Master of Science by Coursework in Migration Studies

• 1. The Social Sciences Boardcourse shall electbe forunder the supervision of the courseMigration aStudies StandingTeaching Committee, whichand shallregulated consistby the joint Graduate Studies Committee of the Directors of the Centre on Migration, Policy and Society (COMPAS) and of the International Migration Institute (IMI) ex officio, the course director, and two other members of the teaching staff drawn from the Oxford Department of International Development and the School of Anthropology, which shall have the power to arrange lectures and otherMuseum instruction. The course director shall be responsible to that committeeEthnography.

• 2. Candidates must follow a course of instruction in Migration Studies for at least three terms and will, when entering for the examinations, be required to produce a certificate from their supervisor to this effect. Candidates will be expected to attend such lectures and seminars as their supervisor/courseCourse directorDirector shall recommend.

• 3. The final examination shall be taken in Trinity Term of the academic year in which the candidate’s name is first entered on the Register of M.Sc Students or, with the approval of the Board, in a subsequent year.

• 4. The examiners may at their discretion require any candidate to attend for a viva voce examination.

• 5. Each candidate will be required to satisfy the examiners in fiveeight papers in accordance with I, II, III, IV, and V below.

• Papers I-IV

  4. Each candidate will be required to satisfy the examiners in four core papers:

  • Paper I: InternationalAnthropology of Migration

    Paper II: Migration inand the SocialEconomy

    Paper SciencesIII: AnMigration Interdisciplinaryand IntroductionDevelopment

    Paper IV: Governance of Migration

• 65. TheEach core paper will coverbe theoriesassessed by written examination at the beginning of the term following that of the teaching.

  Paper V: Thematic and approachesRegional in migration studies; basic concepts in migration studies; types of human migration and mobility; the history and development of migration studiesElectives

  6. AssessmentEach of this paper will take place in the form of one written essay of a maximum of 5,000 words (excluding notes and bibliography). This essaycandidate will be expectedrequired to displaychoose antwo understandingthematic and regional electives, which will be assessed by a written examination at the beginning of keyTrinity concepts and analysis in the economics, politics, sociology and anthropology of migrationterm. Candidates shallmust submitanswer at least one question from each of their essayelectives. A list of electives approved for this purpose by the Teaching Committee will be published by the Course Director by Monday of week 6 of Michaelmas Term.

  Papers VI-VII: Methods in Social Research

  7. Each candidate will be required to satisfy the Examinationexaminers Schoolsin Methods in Social Research assessed by two 3,000 word essays. The Qualitative assignment (Paper VI) must be submitted by no later than 12 noon on TuesdayFriday of theWeek first week2 of the Hilary Term ofand the course,Quantitative accompaniedassignment by(Paper aVII) statement that the essay is the candidate’s own work except where otherwise indicated.

• II Migration, Globalisation and Social Transformation

• 7. This paper willmust be examinedsubmitted by means of a three-hour written examination to be taken during Trinity Term. Candidates will be expected to display understanding of the major debates in contemporary migration, including theoretical and practical questions and issues that currently drive research in the field of migration studies. Topics to be covered will vary from year to year, depending on changes in the focus of migration studies.

• III Elective paper

• 8. Candidates’ understanding of the two options they choose will be assessed through two sets of questions in an options paper. A list of papers approved for this purpose by the Standing Committee will be available from the course director by Monday of sixth week of Michaelmas Term. Students are free to elect any one of these papers in consultation with their supervisor. The examiners may, at their discretion, either require candidates to sit the standard examination paper for this elective paper, or else set a paper specifically for students on the M.Sc. in Migration Studies.

• IV Methods in Social Research

• 9. Each student must display an understanding of research methods relevant to migration studies, which will be assessed by satisfactory completion of a course of practical work. This paper will cover (i) participant observation, in-depth interviewing, archival research, and qualitative data analysis; (ii) basic principles of statistical inference, and statistical models for the analysis of quantitative social science data; (iii) methods of data collection, including questionnaire design, interviewing and coding; and (iv) basic principles of statistical modelling in the social sciences.

• 10. Assessment of this paper shall take the form of three pieces of coursework, written during Michaelmas Term and Hilary Term. Candidates shall submit a portfolio consisting of copies of all coursework to the Examination Schools no later than 12 noon on TuesdayMonday of noughth week 0 of the Trinity Term of the course, accompanied by a statement that the coursework is the candidate’s own work except where otherwise indicated.

• Paper VIII

  V Dissertation

• 118. Each candidate shall be required to submit a dissertation of not more than 15,000 words (excluding references and appendices) on a subject approved by the supervisor. The candidate shall send to the Standing Committee, withWith the written approval of his or hertheir supervisor, each candidate will submit the proposed title of the dissertation for consideration by the StandingTeaching Committee, by 12 noon on the Friday of theweek first week2 of Hilary Term in the academic year in which his or her name was entered on the Register of M.Sc. Students.

• 12. The dissertation (three copies) must be typewritten and delivered to the Examination Schools, High Street, Oxford, not later than noon on Thursday of eighth week of Trinity Term in the year in which the examination is taken. An electronic copy must also be submitted to the M.Sc in Migration Studies Course Coordinator, again by the date and time specified above9. The dissertation must be presentedsubmitted inno properlater scholarlythan form,12 in 1.5 line spacing and double-sidednoon on A4Thursday paper,of eachWeek copy8 boundof orTrinity held firmly in a stiff coverTerm.

  10. TheAll dissertationassessments must be markedsubmitted forusing the attentionUniversity ofapproved theonline Chairassessment of Examiners, M.Scplatform. inTechnical Migration Studies, c/o Examination Schools, High Street, Oxford. The word count shall be statedinformation on the outside front cover of the dissertation. The examiners shall retain a copy of the dissertation of each candidate who passes the examinationrequirements for depositonline submissions is provided in the SocialCourse Sciences Library.

• 13. The examiners may award a distinction for excellence in the whole examination.

• 14. If it is the opinion of the examiners that the work done by a candidate is not of sufficient merit to qualify for the degree of M.Sc., the candidate shall be given the option of re-sitting the M.Sc. examination on one further occasion only, normally not later than one year after the first attemptHandbook.

Oxford 1+1 MBA programme

Candidates registered on the Oxford 1+1 MBA programme will follow an additional two or three-month bridging programme at the end of their third term of the combined programme.

Each candidate will be appointed an academic advisor from the Saïd Business School to plan an individual course of study which will include as a minimum, the following three compulsory elements:

(i) Normally two meetings during the bridging programme with the senior advisor appointed by the Saïd Business School at the start of the Oxford 1+1 MBA programme.

(ii) A formatively assessed Integrative Development Plan of up to 3,000 words. Candidates would be required to critically reflect on their learning from the Masters programme and relate this both to their forthcoming MBA programme as well as to their career goals. The meetings with the advisor will frame the design, delivery and discussion of the plan.

(iii) Attendance of the MBA pre-course as described in the joining instructions for the MBA class, unless granted exemption by the MBA Committee on the grounds of prior formal study or work experience