Master of Philosophy in Global and Area Studies

• 1. The Course shall be under the supervision of the Global and Area Studies Teaching Committee, which shall report to the Graduate Studies Committee of the Oxford School of Global and Area Studies.
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• 2. Each candidate will be required to follow a course of instruction in Global and Area Studies for six terms full-time.

• First year examinations

• 3. Candidates will present themselves for a written examination on the core course Competing Approaches in Areas Studies in Trinity Term.
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• 4. Candidates will choose one Comparative Area Studies paper and one option paper from lists published by the Course Director in the Course Handbook at the beginning of the academic year in which the option paper is to be taken. For each paper, candidates will either present themselves for a written examination in Trinity Term, or submit an essay of no more than 5,000 words in Hilary or Trinity term by the deadline specified in the Course Handbook.
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• Research Methods for Social Sciences and Humanities

• 5. All candidates will submit a 2,500 word maximum take-home paper in qualitative methods to be set on Monday of Week 8 and submitted by 12 noon on Monday of week 9 of Michaelmas Term.
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• 6. In addition, all candidates will submit one of the following:
  • (i) Historical Research Methods: a 2,500 word maximum take-home paper in historical research methods to be submitted by 12 noon on Monday of Week 9 of Hilary Term.
  • (ii) Quantitative Methods: a 2,500 word maximum take-home paper in quantitative analysis to be set on Monday of Week 8 of Hilary Term and submitted by 12 noon on Monday of Week 9 of Hilary Term.
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• Other requirements

• 7. All assessments must be submitted using the University approved online submission system. Technical information on the requirements for online submissions is provided in the Course Handbook.
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• 8. Candidates will be required to pass the core course examination or essay, the Comparative Area Studies option examination, the option paper examination or essay and the two Research Methods assessments to progress to the second year. Candidates who fail either of the Research Methods assessments will be permitted to resubmit a new submission for the failed piece(s) of work within four weeks of publication of the failed mark(s), on a date specified by the Chair of Examiners. If a student fails one or more of the core or option papers they may, by permission of the Global and Area Studies Teaching Committee, proceed to the second year of the course and re-sit/resubmit the failed paper(s) on one subsequent occasion.
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• 9. Candidates are required to spend a period of at least three months on an approved course of Area Studies Immersion after the examinations at the end of Trinity Term of the first year, and before the start of Hilary Term of the second year.

• Final year examinations

• 10. Candidates must submit a core Global and Area Studies essay of no more 4,000 words (excluding the bibliography) by 12 noon on Thursday of week 8 of Hilary term. 
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• 11. Candidates will choose two further option papers from a list, including details of the assessment method, published by the Course Director in the Course Handbook at the beginning of the academic year in which the option papers are to be taken. Candidates will either present themselves for a three-hour written examination in Trinity Term, or submit an essay of no more than 5,000 words by the deadline specified in the Course Handbook. 
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• 12. Candidates will complete a 30,000 word thesis including footnotes/endnotes but excluding the table of contents, the abstract, the bibliography of cited works and any approved technical appendices. The thesis must be submitted by 12 noon on Thursday of week 3 of Trinity Term.

13. All assessments must be submitted using the University approved online submission system. Technical information on the requirements for online submissions is provided in the Course Handbook. 

• 14. Candidates who fail one or more of the written examinations/essays or the thesis will be permitted to retake the examination paper(s)/re-submit the essays, or resubmit the thesis on one further occasion, which will normally be when the examination is next offered the following year.