures, seminars, classes, and language courses as his or her supervisor shall determine;
- submit an essay of between 3,000 and 5,000 words, based on an aspect of the historical topic studied in the first two terms under the direction of the candidate’s supervisor;
- submit an essay of between 5,000 and 7,000 words, based on one or more of the elements studied in foundation and/or skills courses selected by the candidate in consultation with his or her supervisor and the Course Director of the medieval M.St. programme;
- submit a dissertation of up to 15,000 words on the candidate’s own research topic, which should be accompanied by a brief statement, limited to 500 words, of the subject of the thesis and the manner in which the candidate proposes to treat it. The dissertations will serve as the basis of any oral examination for the degree, which may also serve as the interview for Transfer to M.Litt. or D.Phil. status (see below).
(ii) Master of Letters and Doctor of Philosophy
Awarded on the results of research in depth expressed in a thesis, these two degrees are especially suitable for students aiming at an academic career, or otherwise deeply interested in a particular theme.
Whether they are aiming at an M.Litt. or D.Phil., candidates are admitted in the first place as Probationer Research Students. A supervisor appointed by the faculty board guides the student’s work personally, and helps frame the thesis. A variety of classes, seminars and lectures relevant to the topic are also available. They should also have the self-disciplined commitment to work a good deal on their own, and they are encouraged to read and think widely, with an eye to developing and finetuning their intended topic for research. The faculty board does not admit candidates for the degrees of M.Litt. or D.Phil. unless an authority to supervise the chosen topic effectively can be found in Oxford.
In addition to attending classes, seminars and lectures agreed upon with their supervisor, Probationer Research Students will give at least one oral seminar presentation on the subject of their research and submit written work for assessment by the Faculty. At the conclusion of their third term they will be required to pass a qualifying test to enable them to proceed either to M.Litt. or to D.Phil. status. This qualifying test takes the form of an interview, based on written work of up to 5,000 words, being either a section of the candidate’s proposed thesis or an essay on a relevant topic, and a statement of no more than 500 words on the subject of the thesis and the manner in which the candidate proposes to treat it.
For students who have entered the examination for one of the M.St.s in Historical Research the qualifying test will be based on the written work submitted for the examination in the degree course. Most students who enter graduate research straight from their undergraduate degree, and those whose academic career was disrupted by other commitments choose the more comprehensive research preparation through a Master’s course. However, the decision on the route to be chosen will be taken by the student on the advice of his or her supervisor and the appropriate Faculty Board Interviewer. Funding considerations make it often necessary to acquire a formal first-year qualification. – D.Phil. students will at a later stage be required to take a further test, based on the submission of written work and an interview, in order to proceed to Confirmed D.Phil. status.
The Master of Letters (M.Litt.) requires a minimum of two academic years of research and six terms residence. The candidate writes a thesis of up to 50,000 words on a topic of his or her own choosing, with the faculty board’s approval. The thesis is then sustained in an oral examination. No further written examination is necessary. The faculty board may allow candidates to work away from Oxford during their second year for purposes of consulting archives elsewhere or other good reasons, but will not normally dispense them from the residence requirement in their first academic year.
A thesis for the M.Litt. must demonstrate lucidly the results of research, and show scholarly competence and judgement in investigating the topic chosen.
The Doctor of Philosophy (D.Phil.) requires three years of research. Candidates submit a thesis of up to 100,000 words on a topic of their own choosing, approved by the faculty board, and undergo an oral examination. No further written examination is required. Six terms of residence are necessary, although the faculty board may dispense candidates from this requirement for three terms in order to allow them to consult archives elsewhere after their first year.
In addition, a thesis for the D.Phil. should make a ‘significant and substantial contribution’ to knowledge in its field (within the limits of what may reasonably be expected of a capable and diligent student after three, or at most four, years of full-time study).
It is not essential that a thesis for the M.Litt. or D.Phil. should exploit hitherto unused primary sources, though especially in the case of the D.Phil. it usually does so in part. Examiners are less impressed by the novelty of materials than by the critical judgement, organisation and persuasiveness or insight conveyed in the historical argument.
In the oral examination a candidate, whether for the M.Litt. or D.Phil., must be ready to defend the thesis, and also persuade the examiners that he or she has a command of the broader field in which the topic falls.
The board allows candidates up to three years to complete an M.Litt. thesis, and up to four years to submit a dissertation for a D.Phil. degree. Reasonable extensions of these deadlines may from time to time be granted in the light of individual cases.
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