Regulations for the Degrees of Master of Philosophy in Law and Master of Philosophy in Socio-Legal Research

1. The MPhil in Law and the MPhil in Socio-Legal Research shall be under the supervision of the Graduate Studies Committee of the Faculty of Law.

2. Any person who has been admitted as a candidate for the MPhil in Law or the MPhil in Socio-Legal Research under the provisions of this section, and has satisfied the examiners in the examination prescribed in this section, may supplicate for the MPhil in Law or the MPhil in Socio-Legal Research as the case may be.

3. Candidates who are not graduates of the University may wear the same gown as that worn by candidates studying for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy.

4. Candidates must keep statutory residence for three terms and may hold status for a maximum of six terms.

Suspension of status

5. If, for good cause, a student is temporarily unable to carry out their research, the Graduate Studies Committee may grant them a request for a temporary suspension of status, for not less than one and not more than three terms at any one time. Applications for suspension of status should be made to the Graduate Studies Administrator; and should be accompanied by statements of support from a student's supervisor and society. No student may be granted more than three terms' suspension of status in this way. Students who have submitted their thesis are not permitted to suspend.

Termination of status

6. A student shall cease to hold the status of Student for the Master of Philosophy in Law/Socio-Legal Research through failure to meet the requirements laid down in these regulations including failure to meet the requirements within the maximum terms permitted for completion.

Reinstatement

7. It shall be open to a candidate who has withdrawn or who has been withdrawn to apply to the Graduate Studies Committee for reinstatement within twenty-four months of their status ceasing. The application should have the support of their society and supervisor, and such reinstatement fee as may from time to time be prescribed by Council should be paid. Permission for reinstatement to the Register of Students may be granted by the Graduate Studies Committee provided that:

(i) no more than twenty-four months have passed since the candidate withdrew or was withdrawn; and

(ii) the number of terms for which the candidate held MPhil status did not exceed six terms.

The Graduate Studies Committee shall determine the date from which any reinstatement granted under these provisions shall be effective.

8. Exceptionally, a candidate who is not able to apply for reinstatement within the provisions above may make an application to Council’s Education Committee for reinstatement to the Register of Students. Such candidates must meet the requirements for reinstatement by the Graduate Studies Committee and in addition must provide a statement explaining why it is reasonable for Education Committee to permit their reinstatement and outlining the circumstances that have prevented earlier submission. For such applications, Education Committee will consider the length of time since the candidate’s name was on the Register of Students, the seriousness of the causes for the delay, and the views of the Faculty, supervisor and college.

Students with Disabilities

9. Students with disabilities may apply for alternative arrangements in accordance with the provisions of section 6 of the General Regulations Governing Research Degrees. The list of degrees in clause 3 of section 6 shall include the MPhil in Law and the MPhil in Socio-Legal Research for this purpose.

Transfer to the MPhil in Law or MPhil in Socio-Legal Research

10. A candidate holding the status of Probationer Research Student or the status of a candidate for another postgraduate degree within the University may, with the approval of the Graduate Studies Committee, be admitted as a candidate for the MPhil in Law or MPhil in Socio-Legal Research. Time spent as a candidate holding the previous status shall count as time spent working for the relevant qualification.

Research methodology

11. Candidates must follow a suitable course of instruction in Research Methodology appropriate to the qualification and must satisfy the examiners that they have completed to the required standard such tests or exercises as may be prescribed by the Graduate Studies Committee. Where the Graduate Studies Committee judges that it has sufficient evidence of a candidate's proficiency in Research Methodology, it may in exceptional circumstances dispense a candidate from this requirement.

Supervision

12. MPhil students shall be placed by the Graduate Studies Committee under the supervision of a member of the University or other competent person selected by the board, and the board shall have power for sufficient reason to change the supervisor of any student or to arrange for joint supervision by more than one supervisor, if it deems it necessary.

13. It shall be the duty of a supervisor to advise a student as to the courses of instruction and classes, if any, which they should attend, and generally to direct and superintend the student's work.

14. The supervisor shall submit a report on the progress of the student to the board three times each year, and at any other time when the board so requests or the supervisor deems it expedient; and shall undertake such other duties as shall be from time to time set out in the relevant Policy and Guidance issued by the Education Committee. The supervisor shall communicate the contents of the report to the student on each occasion that a report is made, so that the student is aware of the supervisor's assessment of their work during the period in question.

Subject of research

15. Any student may, with the permission of the board, alter the subject of their research providing the new topic is deemed to be academically viable and the student is deemed capable of completing a thesis on the topic; and providing the Faculty has the necessary resources to provide supervision.

Examination requirements

16. Examination for the Degree shall be by thesis, and by oral examination. The thesis must not exceed 30,000 words and should not normally be less than 25,000 words in length (the limit to include all notes but to exclude all tables and the bibliography, and the candidate should state the number of words in the thesis to the nearest hundred words). The thesis shall be wholly or substantially the result of work undertaken whilst registered for the degree of MPhil in Law or the MPhil in Socio-Legal Research, except that a candidate may make application for a dispensation from this requirement to the Education Committee. It may cover the same area of Law as a dissertation offered in the BCL or MJur or MSc in Law and Finance, but the text of the dissertation must not be incorporated into the thesis.

17. Theses shall be prepared in accordance with Section 7 clause 2 (i)-(iii) and (vii) of the General Regulations Governing Research Degrees with appropriate amendments.

Appointment of examiners

18. By noon on Friday of Week 8 of Trinity Term, candidates must submit an application for appointment of examiners via Student Self Service. The choice of examiners should be made in consultation with the supervisor and one of the examiners should normally be external to the University.

Submission requirements for the MPhil in Law

19. Candidates must upload a copy of their thesis to the Research Thesis Digital Submission (RTDS) application by noon on 1st August (or by noon on the preceding Friday, if 1st August falls on a weekend). This must include a statement as to what part, if any, of the thesis has already been accepted, or is being concurrently submitted, for any degree in this University or elsewhere; and a statement that the thesis is the candidate's own work, except where otherwise indicated.

Submission requirements for the MPhil in Socio-Legal Research

20. Candidates must upload a copy of their thesis to RTDS by noon on the second Friday in September. This must include a statement as to what part, if any, of the thesis has already been accepted, or is being concurrently submitted, for any degree in this University or elsewhere; and a statement that the thesis is the candidate's own work, except where otherwise indicated.

21. The examiners shall consider the thesis excluding any part which has already been accepted, or is being concurrently submitted, for any degree in this University or elsewhere.

22. If a thesis exceeds the permitted length, the board concerned may decline to appoint examiners or to forward the thesis to examiners already appointed, and may require the candidate to submit a revised thesis. If the examiners find that a thesis which has been forwarded to them exceeds the permitted length, they should report the fact to the relevant board and await further instructions before proceeding with the examination.

23. The examiners must satisfy themselves that the thesis affords evidence of serious study by the candidate and of the ability to discuss a difficult problem critically; that the candidate possesses a good general knowledge of the field of learning within which the subject of the thesis falls; that the thesis is presented in a lucid and scholarly manner, and that the candidate has made a worthwhile contribution to knowledge or understanding in the field of learning within which the subject of the thesis falls to the extent that could reasonably be expected within the time normally spent as a candidate for the Degree.

Extensions of time

24. Applications for extensions of time will be governed by Part 14 of the Regulations for the Conduct of University Examinations except that clauses regarding academic penalties for non-submission shall not apply; any appeals against decisions taken under Part 14 will be governed by Part 18 of the same Regulations.

Conduct of oral examinations

25. Candidates will be required to attend an oral examination which shall be conducted in accordance with Section 7 clause 3 of the General Regulations Governing Research Degrees except that clause 3. (v) shall not apply.

Outcome of the examination

26. The examiners shall write a report and make one of the following recommendations to the Graduate Studies Committee:

• (i) that the candidate be awarded the Degree;

• (ii) that the candidate be awarded the Degree with Distinction;

• or

• (iii) that the thesis be referred for revision, and the candidate given the opportunity to re-submit for the Degree within three months of the formal notification of the outcome.

27. Candidates who wish to re-submit for the Degree after referral must submit a further application for appointment of examiners and a revised copy of the thesis via RTDS. The procedures for the first submission will apply, except that the deadline for both submission of the thesis and the application for appointment of examiners will be three months after the formal notification of the outcome.

28. The examiners shall conduct a second examination under the terms outlined in clauses 21-23 and 25 above, except that they may exempt a candidate from oral examination if they are satisfied that they can recommend to the board that the candidate has reached the standard required for the Degree without an oral examination.

29. On the occasion of the second examination, the examiners shall write a report and make one of the following recommendations to the Graduate Studies Committee.

• (i) that the candidate be awarded the Degree;

• (ii) that the candidate be deemed to have failed the requirements of the Degree.

30. Candidates are not required to submit a hard bound copy of a successful thesis to the Bodleian, but if they wish to do so, they must first undertake any minor corrections identified by the examiners, and submit a corrected copy of the thesis for approval by the internal examiner before depositing the Bodleian copy.

31. If a candidate wishes to re-submit for the Degree after referral under clause 26 above, but is unable to do so within three months of formal notification of the first assessment, no subsequent extension shall be granted, but it shall be open to a candidate whose name has been removed from the Register of Students to apply to the Board for reinstatement as a Student for the Master of Philosophy in Law/Socio-Legal Research. The application should have the support of their society and supervisor, a revised copy of the thesis should have been submitted to the Graduate Studies Committee via RTDS, and such reinstatement fee as may from time to time be prescribed by Council should have been paid. Leave to supplicate shall not be granted until this fee has been paid.

32. Permission for reinstatement to the Register of Students may be granted by the Graduate Studies Committee within twenty-four months of the date the student was notified of the outcome of their examination.

33. Exceptionally, a candidate who is not able to apply for reinstatement within that timeframe may make an application to Council’s Education Committee for reinstatement to the Register of Students. Such candidates must meet the requirements for reinstatement by the Graduate Studies Committee and in addition must provide a statement explaining why it is reasonable for Education Committee to permit their reinstatement and outlining the circumstances that have prevented earlier submission. For such applications, Education Committee will consider the length of time since the candidate was last examined, the seriousness of the causes for the delay, and the views of the Faculty, supervisor and college. Education Committee will not normally consider applications if sixty months or more have elapsed since the notification of the outcome of the examination.