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Research Degrees in English Language and Literature

  • 1. Admission as a Probationer Research Student

    Candidates may apply for admission as a Probationer Research Student on a full-time or part-time basis.

    2.Transfer to M.Litt. and D.Phil. status

    • (i) Full-time Probationer Research Students will be required to submit an application to transfer to M.Litt or D.Phil status no later than Friday of noughth week in the third term of their study as a Probationer Research Student (normally Trinity term), with Transfer of Status being completed by the end of the fourth term. In exceptional cases the English Graduate Studies Committee may permit the candidate to postpone submission; candidates seeking such postponement must apply to the Director of Graduate Studies well in advance, and no later than Monday of fifth week of Hilary term.

    • Part-time Probationer Research Students will be required to submit an application to transfer to M.Litt or D.Phil status no later than Friday of noughth week in the sixth term of their study as a Probationer Research Student (normally Trinity term), with Transfer of Status being completed by the end of the eighth term. In exceptional cases, the English Graduate Studies Committee may permit the candidate to postpone submission; candidates seeking such postponement must apply to the Director of Graduate Studies well in advance, and no later than Monday of fifth week of the fifth term (normally Hilary term).

    • (ii) Full-time candidates must write to the English Graduate Studies Office by Friday of the eighth week of their second term as a Probationer Research Student (normally Hilary term), giving notice of their intention to apply for transfer to D.Phil status, and providing the title of their proposed thesis.

    • Part-time candidates must write to the English Graduate Studies Office by Friday of the eighth week of their fifth term as a Probationer Research Student (normally Hilary term), giving notice of their intention to apply for transfer to D.Phil status, and providing the title of their proposed thesis.

    • (iii) All candidates must submit the documents detailed in the Regulations for Research Degrees in the Humanities Division.

  • 3.Confirmation of D.Phil. status

    • (i) For full-time students, application for confirmation of D.Phil. status, with endorsements by the candidate’s society and supervisor, shall normally be presented to the English Graduate Studies Office not later than Friday of fifth week in the eighth term after admission to the D.Phil. programme (normally Hilary term). In exceptional cases the English Graduate Studies Committee may permit the candidate to postpone submission by up to one term: candidates seeking such postponement should apply to the Committee through the Director of Graduate Studies well in advance.

    • For part-time students, application for confirmation of D.Phil status, with endorsements by the candidate's society and supervisor, shall normally be presented to the English Graduate Studies Office not later than Friday of fifth week in the sixteenth term after admission to the D.Phil programme, with Confirmation of Status being achieved by the end of the eighteenth term. In exceptional cases, the English Graduate Studies Committee may permit the candidate to postpone submission by up to two terms: candidates seeking such postponement should apply to the Committee through the Director of Graduate Studies well in advance. 

    • (ii) Application for confirmation of D.Phil. status shall be accompanied by: (1) a full outline of chapters (c.100 words per chapter), summarising the scope of individual chapters and their state of completion, including a timetable for completion of the work which remains to be done before submission of the thesis; (2) a draft abstract of the thesis as a whole, of approximately 1,000 words; (3) a sample chapter, of 10,000 words. The English Graduate Studies Office will send the written work as well as any previous reports on transfer to the interviewer appointed by the English Graduate Studies Committee on behalf of the English Faculty Board.

  • 4.Theses

    Theses submitted to the Board of the Faculty of English Language and Literature for the Degree of M.Litt. should normally be around 40,000 words in length and should in no case exceed 50,000 words, exclusive of the bibliography and of any text that is being edited but including notes, glossary, appendices, etc. Theses submitted for the Degree of D.Phil. should normally be around 80,000 words in length and should in no case exceed 100,000 words, exclusive of the bibliography and of any text being edited, but including notes, glossary, appendices, etc. Leave to exceed these limits will be given only in exceptional cases (e.g. when the subject of the thesis requires extensive quotation from unpublished or inaccessible material, or where substantial and supplementary bibliographical or biographical listings are essential or helpful for an understanding of the arguments of the thesis) and on the recommendation of the supervisor. Applications to exceed the limit of 50,000 words for the M.Litt. or 100,000 words for the D.Phil. must be made in writing to the English Graduate Studies Committee in advance of the application for appointment of examiners. Each application should include a detailed explanation, a statement of the excess length requested, and a covering letter from the supervisor.