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m phil dissertation topics

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Important Dates

MPhil Course Information

General Information

Mphil course structure, essays - general guidance, dissertation - general guidance, university regulations on work submitted, procedural information for coursework.

Examples of Previous Essays & Dissertations

MPhil Seminar, Postgraduate Seminar, Lectures and Meetings

MPhil Results

Final congregation dates, questionnaires, applying for a phd at the faculty of philosophy.

Coursework Overview

MPhil candidates are examined on one essay of not more than 4,000 words (including footnotes but excluding bibliography), an essay of not more than 8,000 words (including footnotes but excluding bibliography), and a dissertation of not more than 12,000 words (including footnotes and appendices but excluding bibliography), all on subjects which must first be approved by the Degree Committee. For each of these pieces of work you will be arrange a supervisor, and choose a topic, in consultation with your Advisor, who is assigned to you by the Faculty at the start of Michaelmas Term. There are some restrictions on topics – see MPhil course structure for details – and deadlines for submission of titles. But broadly speaking you will have a lot of choice about what you write about, and a lot of opportunity to choose topics that especially interest you.

Where deadlines are marked '*' below, see the Postgraduate Calendar on the Philosophy website for the exact dates

To encourage a prompt start on essay work, your first essay has to be submitted by the end of Michaelmas Term*. You should consult with your Advisor very early in Michaelmas Term (and by the end of week 1 at the latest) to arrange a topic and a supervisor for this first essay. In case of any doubt, please consult the MPhil Course Director. You will receive a mark for your first essay, and any feedback and guidance, which may seem appropriate at that stage, before Christmas.

The other essay must be submitted in the last week of Lent Term*. Students are strongly advised to meet up with their Lent Term essay supervisor(s) before they depart for the Christmas break.

Before starting work on an essay, you should discuss the suitability of your topic with your essay supervisor (who may or may not be your Advisor). You must submit your essay title to the Postgraduate Secretary at the beginning of the sixth week of Michaelmas Term for the first essay, and in the first week of Lent Term* for the second essay, for formal approval by the Degree Committee. Minor amendments to titles of second essays may be accepted until the beginning of the sixth week of term*.

When choosing titles for your essays, keep in mind that their main function is to enable the Degree Committee to select the most suitable examiners. Titles should be direct and specific enough to serve this purpose (without, e.g. misleading witticisms!), but not so specific that they tie your hands if you want to make some late change of focus. (For example: 'Leibniz' is too vague; 'Leibniz on contingency' is fine; 'Two meanings of “analytic” in Leibniz and how the distinction between them helps us to defend his views on contingency' is probably too specific.) Once a title has been agreed, you can add a subtitle but the examiners will assess the essay for relevance in relation to the agreed title, not the subtitle.

There is no formal limit on the amount of supervision a student may have on an MPhil essay, the decision on how much to provide resting with supervisors. However, a typical and reasonable supervising schedule would be as follows:

- a brief initial meeting with the supervisor for orientation, general advice, guidance on reading

- two further supervisions for each essay (comments on and discussion of a first draft, with advice for possible improvements; and further comments on a revised draft, for each)

The student would then submit the final version without further supervision.

Titles of MPhil dissertations need to be submitted for approval shortly before the beginning of Easter Term* (with minor amendments possible up to the third week of Easter Term*). Dissertation topics should be chosen carefully, and after consulting your dissertation supervisor. As in the case of essays, don't be too general or too specific, and choose a title that makes it easy for the Degree Committee to appoint the most suitable examiners.

MPhil candidates hoping to continue to a PhD will often choose essay and dissertation topics with an eye to their proposed PhD research. But you should not let this tempt you to make your MPhil dissertations too ambitious: you should bear in mind that you have a strict word limit (12,000 words), and a strict submission deadline at the end of Easter Term*. You should also bear in mind that no significant part of an MPhil dissertation may be incorporated as it stands in a PhD thesis, although it may of course form the basis for new work.

Your MPhil dissertation should be submitted at the end of Easter Term*.

Please note that it is a University regulation that work already submitted for a degree outside Cambridge cannot then be submitted for a Cambridge degree ( https://www.admin.cam.ac.uk/univ/so/pdfs/2020/ordinance07.pdf#page=69 ). If you are in any doubt about this, please consult your Advisor, or your Supervisor for the piece of work in question.

Dissertations must not be substantially the same as anything submitted for any other degree, diploma or similar qualification at any university or similar institution; but they may be submitted concurrently e.g. for publication, or to obtain a Research Fellowship or other employment.

Dissertations may be accompanied by two copies of any unconnected or unrelated work which the candidate has published, and which the examiners may take into consideration.

Please also see Essay and Dissertation Guidance

MPhil Examination Procedures

Marking Criteria for the MPhil

Data retention policy for the MPhil can be found here

Examples of previous MPhil essays and dissertations

Previous examples can be found here

There is a weekly seminar for MPhil students, at which they present and discuss their work – the seminar focusses on developing presentation and discussion skills, as well introducing students to a very wide range of philosophical topics. All MPhil students are expected to attend this seminar every week.

The Faculty also arranges other seminars especially for postgraduate students, including a postgraduate seminar, run by PhD students with no academics attending, fortnightly throughout the academic year.

Postgraduate students are encouraged to attend upper-level Tripos lectures and any other seminars (across Faculties) that are relevant to their work, please consult your Advisor for advice on which to attend.

Postgraduate students are strongly encouraged to attend the Moral Sciences Club , which meets weekly in term to discuss papers normally given by visiting philosophers. Similar meetings are organised in other Faculties (e.g. the 'D' Society for the philosophy of religion).

The lecture list including MPhil seminars can be found here. The University Timetable allows you to construct your own online timetable. Reading lists and handouts for lectures and course readings will be located on the relevant paper's moodle page.

Many postgraduate students run seminars themselves on special topics. The Faculty website has details of current groups and research events here . Postgraduate students are strongly encouraged to attend the Moral Sciences Club , which meets weekly in term to discuss papers normally given by visiting philosophers.

Intermission/ Examination Allowances

If your work is hindered or interrupted by medical, financial or other problems you should discuss your options with the MPhil Course Director and the Postgraduate Tutor in your college. Depending on the circumstances of your difficulties, it may be appropriate for you to request an intermission; or, if the problem occurs during an examination period, an examination allowance. More information on Intermission can be found on the following webpage:

https://www.cambridgestudents.cam.ac.uk/your-course/postgraduate-study/your-student-status/medical-intermission

More information on examination allowances can be found on the following webpage:

https://www.student-registry.admin.cam.ac.uk/about-us/EAMC

We understand that sometimes it might be difficult to talk about personal problems, but the staff in the Faculty are here to help, and are positive in finding solutions to help you continue your studies. Please feel free to also consult the Postgraduate Secretary if you would like to discuss these, and other options, at any point in your studies.

Oral Examination -Viva

MPhil candidates will have an oral examination (‘viva’), on a date to be arranged with them by the Examiners in the week following submission of the MPhil dissertations. Candidates should therefore ensure that they are available for the whole viva period*, excluding the weekend. (The Examiners may in exceptional circumstances waive the oral examination, but candidates must not assume that they will.) If a candidate would like to request adjustments to their viva on the grounds of disability, they should complete a ‘voluntary disclosure form’ and return this to the postgraduate secretary. The form can be found here: https://www.cambridgestudents.cam.ac.uk/files/voluntary_disclosure_form.pdf

In cases where the marks given to the dissertation by the two examiners prior to the viva are significantly different, one purpose of the viva is to help them to come, if possible, to an agreed mark. However, the main purpose of the viva is to test the depth of the candidate’s understanding of the issues discussed in the dissertation, and surrounding issues. The examiners may decide to move their mark up or down, in the light of the viva. For example, the candidate may persuade them during the viva that objections to the argument of the dissertation they had formulated while reading it are not valid; in such a case they may move their marks up. Or the candidate may show an ignorance of relevant literature and a failure to respond to objections which persuades the examiners that a principle of charity which they had applied in reaching their marks was not warranted; in such a case they may move their marks down. Only in exceptional circumstances, however, should their post-viva agreed mark be more than 5 marks outside the range of their pre-viva marks. The viva will usually concentrate on the dissertation, but it may also include questions on the general area of philosophy in which it falls.

MPhil candidates will be told the their final result as soon as possible after their Examiners’ reports have been considered by the Degree Committee at its meeting in late June/early July*. Students will also be able to view their dissertation and overall mark via their CamSIS self service.

The final congregation (graduation ceremony) of the academic year is usually on the third Friday or Saturday in July*. Further information on ceremony dates can be found here . Those hoping to graduate in July should contact the Praelector of their College in early June to check the ceremony date for their College and reserve a place.

We ask MPhil students to provide their feedback at regular intervals throughout the MPhil course, in the form of a questionnaire sent from the Postgraduate Office. Usually there is one questionnaire sent per term. Feedback from students is important in helping us to improve the course, and we ask that all students complete all questionnaires.

MPhil students may apply to continue as PhD candidates. If you are interested in doing so, you should discuss this with your Advisor early in Michaelmas Term, and also notify the Postgraduate Secretary, to ensure that you don’t miss the relevant application and funding deadlines. You will need to complete an online application via the admissions portal, similar to the one you completed in applying for the MPhil. It is available from the Postgraduate Admissions website:

https://www.postgraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/portal/continuer

The deadline will be in early December* or Mid-October if you are a student from the US who wishes to apply for Gates funding. The application requires a research proposal of 500 words, two references, and two writing samples. One of these writing samples should be something produced on the MPhil course (typically a version of your first essay), while the other maybe one of the samples you submitted in applying for the MPhil. Please discuss your research proposal with your potential PhD supervisor before submitting it, and talk to your Advisor about the whole application.

Please note that admission to the PhD is not an automatic consequence of successful completion of the MPhil. The Faculty receives many more applications for the PhD than it is able to accept, and can admit only a minority of qualified candidates. The Degree Committee makes a judgement on each individual case, taking into consideration all the evidence it has available about the suitability of the candidate to complete a thesis on the proposed topic. Ordinarily, several conditions need to be satisfied before the Degree Committee will recommend that an MPhil candidate proceed to work for the PhD. These are necessary but not sufficient conditions:

(i) If you are offered a PhD place it may be conditional on your achieving a specified mark in the MPhil as a whole. Typically, candidates who successfully proceed to the PhD will be those who are achieving marks for the essays and dissertation of 70 or better, although you will not yet know any of your marks at the time you apply to the PhD.

(ii) In addition to satisfactory marks in the MPhil a candidate needs to show an ability to generate and to develop original ideas. (The MPhil marking criteria indicate that it is possible to obtain quite good marks without showing any substantial originality.)

(iii) A candidate who is to be accepted for the PhD needs to produce an acceptable research proposal.

(iv) The Faculty needs to be confident that it can provide proper supervision for the candidate's proposed research.

If you are an MPhil candidate who is then accepted into the PhD programme, and if your PhD research is suitably related to your MPhil work, you will usually be allowed to count some or all of your three MPhil terms towards the residency requirements of the PhD, if you are ready to submit your thesis before the minimum terms of study have elapsed. This means that you may submit a PhD thesis after only six more terms, if you wish. Please see the following webpage for further information:

https://www.cambridgestudents.cam.ac.uk/your-course/postgraduate-study/your-student-status/allowanceexemption-research-terms

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Master Of Philosophy (M. Phil.)

The first year of the PhD program is the sequential MA program. Click here for more information on the sequential MA.

REGISTRATION AND ADVISING

Students with M.A. degrees from Columbia University M.Phil. students should register for two (2) "residence units" (RU), i.e., two semesters of full tuition each year. Students with M.A.degrees from outside Columbia University The first year of the M.Phil. is the first year at Columbia for students who have received full credit for an M.A. degree elsewhere and who enter directly into our M.Phil. program. As this is the second year of our sequential M.A./M.Phil./Ph.D program, we consider all entering M.Phil. candidates as second-year students, even though this may be their first year on our campus. M.Phil. requirements remain the same for continuing and newly-arrived students. Students admitted to the M.Phil. program from another institution should consult the DGS about which courses can be accepted. These students should also register for two (2) "residence units" (RU), i.e., two semesters of full tuition each year. Advising : See " Advising " in the M.A. Degree section

SPECIFIC CLASSES FOR THE M.PHIL.

Teaching Writing (ENGL GR6913y) This course introduces students to pedagogical as well as practical issues involved in running a section of Columbia University's Undergraduate Writing Program. This course is run through the Undergraduate Writing Center, and is taken for R credit, with no letter grade unless the student chooses to write a research paper. Teaching Tutorial (ENGL GR6910 x or y) With the permission of the faculty instructor, some departmental Teaching Fellows may teach voluntary discussion sections attached to usually large undergraduate lecture courses. The course is taken for "R" credit and may count as one of the six courses required for the M.Phil. It may also fulfill a distribution requirement.

DISTRIBUTION OF CLASSES

In addition to the general requirements and required classes, students in the first year of the M.Phil.—which is the Sequential MA Program—must complete one course in each of the following categories:

Two of these requirements must be met in the first (MA) year; the third by the end of the second year.

If you do not know what period your class falls in, please ask your instructor. The test used for requirements is whether the preponderance of assigned reading comes from the period in question – e.g., you cannot satisfy the pre-1500 requirement by writing an essay about Plato in a class on 20th-century fiction.

INTER-UNIVERSITY DOCTORAL CONSORTIUM

MPhil students may cross-register for graduate courses at NYU, CUNY, Fordham, Rutgers, Princeton, and SUNY-Stony Brook through the Inter-University Doctoral Consortium (IUDC). More information can be found at the the IUDC page on the GSAS website. Graduate coursework completed through the IUDC may be used to cover distribution requirements. Other than in exceptional circumstances MA students may not take classes through the IUDC. Please note that this is an IUDC rule, not a department regulation, so exceptions can never be guaranteed.

Second Year Teaching In the second year, students are appointed departmental Teaching Fellows. Each semester they assist with a large lecture course. For some courses, teaching fellows may be asked to lead discussion sections. Third Year Teaching Having been trained in their second year, M.Phil. students are expected to start teaching one section of University Writing in the fall semester, and another in the spring. The University Writing Program is associated with the English Department, but is run separately. It is located in 310 Philosophy Hall (contact: [email protected] ).

CERTIFICATION OF LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY

Before scheduling their orals, M.Phil. students must demonstrate proficiency in a third language by one of the means outlined for Certification of Proficiency in a Second Language in the M.A. year.

Note: "Rapid Reading and Translation" courses (e.g. Spanish 1113, Italian 1204, French 1206) sometimes offer final exams that are identical to that department's language proficiency exam. The Rapid Reading final exam mark of Pass satisfies the ENCL language proficiency requirement.

For information about computer languages, see Programming Language Proficiency Exam Guidelines .

STRUCTURE OF THE ORALS

The doctoral oral examination forms a bridge between the wide-ranging period of formal coursework and the highly focused work of the Ph.D. dissertation. Orals preparation is the primary activity during the third year of the M.A./M.Phil. program (the second M.Phil. year), with the examination ordinarily taken toward the end of that academic year. The year's work should be a time of intellectual synthesis and definition, an opportunity both to explore new material and to deepen familiarity with material previously studied through independent reading refined by regular conversations with the members of your examining committee. . An orals examination is two hours long, divided among three fields and is intended to accomplish three things:

The exam takes the following form:

FORMULATING THE GENERAL FIELD

The general field is intended to help set a broad context for dissertation work and at the same time to prepare you for a job market in which most jobs are advertised in particular "fields," often historically defined, in which hiring committees typically expect candidates to have a broad general knowledge and an ability to teach introductory survey courses.

These fields can be fairly arbitrary constructs, and no one's intellectual profile need be confined to a single field or a single definition of that field, but the general field gives you an opportunity to begin to work out your personal version of the field in which you'll most likely be applying for jobs.

The common general field areas are:

Other general field areas can be arranged with approval of the DGS, but ordinarily the general field should be developed under one of the above rubrics. There are, of course, many ways to construct a reading list within one of these fields. The field can best be developed with a dual focus on works and issues . Your list should have a good selection of key texts as well as whatever more individual or even idiosyncratic choices are most important to you personally, and you can usefully arrange your texts under half a dozen rubrics representing the issues of most current debate in the field today, weighting your selection of issues toward the ones that most attract you, but also including other major rubrics that you (and your examiners) feel are specially important.

Given the survey function of the general field, unless you're doing a genre-specific field, it is important for your list to show a genuine engagement with the various literary genres most important to the field in question . Your dissertation may well end up focusing entirely on the novel, or drama, or lyric poetry, but hiring committees will expect you to have an active familiarity with a broad generic range within any given historical period.

One thing to keep in mind in preparing orals lists is that the tremendous expansion of the literary canon in recent decades has not led to a pure leveling in which all authors have a comparable presence in a field. Every field tends to have a group of key authors who are constantly discussed - some of them traditional "major authors" and some new entrants into prominence - and hiring committees will likely expect you to have a good familiarity with most such authors in your field, even if your own dissertation focuses largely or entirely on less-discussed people. Even newly emergent fields like postcolonial studies organize themselves in part around ongoing discussion of a cluster of central figures such as Rushdie and Coetzee, and it is a good idea for orals lists to take this fact into account. At the same time, your lists should reflect your personal inclinations and concerns, and will likely include a mix of much-discussed and less-discussed writers.

ORALS TIMELINE

Please note that all other requirements for the M.Phil. must be completed before orals may be taken. Any exceptions require approval by the DGS.

ORALS PROPOSAL

1) 1-2 paragraphs laying out the overall logic of the three fields. Since this description comes at the beginning of study for the orals, it will inevitably be tentative, suggesting questions for exploration, advancing hypotheses rather than conclusions. At the same time, each field and its description should be sufficiently developed to justify the selection of primary texts.

2) General Field

• Full list of primary works

• Selected secondary works

• Short rationale for the selections

3) Related Field

4) Thesis Field, or, Second Related Field

Orals lists will ordinarily include a mix of works you have never read and of familiar works you want to return to. Doing 80 brand-new works would be overwhelming, while repeating only familiar works misses the opportunity to extend your range during this year of work. As a rule of thumb, perhaps half the works on your list should be ones you have already read, half new to you.

In formulating proposals, students may consult samples available in the Department's files and at the link below for Sample Reading Lists.

Submit two copies of your proposal with one copy of the cover sheet signed by the four examiners.

SETTING UP THE COMMITTEE

For some students, it may be perfectly obvious whom to ask to serve as examiners, but other students find it takes time and careful thought to work out the best committee. In the early stages of the development of the orals proposal, there is often a mutual interaction or biofeedback between evolving topics and the makeup of the committee. Unless you are clear from the outset what you want to do and with whom you want to work, a good first step is to talk to the DGS in the winter of the second year; the DGS is an ideal person with whom to discuss tentative ideas and potential examiners. It is then appropriate to go to potential examiners and sound them out. For each potential examiner, it can be helpful to bring in a page listing a few key issues you are thinking about and some of the texts you expect to include. This initial conversation can be framed in exploratory terms, if you are not yet sure whether this is the topic (and the examiner) for you; it is quite common for students to contemplate a few topics and to speak to half a dozen potential examiners before settling into a final set of topics and examiners. Ideally, at least a couple of your examiners will be people you think of as likely dissertation committee members (dissertations have three primary committee members). The actual dissertation committee, however, need not be drawn purely from the orals committee.

Ordinarily at least two of the four orals examiners should be tenured members of the department, but junior and senior faculty alike can be asked to serve on orals committees, as can adjunct faculty and faculty from other departments at Columbia. At times, a faculty member from outside Columbia is asked and agrees to serve, though the department does not have funds to compensate such service. Such arrangements are most often made when a student has been working with someone off-campus (often in courses taken through the Consortium); if you have a working relationship with such a person and want to ask, it is fine to do so, though you should be aware that this is a special favor and not press the matter if you sense any hesitation on the part of someone outside the university.

WORKING WITH FACULTY ON LEAVE

Faculty who are on leave will ordinarily be ready to work with you regardless, and will be available to meet with you periodically, even if they are not otherwise holding office hours. The situation can be more complicated if the examiner will actually be out of town while on leave. If an examiner is away for one semester, it may be most effective to hold off primary work on that field until the examiner's return; on the other hand, especially if the examiner is away for a year, it is perfectly possible to be in steady contact via e-mail.

As you first arrange your orals fields, you should ask your examiners if they will be away during the period of your orals preparation, as well as during the likely time of the orals examination itself. Though leaves will not ordinarily interfere with the process (faculty who are away on leave often come back a couple of times specifically for orals and defenses), it is best to discuss the question directly, so that you and your prospective examiner can work out a mutually agreeable plan of work and of contact. If necessary, it can be better to find a different examiner than to go ahead with someone who will not be able to give you proper feedback, or whose absence would seriously delay the taking of the orals. In such cases, it is clearly best to work this out up front, rather than become locked into an unproductive situation. In those rare cases when a desired examiner is unavailable, that person will certainly understand the logic of your getting the orals done with someone else, and once back from leave, will still be available for dissertation work thereafter.

PREPARING FOR THE ORALS

Orals Discussion Groups

Students studying for orals often find it helpful to create informal discussion groups with members of their cohort and field. These groups usually form when students are preparing orals proposals, and continue to meet once or twice a month until exams are completed to discuss readings. It is also helpful for students studying for orals to speak with those who have recently passed them; one way to facilitate this is to have orals groups invite fourth-year students to their first meetings of the fall semester.

Mandatory meeting with Examiners, and written work

Committee members must plan to meet with their students during the orals year. In the spring before the orals year, when the student is preparing his/her lists and rationales, these plans for meeting and writing must be discussed and confirmed by advisers and students. If a faculty member will be away that year, the plan for how to communicate should be established in advance.

Major field advisers must meet with the student at least four times over the course of the third year (this can be divided between the two major field faculty). Each minor field adviser must meet with the student at least two times over the course of the third year. It is expected that for each of these meetings the student will produce written reports, as specified by the advisers. Before the final such meeting, the written report should have a more comprehensive character, specifics of which should be negotiated with the adviser.

Reading by Yourself

THE ORAL EXAMINATION

The Theory Behind the Exam

While much of the work of the orals lies in the reading and the conversation that lead up to the examination, the orals examination itself is an important event. It is an opportunity for the student to do several things: to demonstrate some mastery of her field and related areas; to give a sense of how she approaches the field; to articulate the primary animating questions and ideas she is considering as a beginning of her dissertation; to be an interlocutor with the questioners and with the authors she has been reading; and to show that she is ready to enter into the final stage of the Ph.D. program, where she will be expected to undertake independent scholarship and to become an active participant in the discipline.

Pass, Low Pass, or Fail

There are three possible marks. Candidates receiving Pass who have fulfilled all other M.Phil. requirements are awarded the M.Phil. degree and proceed to the doctoral program. Candidates receiving Fail are not awarded the M.Phil. and are not permitted to re-take the orals or advance to the doctoral program. Candidates receiving Low Pass are eligible to receive the M.Phil. degree. Candidates receiving a Low Pass may petition their committees within three working days if they want to re-take the oral examination; if granted approval, candidates must re-take the exam within one month of the first oral examination. A candidate who fails a second orals must petition the Committee on Graduate Education (CGE) for permission to make a third attempt.

Adjusting the List Before the Exam

If there are a few works on your lists that you have not managed to get to by the time the orals date approaches, it would be prudent to raise this with the relevant examiner(s); it can usually be agreed to leave such works to the side, unless your examiners feel that too much material has not yet been covered and the orals should be postponed. In either event, you should determine this in advance, rather than at the examination itself.

You should have this in mind as you do your orals preparation: what possible topics and approaches are starting to open up? A fairly definite idea may crystallize during the period of orals preparation, but even if not, by the day of the orals you will likely have some general ideas that you can test out, or an area and group of authors of interest. The conversation may also carry forward issues raised in your field discussions during the preceding two hours. You should ideally emerge from this conversation with a sense of the next steps you need to take in refining your ideas.

Process of the Exam

The orals may be taken as early as February 1 but no later than April 15 of the third year.

The orals examination ordinarily begins with the general field, then proceeds to the related field, and then to the thesis field, or second related field. The examiners take the primary or even exclusive role in discussion of their fields, but may also speak up during fields other than their own. You should bring your orals lists with you but not plan on taking notes, as the focus should be directly on the conversation.

At the conclusion of the two-hour examination, there will be a short recess while your examiners assess the exam. On your return to the room, you will have a twenty-minute preliminary conversation with your examiners about your proposed or possible dissertation. When you have had a formal "thesis field" with a primary examiner, this further conversation will give the other examiners a fuller chance to offer comments and suggestions; if you have offered two related fields rather than a thesis field, this conversation will give you an opportunity to set out some tentative ideas for the dissertation.

Within four weeks of the successful oral exam, the student must produce a short (3-5) page pre-prospectus in which s/he gives a preliminary view of the dissertation plan. This assignment is not graded but will be read by all four orals committee members, who are expected to give prompt feedback so that the student can quickly proceed to work on the prospectus.

What Is an MPhil?

‘MPhil’ stands for ‘ Master of Philosophy ’ and is an advance postgraduate research degree.

Although the degree is technically classed as a Masters, in reality, it sits close to a Doctorate. This is because an MPhil goes beyond the traditional taught Master’s degree by placing emphasis on independent research and a more-targeted topic.

There are usually two reasons you would undertake an MPhil. First, you may wish to learn new research skills to open up new career opportunities. Second, you may want to do a PhD and so first enrol onto an MPhil, either as a compulsory requirement or under your own free choice, to first gain some research experience and doctoral training.

As these two decisions have different end-goals, an MPhil can either be carried out in one of two ways. It can either be undertaken as a stand-alone research degree or one integrated with a PhD .

What Does an MPhil Involve?

What you do as an MPhil student will be similar to that of a PhD student, but to a limited extent and in a shorter time period.

For example, you’ll be required to undertake an investigation around a subject area you have a research interest in. As part of this, you will have to evaluate concepts, understand suitable research methods, use published research and demonstrate an understanding of theoretical and analytical studies.

As part of your degree, you will also be expected to produce a thesis. The length of the thesis differs between universities but is typically around 50,000 words. Although your thesis isn’t expected to provide original research, it will need to provide an original insight or evaluation. It must show you understand the core activities of research work such as the ability to appraise literature, evaluate methods and identify potential limitations.

Besides a thesis, you’ll also be required to defend your work in an oral examination. Like a PhD, this examination is known as a viva voce and is conducted with an interview panel.

As MPhils are research degrees, there are no taught components such as classes, coursework or assessments. The exception to this is for MPhils offered by the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge.

MPhils at Oxford and Cambridge

The key difference with the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge is that their MPhils can be a research degree, a taught degree or a mixture of the two.

The MPhils offered at the University of Oxford comprise two parts, each lasting a year. The first part is a taught component while the second is researched-based. Besides this, you will need to sit several assessments for the taught component.

The University of Cambridge offers two types of MPhils . The first is an ‘MPhil by Advanced Study’, and the second is an ‘MPhil by Thesis’. The MPhil by Advanced Study comprises taught components similar to that of the University of Oxford. The MPhil by Thesis is a research-only degree and is therefore similar to the traditional MPhils offered by other universities.

Transferring from an MPhil to a PhD

In the UK, if you’re accepted into a PhD programme, it’s common for you to first be registered for an MPhil. At the end of your first year, your academic supervisor will evaluate whether you have made adequate progress and shown the traits of a competent researcher. This is assessed through a write-up of your study and an oral examination. In some cases, you’ll also be required to produce a detailed action plan detailing how you intend to tackle the rest of your project.

Should you succeed, your registration will be upgraded to a PhD.

The reason a research student is first registered for an MPhil is for screening their suitability and introducing them to the type of work they will undertake in their PhD. This is because an MPhil provides a foundation for developing an individual’s research skills and providing them with specialist knowledge in their research topic.

Transferring from a PhD to an MPhil

Similar to how an MPhil can be upgraded to a PhD, the reverse is also true – a PhD can be ‘downgraded’ to an MPhil.

This usually occurs under one of the following circumstances:

In all of the above cases, you would still need to prove that the work you have carried out to date meets the requirements of an MPhil. Should you not have much work to show, or should it be of unsatisfactory quality, you will not be considered for an MPhil either.

How Long Does an MPhil Take?

An MPhil can be undertaken either full-time or part-time.

If studying full time, a stand-alone MPhil degree will usually take two years. This extends to four years if studying part-time.

If you’re undertaking an MPhil as an initial registration for a PhD, these durations typically halve. However, remember that if you pass your initial registration period, your course will be upgraded to a PhD rather than you being awarded an MPhil.

How Much Does an MPhil Cost?

Your course fees will depend on your subject field, your mode of study, i.e. part-time or full-time and where you’re from.

For home and EU students, the average tuition fee for an MPhil is approximately:

For international students, the average tuition fee for an MPhil can vary between:

What Funding Opportunities Exist for an MPhil?

A government loan can be used to fund your studies. If you are undertaking a stand-alone MPhil, you will need to apply to a Postgraduate Master’s Loan . On the other hand, if you are applying to a PhD degree but first have to register as an MPhil student, you will need to apply for a Doctoral Loan . Both loans will cover your tuition fees, living costs and travelling expenses.

Additionally, you can also apply to scholarships offered by your department or university. Competition for these are fierce as, unlike government loans, they do not need to be repaid. Therefore, this is a popular source of funding.

Finding a PhD has never been this easy – search for a PhD by keyword, location or academic area of interest.

What Are the Typical Entry Requirements for an MPhil?

The typical requirement for an MPhil is a Bachelor’s degree with first-class honours (1st) or upper second class honours (2:1).

Although most universities won’t require a Masters for a stand-alone MPhil, they may if your MPhil registration is for a PhD programme.

Besides suitable qualifications, most MPhils also require a research proposal with your application. This is to show your potential supervisor that you understand the field and have thought about the aims and expected outcomes of your research project.

English Language Requirement

If you are an international student and from a country whose primary language isn’t English, you’re likely to need to sit an English language proficiency test.

You will need to check the requirements for each project you are interested in as the requirements will differ for each university. However, as a guide, the typical requirement for MPhils is a minimum overall IELTS score of 6.5 with at least 6.0 in each category.

Remember that although IELTS is the most common English language test, it is only one of several which are accepted by UK universities.

Life After an MPhil

Having successfully completed a Master of Philosophy, you will no doubt have developed specialised and highly marketable skills . Some of these skills include problem-solving, critical thinking and the ability to form, evaluate and defend ideas.

This will make you favourable amongst employers in analytical and research-based fields. It will also give you a competitive edge over those who don’t have an advanced postgraduate qualification.

Although with suitable experience it’s possible to pursue a career in higher education or advance research, most employers will prioritise applicants who have a PhD and relevant experience. Therefore, if you aspire to a career in academia or complex research, consider whether a PhD would be more beneficial for you.

Browse PhDs Now

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Research Topics in English Literature

Author: Lisa

Ideas for Writing Papers

Research topics on English literature initially start off broad and then narrow down and you come up with your thesis. Using any of the research topics listed to the left (gender, comparisons, historical background, politics, and religion) can take you almost anywhere. Choose your general topic based on the literature class you're writing for. If it's a class focused on gender, start there and then branch out to something like my example of how the roles of men and women are portrayed.

Knowing first your general topic and then what kind of essay or paper you're researching for (argumentative, persuasive, etc.) can help you decide what to do with it next when it comes to narrowing it down. Remember this isn't concrete. Your topic can grow and completely change as you research. Choosing the literature topic is just the key to getting started.

Finding and researching a good topic in English literature takes time and patience.

Finding and researching a good topic in English literature takes time and patience.

LisaKoski via Instagram

Topics for English Literature Research Essays

When it comes to English literature, there's no end to the topics that you can research for that novel or other piece that you've been reading. The easiest way to get an idea for that next research topic on English literature for your essay is to start broad and then work toward making it more specific and interesting for your readers. Here are a few examples of research topics in literature to get you started (for a more extensive list of research topics in literature, please check out the link that can be found at the bottom of this article):

1. Gender roles

How are the roles of men and women portrayed in the novel? Are they distinctly different? Do they have equal rights? What gender expectations do they follow or fight against?

2. Comparisons between genres

How does each genre tell its story? What are the differences and similarities between the two? Is one more effective than the other?

3. Historical background

Who is the author and what is their story? Were there controversies associated with them or their work? What is the significance of this novel in the time it was written? How does it reflect the society and beliefs of its time?

What issues in politics does this novel address? Discrimination? Rights? Equality?

How is this novel religious? What beliefs is it promoting or questioning?

6. Comparisons between two characters

This can be between characters in the same novel or two different ones. How are their differences and similarities important to the novel?

7. Comparisons between two novels

If the novels seem completely different but represent the same genre or come from the same time period, this may be something you want to explore.

8. Allusions within the novel

What are some significant allusions within the novel? These could be religious, refer to other novels or authors, etc. How is this important to understanding the novel and its place in English literature?

What are some of the most notable criticisms out there? What is your response and how does it compare to other critics out there?

What are important symbols in the novel? How are they significant?

English Literature Research Projects

The following can also be used for any other type of research project for English Literature where you need to find your own topic.

Researching for an English Literature essay can be tough but finding a topic you are really interested in helps make it easier.

Researching for an English Literature essay can be tough but finding a topic you are really interested in helps make it easier.

Morten Oddvik via Flickr (CC License)

How to Find an English Topic to Research for Any Project

So, you’ve finally made it to your last year at your university and you’ve got one last thing to do before you leave: the dreaded Capstone Project. Have no fear; although it is time-consuming and stressful work, it is possible to turn all that work into something fun, as long as you choose the right topic in English literature to write about. The key to going out with a bang with a fantastic Capstone is to choose something you actually care about.

Of all the aspects of this project, choosing the right research topic is absolutely key. Choose the wrong one, and you may not meet the requirements or, worse, you may dislike it enough to have to change it halfway through the class. For the first time in four years, teachers are giving you the reins and having you decide what you want to write about. No more prompts telling you what to do, except for the guidelines for your project, and no more focusing on one aspect of a novel that the prof tells you to.

So don’t freak out, think of it as the best part of your university experience yet. Now’s the time to show your stuff and let everyone see how much of a successful English literature nerd you’ve turned out to be. If you can do it yourself, you’ve proved yourself worthy of that snazzy degree they’re about to hand you in a couple months. Of course if you’ve made it to this point, there’s no way you’re not worthy.

Example of a Researched Essay in English Literature

My Capstone class was titled “The Age of Novels” and focused on the rise of the novel during the eighteenth century. Basically, we looked at how the novel developed into what we see as a novel today, considering how writers presented and executed their works of fiction, who influenced them, and how they influenced others. We also looked at literary techniques such as psychological realism and the differing roles of men and women in the formation of this most popular form of writing.

My class was focused on topics such as psychological realism and gender roles so this is something that I kept in the back of my mind as I read through the novel I chose to research.

How to Get Started on an English Literature Paper

I’m going to use my own experience in the Capstone Project as an example of how to choose a research topic in English literature.

I know your Capstone won’t be on the same topic, but it’s still important to know the basic focus of the class in order to get to your literature research topic. Look at the prompt for your English class and see what sticks out to you.

After reading through the required reading in my class, I decided to veer away from novels of formal realism and go into the Gothic realm with M.G. Lewis’s The Monk , which was completely unexplored in the class. Not only do I love Gothic literature, but this was a great way for me to draw comparisons with the books of the same period without doing the same old thing we were doing in the classroom. I was killing two birds with one stone, as they say; getting to read a novel in the genre I’m most interested in while still exploring the same prompts the class was focused on.

Sometimes, if you're stuck on an English literature research topic, starting at a completely new angle can help you find something really interesting to work on. After you get to know the ins and outs of what your class is about, it's easy to go off in another direction and work your way back into what you've been learning about. This journey can bring you into a whole new realm of possibilities to research.

Brainstorming ideas while researching topics in English Literature

Brainstorming ideas while researching topics in English Literature

How to Brainstorm Writing Ideas for Essays

Now, as you read the book of your choice (or your professor's), focus on one or more aspects of your English Literature class prompt so that your research topic relates to the actual class you’re taking. I decided to focus on chastity within the novel and how the gothic novel portrays male and female chastity versus the novels of formal realism. This English literature research topic took a lot of work to get to. Don't be afraid of setbacks or having to start over.

The best way initially is to write down a broad topic to research and then list any information relevant to that topic. It doesn’t matter how insignificant the piece of information may seem, list it. Then go through and see what interesting conclusions you can make from the information. Looking at gender, how are males portrayed versus females? Looking at genre, how is the gothic novel different from a formal realism novel?

Putting things out on paper is the best way to get it all out in the open and free your mind that’s jumbled with information. Once it's on paper, you can actually look at it all and piece it all into one neat picture (through words of course) that anyone can understand. Without doing this, it’s like trying to put together a puzzle with all of the pieces turned down, so you aren’t sure which ones actually go together.

Ideas on Getting a Research Topic

If the brainstorming step doesn't work for you, just write down any questions you have about the novel. If you noticed that there were a lot of religious references and ideas in the novel, maybe you'd be curious to know the author's biography and see how that plays a significant role in the piece. For my own example, I could have asked myself "What is gothic" or "How did eighteenth-century England define chastity?" After this brief research, go back through your notes and see if you can come up with an interesting topic you can do further research on for that English literature essay.

Tips for Researching Topics on English Literature

Looking at what you’ve put together in your brainstorm, it’s easy to see where you need to do research on the novel. No one wants a paper full of generalizations so take each topic you can't automatically define and start researching it. Do you know how to define gothic or formal realism? Research it. What were the gender expectations for this time? Research it. You want to go as in depth into your topic as possible, which involves even more research than reading two or three novels.

It also doesn’t help to learn some background on the author. Were they a rebel or a strict conservative? Was this novel popular? How did it affect the readers of its time? For example, Lewis was actually brought to court for The Monk because it was seen as a bad influence on his female readers. This is something not only interesting but relevant to the topic of female chastity in my chosen English literature research topic for my essay.

Doing some background research on the novel like this can bring ideas together into a thesis for your paper and lead you in a solid direction for your actual research for your paper. If you haven’t finally figured something out by this point, you may have to consult your professor.

Outline of an Example for an English Research Essay

Thesis: Lewis’s novel completely undoes the plots, tropes, and principles of Richardson and Fielding’s formal realism, not only through its use of superstition and other Gothic elements, but also in the development and resolution of each of these character’s stories. Instead of providing a positive example, The Monk gives a horrifying one to instill fear in its readership to preserve the same virtue.

1. What is a gothic novel?

2. Pamela Andrews

3. Joseph Andrews

4. What is formal realism?

5. What is a gothic novel?

6. Gothic novel versus formal realism

8. Joseph Andrews

10. Pamela Andrews

How Do You Know It's a Good Research Topic on English Literature?

Test it with an outline.

If you aren’t sure you’ve got the right topic to come up with a 20-some-odd-page essay, outline what you’ve got so far. I like to do a very basic outline, starting with my thesis (in its rough draft form of course) at the very top. Next, I write what each paragraph will be about. If it’s a 20-page paper, you may write about two to three paragraphs a page so you will need to have at least 10 paragraphs.

Knowing what each paragraph is supposed to be about makes writing their topic sentences a little easier. Sometimes you may find that a research topic is broad enough to be able to split into two paragraphs, this is handy if you couldn’t initially list at least ten topics. For example, just saying Pamela Andrews for one of my paragraph topics doesn't cover what I want to say. I may just give a brief overview of her character or provide why her character is significant to formal realism.

Example of a research topic turning into a topic sentence:

“It is important, when studying this novel, to examine what defines a Gothic novel in relation to eighteenth-century definitions of novel-writing.”

This leads to questions of “why is this important?” and, of course, “what is Gothic?” which brings you into the paragraph and gives you the first two major points you need to cover.

Just remember that the key to choosing a research topic for English literature is to start broad. Read the novel and remember to focus on your own class's focus or on whatever interests you most. From there, you can branch out to almost any research topic, it just takes some work to get there.

Salma khatun on August 20, 2020:

Patricia Morris on June 06, 2020:

Please suggest English teaching in p.n.g schools

Abdul Rauf on April 20, 2020:

Please suggest me a topic for my m.phil thesis ( English literature)

Abdullah Shah on March 22, 2020:

A very useful content for young researchers.

Priya on March 07, 2020:

Can I choose Bhagvat Geeta for research topic in English literature .plz give me suggestion.

Rose on March 03, 2020:

Please suggest for me a suitable research topic in english language in Nigeria

Eyotaru Juliet edekitia on February 14, 2020:

Please select for me research topics in English teaching in primary schools

[email protected] on February 14, 2020:

Please select for topic English teaching in primary schools

Monika gupta on February 10, 2020:

Plz suggest me a hood topic in english literature for phd synopsis

Prahlad on February 04, 2020:

Please suggest me for phd research topic in English literature so very thankful

Please suggest me some

Mohsin Hamid on January 23, 2020:

Hi i need a topic for Research paper in english literature.kindly suggest me.

I want to Research in Pakistani Novel by mohsin hamid

Numra on January 09, 2020:

Please suggest me some appropriate topics in English literature for my Masters research.

younas on January 07, 2020:

An excellent place for learning

Maha on December 15, 2019:

I need a suitable topic for the novel THE DARK ROOM as by xomparing the theme written by Rk narayan

Asma sabir on December 06, 2019:

Can you plzz suggest me a topic for research proposal??

Poomathi Esakki on November 27, 2019:

Can u suggest a topic for my project

saira on October 27, 2019:

kindly suggest me a topic for my MPhil English lit thesis. i am interested in postcolonialism theory

Debbie on October 22, 2019:

Good day everyone

Pls I need a project topic on thriller literature

fiza shah on October 14, 2019:

sir i want ur concern about selecting my thesis topic kindly guaid me about selecting my research topic

Sethumeena on September 24, 2019:

I need any topic from American or British literature for my M.A project .plz help me .novel want to be easy.

pramithadollymathias on September 20, 2019:

plz can u suggest me a book to do my project for ug

Tasawar on September 13, 2019:

Can u suggest a topic for research

Assane Faye on July 30, 2019:

Hey there! I find it very good and interesting.

Then can anybody suggest me a topic for my master degree?

I'm the dire need of that.

Sopuru Sopuru on July 18, 2019:

Please I need a suitable project topic to disapprove Okonkwo as a hero in Things Fall Apart as portrayed by Achebe

I wish to disagree with Achebe in Things Fall Apart that Okonkwo is a Hero. Could you please give me a suitable project topic for it?

bhava on June 04, 2019:

can u suggest a topic for my thesis

Jai Shree Bharati on May 30, 2019:

I have done bachelor's in English and then MBA... Can I do PhD in English?

Anagha on May 22, 2019:

Can you please suggest a topic for me

Jahanzaib on May 19, 2019:

Plz give tell me the initial stage of topic and research topic

Anushree on May 12, 2019:

Can you please suggest a topic for my project

CY RA on May 09, 2019:

mgijimi on April 24, 2019:

I'm doing my thesis for my masters. I need help to rephrase my research topic below :

Mobile Banking application is the most preferred mode of banking compared to Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) banking in Gauteng

Hamda on April 05, 2019:

I need a topic of didactic please

sadaf on April 02, 2019:

very informative

Owino bruno otieno on March 05, 2019:

may you suggest for me a topic in literature ..so that I may carry out a research on it.

Summikhan on March 03, 2019:

Please suggest me some appropriate topics in English literature for my Masters research

Maha on February 25, 2019:

I want material about the unyielding clamor of the night

malini on February 23, 2019:

please suggest me a topic for english literature magazine for my college presentation

Vanitha on February 01, 2019:

I need best suggestion to select a topic

in English literature please save me...

Aysha parveen on January 31, 2019:

Please suggest me a topic for english litrature ,for M. Phil

Thasli rahman on January 22, 2019:

Please suggest a topic for project in English literature...

Anarkali Nishad on January 15, 2019:

I am lost over what to research on for my PhD research. My area of interests are 'concept of terror and horror', 'study of feminine space in novels', 'pschoanalysis'. From here i dont know how to proceed. It would be of great help if you could suggest any work or topic that i could look into.

Rana Bilal on January 11, 2019:

Suggest for me a topic in literature

dhivya on December 22, 2018:

plz send a best topic which is so sensational in english literature for my MA project

Ali Musa on December 09, 2018:

I need your help in chosing topic

Suji on December 09, 2018:

Please suggested to me some topics in english literature and criticism for my phd research.

Sruthi on December 07, 2018:

Can u please help me to write a project? My novel is The Edible Woman,and the theory is ecofeminism

Mani on December 06, 2018:

I read the novel "the great divorce" I am enthusiastic to in fantasy. How can I form the topic help me please

Ken on November 27, 2018:

Sulae on November 20, 2018:

rahul on October 31, 2018:

Mary on October 27, 2018:

Nermin on October 26, 2018:

Hello, Can you help me to find a topic in english teaching, I need it for my research papper that I have to do

Tina Janiweh Shar on October 11, 2018:

can you please help me find a topic for my thesis in English literature?

Mary on October 01, 2018:

Plz suggest me a topic for my thesis(MA english literature)

sajid adil khan on September 07, 2018:

Respected sir please suggest me a topic for my research in English lit

hina shah on August 30, 2018:

please suggest me a research topic for b.s english literature

Sajan Ali on August 24, 2018:

Hello sir plz suggest me a suitable topic about literary movements

shameem on August 20, 2018:

please suggest me a relevant and new topic in indian writing for phd in english

Maria on August 20, 2018:

Please suggest a research topic for me also a research proposal

SAM on August 18, 2018:

Which topic is better for research of MA English please suggest any topic

Karam on August 08, 2018:

George Orwell's animal equality and freedom

Rameesa on July 22, 2018:

please suggest me a research topic.i have very short time to submit my synopsis send me urgent.

Naseer on July 21, 2018:

Please i need 5 topics for monograph can anyone tell me soon 5 topics?

Aliha TahirAliha on July 07, 2018:

Respected Sir! I needdon't your help regarding selection of thesis topic which should be unique and based on contemporary work.

Thanking in anticipation

Karthi on July 01, 2018:

I want some topics in Indian writing in English

Victoria on June 14, 2018:

Please I need a topic to write on (to be published in a journal). Can you help with that? Thank you

soma on May 12, 2018:

please suggest me which recent novels i can research in the field of gender studies

Shahab on April 17, 2018:

need research topic in the novel for MA English

R.lavanya on March 05, 2018:

Iam doing my m.phil in english i need to select the topic for my thesis so kindly help me to find a topic

Asghar on March 04, 2018:

hello every body,

Can anybody suggest me a topic for my PhD dissertation in English literature.My aim is to connect literature to education.A topic which can cover the literature and education area.

I appreciate your help.

Krishna on February 23, 2018:

Dear mam ..I want to work on postcolonial studies in PhD English literature..please suggest me any good topic on the above...

SHYAMALA B on February 22, 2018:

I need research about comparison between two characters

nishra shaikh on February 16, 2018:

Plz suggest me any better English Literature topics for my thesis

sokayna on February 15, 2018:

Thank you so much

well I already choose my topic but my prof said that it's too broad and large to write a research project, so I changed it but I did not find yet a topic , I choose I novel (hard times by Charles dickens , but I do not know what is the suitable topic .. can you help please

Priyanka parimita on February 09, 2018:

Plz suggest some english literature topic for my seminar paper or project

NC Babu on February 08, 2018:

irsa kanwal on February 07, 2018:

Kindly you suggest me any topic for thesis i m so worried and also confused

nishra shaikh on January 27, 2018:

plzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz suggest me any good english literature topics for my thesis and also for my two friends ,i have to submit my thesis in the first week of july

maria on January 26, 2018:

plz suggest me any research topic related to literature

zia on January 25, 2018:

Looking for a topic like seven deadly sins

Junroy on November 11, 2017:

What would be nice topic for my literary research in literature?

vanessa on October 31, 2017:

suggest any topic about feminism for my thesis plz

Saima on October 01, 2017:

I need a good and easy topic for my synopsis in English literature please help me any one

Ali on September 30, 2017:

I need a topic for english teaching monograph. If could help me please find me a best topic which has more sources of information.

shah zaib yousafzai on August 24, 2017:

Helpful information to write a research paper.

zoya khan on August 19, 2017:

I want to slect symbolism in tale of two cities by Charles Dickens.

But couldn't find out the exact statement. .

Can you help me plz

humaira on August 01, 2017:

very informative it help me a lot of selecting an topic for my master proposal article thanks you so much

Dhruvi on July 04, 2017:

Plz suggest any topic about English literature for my project

fhet on June 24, 2017:

any good topic about the difficulties of students in English subject?

arizkhan on May 26, 2017:

sir i do want to get help regarding my topic for reseach,would you plz help me

Jannat butt on May 25, 2017:

I need a good and easy topic for my synopsis in English literature plzzzx help me any one

Nihad on April 09, 2017:

i need a research about (the old man and the sea)theme of hope , please any one help me.

khalidmehmood on March 31, 2017:

please help to suggest the topic about english literature,, i want to write a thesis .

zahra ben on March 18, 2017:

very helpful informations thank you so much

Carolinrini on January 17, 2017:

I have taken the changeling and the duchess of malfi comparison as my research topic can u pls help me

nahan on September 25, 2016:

Really useful and genuine

Vijaya on June 05, 2016:

I need a current topic for research in English Language rather than Literature.

H on May 29, 2016:

I need a good topic on Literature. Please help me anyone..

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Over 150 Dissertation Topics Ideas in 18 Branches of Science

Updated 01 Feb 2023

Choosing a relevant dissertation topic means taking the first step towards obtaining an academic degree. Let's talk about how to do it right. Also, as a bonus, we have prepared ten dissertation topics for each popular scientific discipline.

How to Choose a Dissertation Topic?

Let’s find out how to choose a dissertation topic. You should understand that the dissertation has:

Naturally, this imposes some restrictions on the choice of dissertation topics. Get a degree faster by hiring experts to " write my dissertation in no time".

Where to find ideas for my dissertation topic?

There are several options where you can find a topic for your dissertation:

What makes a good dissertation title?

The right choice of the dissertation title is important. So, when choosing a topic, you should take into account its relevance and the novelty of the formulation of a scientific problem. The relevance of the topic is determined in this case by two parameters - the need for its study by science and its applicability in practice.

Dissertation Topics in Education

Education is one of the fastest-growing areas for scientific research. Here are ten good topics for a dissertation.

Dissertation topics in Higher Education

Dissertation Topics in Educational Leadership

If earlier practical workers in the field of education waited for scientists and central authorities to develop new methods, today, due to the rapid development of this area, they themselves create innovative models of pedagogical (educational) systems. Here are ten topical topics for a dissertation in the discipline.

Dissertation Topics in Business

Economic disciplines present tremendous opportunities for choosing a dissertation topic. Here are ten of them.

Dissertation Topics in Management

The dissertation on management reflects the ability of an applicant for a scientific degree to correctly create ways of effective management in production and find solutions to improve the work of socio-economic mechanisms of different directions. Here are ten topics for this discipline.

Remember, that you can always ask us for dissertation help

Finance Dissertation Ideas

The financial industry is constantly undergoing changes that can be intelligently reflected in your dissertation. Here is a list of ten hot topics.

Thesis Topics in Marketing

Now let's take a look at the next ten marketing topics.

Law Dissertation Topics

The law is gradually changing and is the basis for the development of new topics for PhD theses. The choice is made in the field of lawmaking or changes in law enforcement practice. Below we have prepared ten hot topics.

Psychology Dissertation Topics

Successful defense of a dissertation in psychology will allow you to realize your own potential in the field of research of human mental processes and get a high-paying, prestigious job. Here is a list of ten interesting topics in the discipline.

Dissertation Topics in Nursing

Here’s a list of ten dissertation topics examples in nursing.

History Dissertation Topics

Below we have prepared ten topics on this theoretical discipline.

Computer Science Dissertation Ideas

When choosing a dissertation topic, keep in mind that it is based on physical and mechanical laws that have been studied and proven. The scope for creativity in such disciplines is limited, and it is really difficult to introduce something new. Here is a list of relevant topics for your dissertation.

Human Resources Thesis Ideas

Here is a thesis topic list in the human resources discipline.

Sociology Dissertation Topics

Sociology is a fairly new science, and it opens up opportunities for scientific research. Here are ten dissertation topics for a sociology discipline.

Ecology Dissertation Ideas

Environmental protection is very important these days - due to the constantly growing number of the world's population, the greenhouse effect, environmental pollution, and other problems. Here are ten master-degree topics in this discipline.

Biology Thesis Topics

Biology studies all aspects of life, in particular: structure, functioning, growth, origin, evolution, and distribution of living organisms on Earth. Below we have prepared ten PhD thesis topics on this discipline.

Art Dissertation Titles

Art is one of the general categories of aesthetics, art history, and artistic practice. Let's find out ten dissertation ideas in this discipline.

Architecture Thesis Topics

Architecture is the science of construction, design of buildings, or entire systems of structures that make up the spatial environment necessary for human life and activities. Here are ten thesis topics for this discipline.

Political Science Topics

Political science is the science of a special sphere of people's life associated with power relations, with the state-political organization of society, political institutions, principles, norms, the action of which is designed to ensure the functioning of society, the relationship between people, society and the state. Here are ten master thesis topics for this discipline.

The correct choice of topic is not yet a guarantee of the success of the dissertation, but this is an important stage that determines the further stages of work. Therefore, take the time and effort to find and formulate the topic. And note, that our thesis writing service is always here to help you.

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COMMENTS

MPhil Course Information
Titles of MPhil dissertations need to be submitted for approval shortly before the beginning of Easter Term* (with minor amendments possible up to the third week of Easter Term*). Dissertation topics should be chosen carefully, and after consulting your dissertation supervisor.
Master Of Philosophy (M. Phil.)
Master Of Philosophy (M. Phil.) Collapse all YEAR ONE The first year of the PhD program is the sequential MA program. Click here for more information on the sequential MA. YEAR TWO YEAR THREE REGISTRATION AND ADVISING SPECIFIC CLASSES FOR THE M.PHIL. DISTRIBUTION OF CLASSES INTER-UNIVERSITY DOCTORAL CONSORTIUM TEACHING
What Is an MPhil?
‘MPhil’ stands for ‘Master of Philosophy’ and is an advance postgraduate research degree. Although the degree is technically classed as a Masters, in reality, it sits close to a Doctorate. This is because an MPhil goes beyond the traditional taught Master’s degree by placing emphasis on independent research and a more-targeted topic.
Research Topics in English Literature
Research topics on English literature initially start off broad and then narrow down and you come up with your thesis. Using any of the research topics listed to the left (gender, comparisons, historical background, politics, and religion) can take you almost anywhere. Choose your general topic based on the literature class you're writing for.