MPhil/PhD in International Relations
Programme Code: RPIR
Department: International Relations
For students starting this programme of study in 2018/19
Guidelines for interpreting programme regulations
In addition to progressing with their research, students are expected to take the listed training and transferable skills courses. Students may take courses in addition to those listed, and should discuss this with their supervisor.
Paper |
Course number, title (unit value) | |
Year 1 | ||
|---|---|---|
Training courses |
Compulsory (not examined): | |
|
IR501 Methods in International Relations Research (0.0) | |
|
IR509 International Relations Research Design Workshop (0.0) | |
Year 2 | ||
Training courses |
Compulsory (not examined): | |
|
IR509 International Relations Research Design Workshop (0.0) | |
|
Optional (examined/not examined): The subject workshops offered by the International Relations Department comprise international relations theory; security and statecraft; international institutions, law and ethics; international political economy; Asia-Pacific; and the Middle East. Relevant courses provided by the Methodology Institute and agreed with supervisor, including: | |
|
DV560 Bayesian Reasoning for Qualitative Social Science: A modern approach to case study inference (0.5) (not available 2023/24) | |
|
MY400 Fundamentals of Social Science Research Design (0.5) | |
|
MY521 Qualitative Research Methods (0.5) (withdrawn 2021/22) | |
|
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|
MY551 Introduction to Quantitative Analysis (0.5) (withdrawn 2021/22) | |
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|
MY591 Computing Packages for Applied Analysis (0.0) (withdrawn 2020/21) | |
|
MY599 Department of Methodology MPhil/PhD Students Seminar (0.0) | |
Transferable skills courses |
Workshop in Information Literacy: finding, managing and organising published research and data | |
Prerequisite Requirements and Mutually Exclusive Options
# means there may be prerequisites for this course. Please view the course guide for more information.
Progression and upgrade requirements
Early in the Summer Term first- and second-year research students will have their progress reviewed by a Research Panel. They may also be held at the end of the third or subsequent years of registration at the request of a supervisor or student. Supervisors will not attend Research Panels but will provide reports on progress. Panel members may attend student presentations at the Research Design Seminar (IR509). Students are expected for the first Panel to submit an outline of their proposed research and one draft chapter. Students who are deemed not to have made satisfactory progress will either be refused permission to re-register or will be required by the Research Panel to produce written work over the summer as a condition for re-registration in the autumn. In the event of conditions to re-registration being set, a further Research Panel may be reconvened in the September prior to re-registration.
For the second Panel, which will decide on the question of upgrading from MPhil to PhD, students will be expected to submit two additional draft chapters. The two chapters should be substantially new work, but may include revised material from year one. Students who have not made sufficient progress to be converted from MPhil to PhD registration by the end of their second year will normally have re-registration made conditional on further progress (details to be decided by the Panel) or may, exceptionally, be prohibited from re-registering.
Requirements for all theses submitted for the degrees of MPhil and PhD in International Relations
The full requirements of a thesis are set out in the Regulations for Research Degrees.
A PhD thesis in International Relations, in addition to meeting the criteria outlined above, can take either of two forms and:
- consist either of a monograph that forms an integrated whole and present a coherent argument; or,
- alternatively, consist of a series of three or more publishable papers, with an introduction, critical discussion and conclusion, which may be submitted instead of a conventional thesis.
A thesis that contains only joint papers is not acceptable, and the Department will only allow one paper to be jointly authored. The thesis must contain linking materials which must be solely the work of the candidate. The part played by the candidate in any work done jointly with the supervisor(s) and/or fellow researchers must be clearly stated by the student;
Within the scope provided by the Regulations for Research Degrees, the format of the thesis will be agreed with and approved by the supervisor(s) who will ensure that the format conforms to the Department’s requirements.
Note for prospective students:
For changes to graduate course and programme information for the next academic session, please see the graduate summary page for prospective students. Changes to course and programme information for future academic sessions can be found on the graduate summary page for future students.