Modern South Asian Studies MPhil

You will study this important region, with its rich history and its complex present-day societies, via an intensive language route or a non-language route, culminating in a substantial thesis.

The MPhil in Modern South Asian Studies is an exciting degree bringing together Oxford’s wealth of expertise on South Asia in a single course. You will gain access to teaching and expert supervision across departments in the Social Sciences and Humanities Divisions. You will receive rigorous training in one of two tailored modules in research methods, and have the option to build in Hindi, Urdu, Classical Hindi/Hindavi, Persian or other language training.

You may choose to explore the social, economic and political achievements and challenges of the present-day states of South Asia, and the connections between the countries’ democratic and developmental successes and failures, or to range more broadly across the states and societies of the subcontinent over the past five hundred years.

Since the MPhil is taught jointly by staff within the Social Sciences and Humanities Divisions, students will be part of a larger community of teachers, researchers and students with interests in South Asia.

For students who already have a grounding in a South Asian language, there are opportunities to proceed to an advanced level, and to develop reading skills to attain a research proficiency.

You will also choose between the language track or the non-language track. Language track students may take one of the following intensive courses both at beginner and advanced level: Hindi, Hindi and Urdu, Classical Hindi/Hindavi, and, if the timetable permits, Sanskrit, Persian or Tibetan. Students who are interested in any of these three substitute core languages are asked to flag this interest in their personal statement.

Subject to timetabling, students with at least an intermediate or colloquial knowledge of any South Asian language also have the opportunity to take less intensive training in Hindi, Urdu, Classical Hindi/Hindavi or Persian either continuing at an advanced level or beginning a new language. Subject to both timetabling and demand, Bengali, Gujarati or Marathi may be studied either in their modern-day forms at elementary level or in their classical forms at a more advanced level. Again, if you are interested in taking Persian either at advanced or beginner level you are asked to flag this in your personal statement.

You will experience a variety of teaching modes, including lectures, seminars, classes, student presentations, and small group teaching. The MPhil is jointly taught by staff within the Social Sciences and Humanities Divisions, who will also assess your application. The application process is administered by the Oxford School of Global and Area Studies. Language teaching will be provided in the Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies. For much of the course, students will work alongside those taking the nine month MSc in Modern South Asian Studies. For parts of the research methods course, students will be taught alongside those studying for other MPhil and MSc courses offered by the Oxford School of Global and Area Studies, as well as doctoral students, opening up further possibilities for interdisciplinary learning and exchange.

You will be required to gather relevant materials for your thesis during the course, usually by working in libraries and archives in the UK but potentially also via fieldwork. Required hours of study will vary between students as you will come from different backgrounds and bring different experiences to your study. However, a typical week during term time will involve around 40 hours of study, including two to six hours of scheduled contact hours (more for those following the ‘language track’), two hours for the weekly seminar and at least thirty hours of independent study. In the second year of the MPhil course, the balance changes as students concentrate on the writing up stage of their theses.

Success on the course requires sustained effort across the academic year, with term-times being typically prioritised with preparation for, and participation in, course lectures, class presentations, class discussion, essay reviews, and thesis supervisions. The vacation periods are not holidays as such but instead represent extended periods in the academic year when private study and thesis research can be balanced alongside taking a well-earned break during national festivals such as Christmas and Easter. During the summer vacation between the first and second years of the course you will be expected to undertake at least six weeks’ research in archives or fieldwork as appropriate. 

Course structure

An overview of the course structure is provided below. Details of the compulsory elements of the course are provided in the Course components section of this page.

During the first year, you will attend the core course, introducing modern South Asia across the disciplines. You will also receive training in research methods, through one of the two specially tailored programmes.

An important purpose of the research methods course is to help you develop and refine your thesis topic.

You will also choose option papers. 

By the end of the first year, you will have worked out a thesis proposal, and plans for field or archival work to be undertaken during the summer months between the first and second years.

In the second year, you will attend a course on advanced methods, as part of which you will make a presentation of your developing thesis project. Language track students will continue intensive language study. Both language and non-language track students will take an additional option. The major focus of the second year will be the thesis, for which you will receive expert supervision.

Assessment

In order to receive the MPhil degree, you must obtain pass marks in all components:

Language Track (first year)

1. Research Methods (comprising two assignments, one in Michaelmas and one in Hilary term)
2. Core Course Essay (submitted at the beginning of Trinity term)
3. Core Language Qualifying Assessment
4. Option 1

Language Track (second year)

1. Core Language Final Assessment
2. Option 2
3. Thesis (submitted Monday of week 4 of Trinity term)

In addition to this, you will be required to undertake formative assessment (essays, presentations etc) throughout the programme.

Non-language Track (first year)

1. Research Methods (comprising two assignments, one in Michaelmas and one in Hilary term)
2. Core Course Essay (submitted at the beginning of Trinity term)
3. Option 1
4. Option 2

Non-language Track (second year)

1. Option 3
2. Thesis (submitted Monday of week 4 of Trinity term)

In addition to this, you will be required to undertake formative assessment (essays, presentations etc) throughout the programme.