An MPhil/PhD is an advanced postgraduate research degree that requires original research and the submission of a substantial dissertation of 60,000 to 100,000 words. At Birkbeck, you are initially registered on an MPhil and you upgrade to a PhD after satisfactory progress in the first year or two. You need to find a suitable academic supervisor at Birkbeck, who can offer the requisite expertise to guide and support you through your research. Find out more about undertaking a research degree at Birkbeck.The School of Social Science, History and Philosophy supports research projects in sociology. Sociologically oriented research takes place within and across a number of the school’s five departments, particularly, but not exclusively, Psychosocial Studies and Geography. Sociological research takes a wide variety of forms depending on topic, and is frequently interdisciplinary in focus, but the common thread is a distinctively sociological perspective. Research students benefit not only from the advisory insight of leading academics, but also from a wider culture of support and advice from staff and other students undertaking social research.