Research Degrees in Medieval & Modern Languages

1. Admission as a Probationer Research Student

• Candidates may apply for admission as Probationer Research Student, or directly to DPhil status, on a full-time or part-time basis. In assessing applications from candidates seeking to undertake a research degree through part-time study, the Graduate Studies Committees of the Board of the Faculty of Medieval & Modern Languages shall have regard to evidence that the candidate can meet the following attendance requirements for their period of part-time study: attendance for a minimum of thirty days of university-based work each year, normally coinciding with the full terms of the academic year, to be arranged with the agreement of their supervisor, for the period that their names remain on the Register of Graduate Students unless individually dispensed by the Graduate Studies Committee of the Board of the Faculty of Medieval & Modern Languages. During a candidate's probationary period the attendance arrangements must take account of relevant induction and training events scheduled by the Faculty.

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

• Full-time candidates must apply for transfer to M.Litt and D.Phil. status by Friday of the sixth week of their third term as a Probationer Research Student.  

  Part-time candidates must apply for transfer to M.Litt and D.Phil. status by Friday of the sixth week of their sixth term as a Probationer Research Student.  

  Candidates shall submit an online application form together with: 

  1. (i) One electronic copy of a detailed outline (not more than 1,000 words) of the proposed thesis subject and of the manner in which it will be treated, including a provisional list of chapters and their proposed coverage;  
  1. (ii) One electronic copy of a piece of written work normally not more than about 10,000 words long, including footnotes but excluding bibliography, being on the topic of the proposed thesis (usually an early draft of a chapter of the thesis); if the submitted work is not a draft chapter, then the candidate should provide an explanation of the written work’s relationship to the thesis;
  2. (iii) Students need to have completed the University’s online research integrity training before applying for transfer of status. 

• 3. Confirmation of D.Phil. status

  Full-time candidates must apply for confirmation of D.Phil. status by Friday of the eighth week of their sixth term after admission as a Probationer Research Student.  

  Part-time candidates must apply for confirmation of D.Phil. status by Friday of the eighth week of their twelfth term after admission as a Probationer Research Student.  

  Candidates shall submit an online application form together with: 

  1. (i) One electronic copy of a statement (of not more than 1,000 words) giving the title of the proposed thesis, providing a list of chapters, and explaining how the subject will be treated and how much work remains to be done (including a proposed timeframe for completion). Students are also required to indicate the intended place of the submitted work in the thesis as a whole. 
  1. (ii) One electronic copy of a piece of written work of 15,000 words in length (except where text is accompanied by graphs or statistical material), including footnotes but excluding bibliography, being a draft of a chapter or chapters of the thesis (excluding the introductory or concluding chapters and any section submitted for the first transfer examination).

  4. Theses

  Theses submitted for the Degree of M.Litt. should not exceed 50,000 words and those submitted for the Degree of D.Phil. should not exceed 80,000 words, excluding the bibliography and any text that is being edited but including notes, glossary, appendices, etc. Leave to exceed these limits will be given only in exceptional cases. Any application for permission to exceed the limit should be submitted with a detailed explanation and statement of the amount of excess length requested, and with a covering letter from the supervisor. Application must be made immediately it seems clear that authorisation to exceed the limit will be sought and normally not later than six months before the intended date of submission of the thesis.

  Every candidate who is editing a text must also state the length of the text being edited.

  In addition to the arrangements for an abstract of the thesis set out in the Education Committee's regulations above, a fuller abstract of the thesis, which shall not normally exceed 1,500 words for the M.Litt. and 2,500 words for the D.Phil., prepared by the student is required; the abstracts are not included in the thesis word count. A copy of the fuller abstract must be included with the electronic copy of the thesis.