Master of Philosophy in Latin American Studies

For the purposes of this examination, ‘Latin America’ will be interpreted as the eighteen Spanish-speaking republics of the Western Hemisphere, plus Brazil, Haiti, and Puerto Rico.

The regulations are as follows:

Year 1:

• 1. In the first year, candidates for the M.Phil. in Latin American Studies will:

  • (a) Follow for three terms a course of instruction in the M.Sc in Latin American Studies with the exception of the dissertation. Candidates will presenttake three qualifyingassessments examinationsdetails of which will be available in the Course Handbook. 

  • (b) Undertake the Research Methods for Area Studies course: Candidates will submit a 2,500 word maximum take-home test in qualitative methods to be set on Monday of Week 8 and submitted by 12 noon on Monday of week 9 of Michaelmas Term; and a one week take-home test in quantitative analysis to be set on Monday of Week 8 and submitted by 12 noon on Monday of week 9 of Hilary Term. Each of the items of written work described above must be uploaded to the University approved online assessment platform. Each submission must be accompanied by a declaration indicating it is the candidate’s own work.

  • (c)  Develop a thesis topic, which will be the subject of fieldwork in the long vacation between the first and second year. A draft title for the thesis must be submitted for approval by the Latin American Centre Management Committee by 12:00 noon on the Friday of Week 2 of Hilary Term.

  • (d)  Candidates may also be required to present themselves for an oral examination if requested to do so by the examiners. The oral examination will focus on the candidate’s examinationassessment papers.

• 2. The list of examination paperscourses will be published on the Latin American Centre website and in the University Gazette in Week 0 of Michaelmas Term. Specialisation on a single country or a combination of countries is permitted so long as the choice appears in the list of available papers published.

• 3. Candidates shall be deemed to have passed the qualifying examination if they have passed all three qualifying examination paperscourses and all the components of the Research Methods for Area Studies.

• 4. Candidates who fail one of the three paperscourses taken at the end ofin the first year as set out in (a) above shall be deemed to have failed the qualifying examination. Such candidates will be required to retake the failed assessment paper and pass it by the start of the Michaelmas Term of their second year, on a date stipulated by the Chair of Examiners, in order to continue the course without interruption.

• 5. Candidates who fail more than one papercourse as set out in (a) above shall be deemed to have failed the qualifying examination. Such candidates will be permitted to retake the assessment papers failed on one (but not more than one) subsequent occasion, in Trinity Term, one year after the initial attempt. Such candidates must pass the papers that they have retaken in order to continue onto the second year of the course.

• 6. Candidates who fail the research methods course overall will be permitted to re-submit a new submission for the failed piece(s) of work within four weeks of publication of the failed mark, on a date specified by the Chair of Examiners.

Year 2:

• 7. In the second year, candidates for the M.Phil. in Latin American Studies will:

  • (a) Offer a thesis of not more than 30,000 words, including footnotes and appendices. An electronic copy of the thesis must be submitted via the University approved online assessment platform  by noon on the Monday of week 5 of Trinity Term in the second year of the course. Only the file submitted via the University approved online assessment platform  constitutes a valid submission; no concomitant hard-copy may be submitted. The submission must be anonymous, and the submission must be accompanied by a declaration indicating that it is the candidate’s own work. Successful candidates will be required to deposit one copy of their thesis in the Bodleian Library, and will be required to sign a form stating whether they will permit their thesis to be consulted. 

  • (b) Take two additional examination paperscourses from the list; or by agreement with the Latin American Centre Director of Graduate Studies and the relevant department, one of these may be a methodology or other paper from an appropriate M.Phil. elsewhere in the University of Oxford.

  • (c) Candidates willmay be required to present themselves for an oral examination if requested to do so by the examiners. The oral examination may focus on any of the candidate’s examination papersassessments, including the thesis, or both.

• 8. Candidates shall be deemed to have passed the examination if they have passed all examinationfive paperscourses and the thesis.

• 9. Candidates who fail one or both second year examination papers or who fail the thesis shall be deemed to have failed the examination. Such candidates will be permitted to resubmit the thesis or retake the relevant examination paper(s) on one (but not more than one) subsequent occasion, in Trinity Term, one year after the initial attempt. Such candidates must pass the thesis or relevant examination paper(s) in order to pass the examination.

•