The Full Form of M.PHIL is‍ Master of Philosophy.

The Master of Philosophy (MPhil; Latin Magister Philosophiae or Philosophiae Magister) is a postgraduate degree. An MPhil typically includes a taught portion and a significant research portion, during which a thesis project is conducted under supervision. An MPhil may be awarded to postgraduate students after completing taught coursework and one to two years of original research, which may also serve as a provisional enrollment for a PhD programme.

The MPhil, or ‘Master of Philosophy’, is a postgraduate research Masters. Instead of completing taught units and assessments, an MPhil consists entirely of your own independent project.

An MPhil can be part of a (or a step towards PhD registration) but you can also study it as a standalone qualification.

Unlike most other Masters qualifications, the MPhil is a pure research degree. Whereas an MRes will include some taught units, an MPhil is based entirely on the completion of an independent thesis.

You’ll undertake this work under the guidance of an academic supervisor, but won’t normally have any other timetabled classes or assessments.

What are the entry requirements for an MPhil?

As an advanced research qualification, an MPhil will usually have extra admissions requirements.

Some of these will be academic. You’ll need an appropriate Bachelors degree, as normal. But you may also need to hold another Masters degree (such as an MA or MSc).

This will depend on your subject, your university and the specific project you wish to tackle. If your MPhil is intended to lead to a PhD, your university may expect you to have existing experience at taught postgraduate level. If your project is smaller and self-contained, this may not be necessary.

Most MPhil programmes will also require you to put forward a research proposal. This will define your intended project and / or state how you intend to tackle it.