The MPhil course is a two-year degree which enables candidates to develop their interests in even greater depth than the MSt.
Spread over six terms of study, the MPhil consists of six compulsory components: a core course (taught across the first and second term), three Special Subjects (taught in the first (Michaelmas), second (Hilary), and fourth (Michaelmas, year two) or fifth (Hilary, year two) term, respectively); a research topic; and a dissertation which is written in the second year of study.
Full guidance on how to apply, application deadlines, and entry requirements can be found on the central admissions pages and application guide pages of the University website.
Course Content
Year One
| Michaelmas Term | Hilary Term | Trinity Term |
|---|---|---|
| Special Subject 1 | Special Subject 2 | Dissertation Workshops |
| Core Course | Core Course | |
| Research Topic | ||
Year Two
| Michaelmas Term | Hilary Term | Trinity Term |
|---|---|---|
| Either Special Subject 3 | Or Special Subject 3 | |
| Dissertation (20-25,000 words) | ||
Core Course
The core course runs during Michaelmas and Hilary terms, delivered as weekly one-hour seminars. Each session would typically be based on readings of two or more articles (or equivalent activity) designed to provoke high-level reflection on questions of method and purpose in the literary humanities. Areas of study will include:
• Objects of Study
• Language and Textuality
• Materialisms and Historicisms
• Politics and Identity
MPhil Programmes of Special Subjects
Special Subjects are grouped into language specific and comparative programmes or wider area of study and will be taught in small groups or seminars. The subjects correspond to areas of particular teaching and research strength in Oxford and courses are offered across different language strands and specialisms, subject to the availability of the relevant supervisors in any particular year. Students choose three of these options.
Popular language-specific options typically offered include: Women’s Writing in Medieval Germany, Problems in Dante Interpretation, Francophone Literature, Realism and Its Alternatives in Spanish American Narrative, Latin American Cinema, Lusophone Women Writers, Contemporary Brazilian Fiction, Late Soviet and Post-Soviet Russian Literature, Modern Greek Literature in Comparative Frames, Walter Benjamin in Weimar, Conscience and Consciousness in French and Francophone Literature.
You may also study designated comparative and cross-linguistic options including European Enlightenment, Cultural Studies, Contesting Colonialisms, and Posthuman Subjectivities. This year’s selection of Special Subjects for 2026-27 can be found in the table below. These are indicative of the course offerings for the sub-faculty, so applicants should note that not all options will run in all years, and some course content might change.
Research Topic
You will focus on a subsection of the module topic that is relevant to your language area or proposed research. You will have an individual meeting with a tutor in Hilary term, intended to orient you towards a specific area of the core course that it is appropriate for you to cover.
Dissertation
All candidates prepare a dissertation of 20,000 to 25,000 words which must be submitted in the sixth week of the last term of study. The subject may be related to one or more of your Special Subjects, or to your theoretical or methodological option. It allows you to use and extend the reading you have done for your Special Subjects, to apply the theoretical reflections or methodological approaches acquired in your first year of study, and to undertake a substantial piece of research that shows your independence of thought and scholarship.
Assessment
Core course: The core course will be assessed through a reflective diary submitted at the end of Hilary term and it will consist of reflections on at least 12 of the 16 sessions. This assessment will encourage you to continually reflect on and assess your learning experiences across the terms and help to prepare you for the larger pieces of submitted work.
Special Subjects: You will select what you and your supervisor(s) think are the best essay or essays and submit it or them as a portfolio for examination. Special Subject submissions may comprise one or two essays to a total maximum word length of between 5,000 — 7,000 words.
Research topic: You will focus on a subsection of the module topic that is relevant to your language area or proposed research. You will have an individual meeting with a tutor in Hilary term, intended to orient you towards a specific area of the core course that it is appropriate for you to cover. The research topic will be assessed through a literature review, or état present, of some subsection of the Core Course that is relevant to your language area or proposed research. The review will be submitted at the end of Hilary term.
Dissertation: Submission of a dissertation of 20,000 — 25,000 words in the sixth week of the last term of study.