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MPhil - Master of Philosophy
University of Oxford
Full Time
OCT-25
21 months
Select a course option
MPhil - Master of Philosophy
University of Oxford
Full Time
OCT-25
21 months
Select a an exam type
About the course
The two-year MPhil in Development Studies will provide you with a rigorous and critical introduction to development as a process of managed and unmanaged change in societies in the global South. Our students go on to careers in development policy or practice or for further study in the field.
Course objectives
The course will introduce you to development studies as an interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary subject. It covers the intellectual history of development, the paradigm shifts and internal conflicts within the discipline and the contemporary relevance of research to development policy and practice.
Teaching and learning
Each course entails three to five hours of teaching per week, delivered through lectures, classes and workshops. Class sizes are small – between 5 and 30 students – encouraging active participation and enabling students to learn from each other. You prepare for sessions by reading a selection of recommended books, book chapters and articles.
Assessment
Year one
Formal assessment will normally comprise a three-hour written examination at the beginning of the third term for each foundation course; a three-hour written examination at the end of the third term and a research design essay, submitted in the same term, for research methods; and two 5,000-word essays for the core course. You must pass all examinations to continue into Year 2. There is an opportunity to re-sit in September.
Year two
You will be formally assessed for your two option courses as well as the 30,000-word thesis submitted during the final term. Further information on the thesis can be found on the departmental website.
Graduate destinations
A number of MPhil students choose to continue to doctoral study after completing the course, taking their MPhil thesis and expanding it further into a DPhil thesis in ODID or elsewhere. Others have gone on to jobs in the United Nations, government, diplomacy, politics, NGOs, the media, art, business, finance, management, technology and development consultancies.
As a minimum, applicants should hold or be predicted to achieve the equivalent of the following UK qualifications or their equivalent: a first-class or strong upper second-class undergraduate degree with honours in a social science subject. As one of the purposes of the course is to provide a basic education in the subject, in exceptional cases, students who have not specialised in a social science may be admitted to read for the MPhil in Development Studies. It should be recognised that for some students, the transition to a social studies approach to learning may be challenging. Entrance to the course is very competitive and most successful applicants have a first-class degree or the equivalent. For applicants with a degree from the USA, the minimum GPA normally sought is 3.8 out of 4.0.
Students living in
Domestic
£27,520 per year
Students from Domestic
This is the fee you pay if the University is in the same country that you live in (England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland)
£35,000 per year
Students from EU
The amount you'll pay if you come to study here from somewhere in the EU.
£35,000 per year
Students from International
The amount you'll pay if you come to study here from a country outside the EU.
Loughborough University London