mphil thesis word count india

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MPhil Programme

1. Structure of the MPhil programme

a. The MPhil programme is made up of coursework and a dissertation. The coursework has to be completed in the first two semesters before the dissertation can be written and submitted (third and fourth semesters). Altogether a student earns a total of 26 credits. These are distributed as follows:

Coursework 14 credits (over two semesters) + Dissertation 12 credits Total of 26 credits for MPhil

b. The MPhil programme provides three ways of earning course credits. Students who have done their MA in History from JNU follow Combination A while students who have not done their MA in JNU are generally advised to follow either Combination B or C. Additionally, two 2 credit courses, on Reading Sources and Reading Texts can be offered in the Monsoon and Winter Semesters respectively, in case five or more students wish to offer these.

Combination A: MA in History from JNU

Combination B: MA in History not from JNU

Combination C: MA in History not from JNU

2. Academic requirements

a. Each student will be allotted an advisor/supervisor by the faculty by mid-August. The 2 credit Historiography course for the students who have done MA History from JNU is done usually with the advisor/supervisor. It involves writing an essay on a historiographic theme. This paper will be presented to the faculty, fully written out, in the third week of November.

b. Tutorials Non-JNU History M.As who do Combination B have to do two lecture courses from the MA basket of courses that are available. They will write two assignments, participate in tutorial discussions and appear for an end semester examination. The second assignment will be longer than the first (see below). The grades for the tutorials (i.e. assignment + discussion) constitute 50 percent of the credit of the course, the End Semester Exam constituting the other 50 %. Attendance in tutorial discussions is compulsory as discussion carries weightage in assessment. (However, there is no discussion for tutorials written for Historical Method.)

A tutorial is an essay that seeks to present ideas in the writer's own words. If passages (or even sentences) from a book (or from any other source), are simply copied out then it is termed plagiarism, considered to be the, equivalent of stealing, and will earn the student and "F" (Failed) grade.

The first assignment must be concisely written in around 2000 words; the second essay is expected to be 3000 words long.

Tutorial essays must follow a schedule announced at the beginning of each semester. Tutorial essays are to be submitted in the Centre's office, before 5 pm on the due date. Please ensure that the submission is recorded in the office register. Grades are deducted for delays in submission. Tutorial scripts are not returned to students. Please keep a copy.

c. Seminar papers

Seminar meetings held with the Seminar Instructor throughout the semester are compulsory. Discussions in the course of the semester and written scripts at the end of the semester are both taken into account for assessing grades. Seminar papers are to be submitted at the office by the due date.

A Seminar paper may have a word limit of approximately 8000 words. Students are encouraged to undertake original research using primary sources for the same in Seminar papers.

Passages (or even sentences) from a book (or from any other source), that are simply copied for a Seminar paper are termed plagiarism, considered to be the, equivalent of stealing, and will earn the student an "F" (Failed) grade.

The MPhil dissertation should not be less than 30000 words.

The MPhil submission certificate is available here .

Students may refer to the Style Sheet .

3. Other Important rules and regulations

a. Registration of courses is the sole responsibility of a student. No student will be entitled to any grade in a course unless s/he has formally registered for it on the scheduled date.

b. Late registration will be allowed up to the date notified by the Dean of the School for every semester.

c. A student should inform the Chair of the Centre through the teacher in charge of the course in case of absence from a sessional/end semester exam. The application for the same should be submitted immediately before or after the concerned exam. If the absence is on medical grounds, a medical certificate must be attached to the application. In exceptional cases, as assessed by the chair and the faculty committee, on alternative examination may be arranged in genuinely deserving cases.

d. A student may apply for a zero semester on legitimate medical grounds. The following is the procedure to apply for a zero semester.

• Report to the JNU Medical Officer immediately after falling ill. • Inform the Chairperson of the Centre about your illness and inability to participate in the programme. • If you happen to be outside Delhi when you fall sick, you must inform the Centre Office and submit medical documents from recognized Government hospitals. • Application for a zero semester must be made on a form available at the office of the Centre

e. The repetition of a course towards improvement of grades is not permissible. Students must note that they are required to clear every single course for which they register every consecutive semester, or they will have to leave the MPhil programme. Courses cannot be repeated in the following semester.

f. Revaluation of a course is permissible within three weeks of the declaration of results for that semester.

g. The coursework shall be completed within the first two consecutive semesters, and the whole MPhil programme (including dissertation) within four consecutive semesters (unless a student has been granted a zero, and hence a fifth, semester). A student has the option of submitting the dissertation in the third semester provided the supervisor is satisfied with the work.

h. The M.Phil degree will be awarded only to those who have a minimum CGPA of 5.5 in the general category and 5.0 in the reserved category.

i. The promotion to PhD status for continuing students in the MPhil/PhD programme is not automatic. They can be registered only for a provisional PhD until their MPhil viva-voce examination is conducted, and their CGPA is thereafter calculated. Only those students who have a minimum CGPA of 6.0 (General Category) and 5.5 (Reserved Categories) in the whole MPhil programme will be allowed to continue in the PhD programme.

j. Students who have a CGPA of A minus or more in their course work can apply through the Chairperson with the recommendation of the supervisor to the Dean for the Direct Phd programme after two semesters of MPhil. The application has to be approved by the CASR.

4. Calendar

i. With regard to students doing Lecture/Course Work, the same calendar is applicable, as the MA Programme

ii. Seminar papers should be submitted by the first week of December and the first week of May for the Monsoon and Winter Semesters respectively.

iii. Historiography presentations will take place in the third week of November or the fourth week of April for the Monsoon and Winter Semesters respectively.

iv. Synopsis presentation for fourth semester students will take place in the fourth week of February. The synopsis should include as complete an idea of the chapterisation of the dissertation, a brief survey of the historiography and sources, and a detailed discussion of one chapter.

v. Full draft of the dissertation should be submitted to the Supervisor before the end of the Winter Semester (12th May).

5. Online Progress Report:

Students in the third and fourth semesters are expected to fill in the online progress report form before the end of each semester (5th Dec and 12th May). Please submit either a hard or a soft copy to your respective supervisors.

A warm welcome to the modified and updated website of the Centre for East Asian Studies. The East Asian region has been at the forefront of several path-breaking changes since 1970s beginning with the redefining the development architecture with its State-led development model besides emerging as a major region in the global politics and a key hub of the sophisticated technologies. The Centre is one of the thirteen Centres of the School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi that provides a holistic understanding of the region.

Initially, established as a Centre for Chinese and Japanese Studies, it subsequently grew to include Korean Studies as well. At present there are eight faculty members in the Centre. Several distinguished faculty who have now retired include the late Prof. Gargi Dutt, Prof. P.A.N. Murthy, Prof. G.P. Deshpande, Dr. Nranarayan Das, Prof. R.R. Krishnan and Prof. K.V. Kesavan. Besides, Dr. Madhu Bhalla served at the Centre in Chinese Studies Programme during 1994-2006. In addition, Ms. Kamlesh Jain and Dr. M. M. Kunju served the Centre as the Documentation Officers in Chinese and Japanese Studies respectively.

The academic curriculum covers both modern and contemporary facets of East Asia as each scholar specializes in an area of his/her interest in the region. The integrated course involves two semesters of classes at the M. Phil programme and a dissertation for the M. Phil and a thesis for Ph. D programme respectively. The central objective is to impart an interdisciplinary knowledge and understanding of history, foreign policy, government and politics, society and culture and political economy of the respective areas. Students can explore new and emerging themes such as East Asian regionalism, the evolving East Asian Community, the rise of China, resurgence of Japan and the prospects for reunification of the Korean peninsula. Additionally, the Centre lays great emphasis on the building of language skills. The background of scholars includes mostly from the social science disciplines; History, Political Science, Economics, Sociology, International Relations and language.

Several students of the centre have been recipients of prestigious research fellowships awarded by Japan Foundation, Mombusho (Ministry of Education, Government of Japan), Saburo Okita Memorial Fellowship, Nippon Foundation, Korea Foundation, Nehru Memorial Fellowship, and Fellowship from the Chinese and Taiwanese Governments. Besides, students from Japan receive fellowship from the Indian Council of Cultural Relations.

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A reservoir of Indian Theses

The Shodhganga@INFLIBNET Centre provides a platform for research students to deposit their Ph.D. theses and make it available to the entire scholarly community in open access. The repository has the ability to capture, index, store, disseminate and preserve ETDs submitted by the researchers. [Read More]

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5,00,000th Thesis is uploaded into Shodhganga by Prof Yogesh Singh, Hon'ble Chairman, Governing Board, INFLIBNET Centre & Vice Chancellor, University of Delhi, Delhi in the august presence of Prof J P Singh Joorel, Director, INFLIBNET Centre, Gandhinagar and other Governing Board Members on 14.12.2023.

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Anna University 15906

University of madras 14889, university of calcutta 14211, savitribai phule pune university 12699, university of mumbai 11334, aligarh muslim university 10233, chhatrapati sahuji maharaj university 10179, andhra university 9999, babasaheb bhimrao ambedkar bihar university 9675, panjab university 9353, abhilashi university 14, academy of scientific and innovative research (acsir) 2286, acharya nagarjuna university 2264, acharya narendra deva university of agriculture and technology, ayodhya 908, adamas university 45, adesh university 25, adichunchanagiri university, mandya 9, adikavi nannaya university, rajahmundry 58, agriculture university, jodhpur 3, agriculture university, kota 13, ahmedabad university 18, aks university 29, alagappa university 2466, alliance university 51, all india institute of medical science, bhopal 1, all india institute of medical sciences rishikesh 7, ambedkar university, delhi 56, amet university 141, amity university haryana 212, amity university, kolkata 2, amity university madhya pradesh 62, amity university, mumbai 32, amity university, noida 1182, amity university rajasthan 233, amrita vishwa vidyapeetham university 614, anand agricultural university 122, annamalai university 3158, apeejay stya university 23, apex university, rajasthan 41, a p goyal shimla university 13, apj abdul kalam technological university, thiruvananthapuram 53, arka jain university 3, arni university 8, arunachal university of studies 2, arunodaya university 2, aryabhatta knowledge university 29, ashoka university 1, assam agricultural university 151, assam don bosco university 123, assam down town university 81, assam rajiv gandhi university of cooperative management 2, assam science and technology university 6, assam university 2284, atal bihari vajpayee indian institute of information technology and management 103, atmiya university 17, auro university 1, avinashilingam institute for home science and higher education for women 723, awadhesh pratap singh university 949, baba ghulam shah badshah university 100, babasaheb bhimrao ambedkar university 525, babu banarasi das university 147, baddi university of emerging sciences & technology 7, bahra university 5, banaras hindu university 7784, banasthali vidyapith 2213, bangalore university 2487, bankura university 31, bareilly international university 5, barkatullah university 418, bennett university 33, berhampur university 207, bhagat phool singh mahila vishwavidyalaya 140, bhagwant university 311, bhaikaka university 3, bhakta kavi narsinh mehta university 20, bharathiar university 7394, bharathidasan university 8300, bharath institute of higher education and research 657, bharati vidyapeeth deemed university 652, bhartiya skill development university jaipur 19, bhupendra narayan mandal university 5, bihar agricultural university 89, birla institute of management technology 11, birla institute of technology and science 1590, birla institute of technology, mesra 170, blde (deemed to be university) 54, bml munjal university, gurugram 7, bodoland university 103, brainware university 33, b s abdur rahman crescent institute of science & technology 316, bundelkhand university 2209, calorx teachers university 2, career point university 29, central institute of technology kokrajhar 14, central sanskrit university 331, central university of gujarat 354, central university of haryana 95, central university of himachal pradesh 131, central university of jammu 119, central university of jharkhand 87, central university of karnataka 143, central university of kashmir 253, central university of kerala 173, central university of orissa 36, central university of punjab 186, central university of rajasthan 219, central university of south bihar 39, central university of tamil nadu 109, centurion university of technology and management 72, centurion university of technology and management, vizianagaram 0, cept university 82, chaitanya university, hanamkonda 12, chanakya national law university 1, chandigarh university 136, chandra shekhar azad university of agriculture and technology 112, charotar university of science and technology 169, chaudhary charan singh university 3029, chaudhary devi lal university 281, chaudhary ranbir singh university 19, chaudhary sarwan kumar himachal pradesh krishi vishvavidyalaya 406, chettinad academy of research and education 151, chhatrapati shivaji maharaj university 3, chhattisgarh swami vivekanand technical university 149, childrens university 18, chitkara university 31, chitkara university, punjab 309, christ university 354, cmr university 51, cochin university of science & technology 2765, cooch behar panchanan barma university 34, cotton university 23, ct university 24, c.u. shah university 195, c.v. raman global university 24, datta meghe institute of medical sciences 208, davangere university 118, dav university 31, dayalbagh educational institute 1231, dayananda sagar university 48, deccan college post graduate and research institute 68, deenbandhu chhotu ram university of science and technology, sonipat 193, deen dayal upadhyay gorakhpur university 841, defence institute of advanced technology 44, delhi pharmaceutical sciences & research university (dpsru) 19, delhi technological university 433, desh bhagat university 246, devi ahilya vishwavidyalaya 2296, dev sanskriti vishwavidyalaya 13, dharmsinh desai university 24, dhirubhai ambani institute of information and communication technology (da-iict) 77, diamond harbour women's university 7, dibrugarh university 937, dit university 91, doon university 55, dr. a.p.j. abdul kalam technical university 399, dravidian university 57, dr. babasaheb ambedkar marathwada university 5569, dr. babasaheb ambedkar open university 186, dr. babasaheb ambedkar technological university 50, dr b r ambedkar national institute of technology jalandhar 109, dr. b. r. ambedkar open university, hyderabad 1, dr. b. r. ambedkar university agra 6008, dr. c.v. raman university 270, dr. d. y. patil vidyapeeth, pune 167, dr. harisingh gour vishwavidhyalay 2291, dr. k n modi university 28, dr. m.g.r. educational and research institute 494, dr. panjabrao deshmukh krishi vidyapeeth, akola 50, dr. rammanohar lohia avadh university, faizabad 4638, dr ram manohar lohiya national law university 53, dr. sarvepalli radhakrishnan rajasthan ayurved university 191, dr shakuntala misra national rehabilitation university 74, dr. shyama prasad mukherjee international institute of information technology naya raipur 9, dr. vishwanath karad mit world peace university 22, dr. y.s. parmar university of horticulture and forestry 177, dr.y.s.r. horticultural university 24, d y patil university, kolhapur 67, entrepreneurship development institute of india 1, eternal university 7, fakir mohan university, balasore 161, forest research institute university 350, galgotias university 88, gangadhar meher university 86, ganpat university 160, garden city university 7, gauhati university 6305, gautam buddha university 239, g.b.pant university of agriculture & technology 172, gd goenka university 124, geetanjali university 43, g h raisoni university, amravati 23, giet university, gunupur 21, gitam university 908, gla university 230, glocal university 93, gls university 123, gna university 27, goa university 1093, gokhale institute of politics and economics 31, gondwana university 182, graphic era hill university dehradun 15, graphic era university 148, gujarat ayurveda university 5, gujarat forensic sciences university 26, gujarat national law university 17, gujarat technological university 354, gujarat university 4488, gujarat vidyapith 615, gulbarga university 1127, guru angad dev veterinary and animal sciences university 5, guru ghasidas university 353, guru gobind singh indraprastha university 638, guru jambheshwar university of science & technology 666, guru kashi university 361, gurukul kangri vishwavidyalaya 411, guru nanak dev university 2018, harcourt butler technical university 16, hemchandracharya north gujarat university 572, hemchand yadav vishwavidyalaya 43, hemwati nandan bahuguna garhwal university 919, himachal pradesh national law university 1, himachal pradesh university 3141, himalayan garhwal university 64, himgiri zee university 34, hindustan institute of technology and science 314, homi bhabha national institute 2562, homoeopathy university 26, icfai foundation for higher education, telangana 89, icfai university, dimapur nagaland 25, icfai university himachal pradesh 5, icfai university, jaipur 17, icfai university, jharkhand 45, icfai university, tripura 13, iec university 10, iftm university 297, iilm university, gurugram 10, iimt university, meerut 15, iis (deemed to be university) 413, i k gujral punjab technical university 846, ims unison university 14, indian institute of engineering science and technology, shibpur 450, indian institute of foreign trade 62, indian institute of information technology, allahabad 204, indian institute of information technology, design and manufacturing, iiitdm jabalpur 144, indian institute of information technology design & manufacturing kancheepuram 70, indian institute of information technology dharwad 2, indian institute of information technology guwahati 21, indian institute of information technology nagpur 3, indian institute of informationtechnology, vadodara 1, indian institute of management ahmedabad 15, indian institute of management bangalore 47, indian institute of management (iim),indore 38, indian institute of management kashipur 21, indian institute of management kozhikode 27, indian institute of management lucknow 104, indian institute of management mumbai (formerly nitie) 71, indian institute of management raipur 47, indian institute of management rohtak 6, indian institute of management shillong 16, indian institute of management udaipur 1, indian institute of science bangalore 1207, indian institute of science education and research (iiser) bhopal 14, indian institute of science education and research (iiser) mohali 356, indian institute of science education and research (iiser) pune 521, indian institute of science education and research (iiser) thiruvananthapuram 210, indian institute of science education and research kolkata 105, indian institute of space science and technology 164, indian institute of teacher education 7, indian institute of technology bhilai 17, indian institute of technology bhubaneswar 76, indian institute of technology bombay 1635, indian institute of technology delhi 1266, indian institute of technology dharwad 9, indian institute of technology gandhinagar 39, indian institute of technology goa 2, indian institute of technology guwahati 2479, indian institute of technology hyderabad 290, indian institute of technology iit (bhu), varanasi 985, indian institute of technology indore 399, indian institute of technology (ism), dhanbad 1001, indian institute of technology jammu 20, indian institute of technology jodhpur 149, indian institute of technology kanpur 1, indian institute of technology kharagpur 778, indian institute of technology madras 1608, indian institute of technology mandi 250, indian institute of technology palakkad 16, indian institute of technology patna 148, indian institute of technology roorkee 479, indian institute of technology ropar 202, indian institute of technology tirupati 11, indian maritime university 1, indian school of mines 53, indian veterinary research institute, izatnagar 341, indira gandhi delhi technical university for women 59, indira gandhi institute of development research 105, indira gandhi national open university ignou 970, indira gandhi national tribal university, amarkantak 155, indira gandhi university meerpur,rewari 43, indira kala sangeet vishwavidyalaya 133, indraprastha institute of information technology, delhi (iiit-delhi) 133, indrashil university 4, indus international university 7, indus university 42, institute of advanced research, gandhinagar 14, institute of advanced studies in education (iase) 190, institute of chemical technnology, mumbai 97, institute of infrastructure technology research and management 31, institute of trans-disciplinary health science & technology 32, integral university 601, international institute for population sciences iips 366, international institute of information technology bangalore 66, international institute of information technology, hyderabad 189, international management institute 9, international management institute kolkata 2, invertis university, bareily 1, isbr business school 1, islamic university of science and technology 47, itm university, gwalior 28, jadavpur university 3960, jagadguru ramanadacharya rajasthan sanskrit university 2, jagannath university 211, jagannath university, jhajjar 38, jagran lakecity university 35, jai narain vyas university 576, jain university 754, jain vishwa bharati university 246, jai prakash vishwavidyalaya 3, jaipur national university 348, jamia hamdard university 931, jamia milia islamia university 2512, janardan rai nagar rajasthan vidhyapeeth 1, jawaharlal nehru architecture and fine arts university 7, jawaharlal nehru centre for advanced scientific research 42, jawaharlal nehru technological university, anantapuram 1304, jawaharlal nehru technological university, hyderabad 1451, jawaharlal nehru technological university, kakinada 310, jawaharlal nehru university 7153, jayoti vidyapeeth women s university 312, jaypee institute of information technology 331, jaypee university of engineering & technology, guna 122, jaypee university of information technology, solan 276, j. c. bose university of science and technology, ymca, faridabad 64, jecrc university 88, jharkhand rai university 48, jis university, kolkata 18, jiwaji university 2290, jk lakshmipat university 22, jodhpur national university 2, jss academy of higher education & research 403, jss science and technology university, mysuru 15, j.s. university, shikohabad 4, junagadh agricultural university 1, kadi sarva vishwavidyalaya 589, kakatiya university, warangal 516, kalasalingam university 398, kalinga institute of social sciences (kiss) 8, kalinga university 238, kamdhenu university 6, kameshwara singh darbhanga sanskrit vishwavidyalaya, darbhanga 3, kannada university 101, kannur university 876, karnataka samskrit university 61, karnataka state law university 8, karnataka state open university 17, karnataka state womens university 297, karnataka veterinary, animal and fisheries sciences university 102, karnatak university 4984, karnavati university 10, karpagam university 298, karunya university 582, kavayitri bahinabai chaudhari north maharashtra university 1278, kavikulaguru kalidas sanskrit university 147, kazi nazrul university 18, kerala agricultural university 1, kerala university of health sciences 1, khwaja moinuddin chishti urdu, arabi-farsi university 16, kiit university 1077, king george medical university 21, kle technological university 9, kle university 187, kolhan university 26, koneru lakshmaiah education foundation 861, krantiguru shyamji krishna verma kachchh university 124, krea university 1, krishna institute of medical sciences, deemed to be university karad 68, krishna kanta handiqui state open university 35, krishna university, machilipatnam 69, k.r. mangalam university, gurgaon 94, kumaun university 1719, kurukshetra university 1458, kushabhau thakre patrakarita avam jansanchar vishwavidyalaya 6, kuvempu university 1388, lakshmibai national university of physical education 216, lakulish yoga university 19, lalit narayan mithila university 6859, lingayas vidyapeeth 91, lnct university 132, lovely professional university 813, madan mohan malaviya university of technology 90, madhav university 241, madhyanchal professional university 3, madhya pradesh bhoj (open) university 9, madurai kamaraj university 5837, magadh university 21, mahapurusha srimanta sankaradeva viswavidyalaya 37, maharaja agrasen university 65, maharaja ganga singh university 2278, maharaja krishnakumarsinhji bhavnagar university 1506, maharaja ranjit singh punjab technical university 19, maharaja sayajirao university of baroda 4071, maharaja sriram chandra bhanja deo university 16, maharaja vinayak global university 102, maharana pratap university of agriculture and technology 157, maharashtra animal and fishery sciences university 17, maharashtra national law university nagpur 5, maharashtra university of health sciences 218, maharishi markandeshwar university, mullana 489, maharishi markandeshwar university, sadopur (ambala) 27, maharishi university of information technology 50, maharshi dayanand saraswati university 207, maharshi dayanand university 4588, mahatma gandhi antarrashtriya hindi vishwavidyalaya 254, mahatma gandhi chitrakoot gramodaya vishwavidyalaya 148, mahatma gandhi kashi vidyapith 4971, mahatma gandhi univeristy of medical sciences & technnology , jaipur 36, mahatma gandhi university 3883, mahatma gandhi university, nalgonda 10, mahatma jyotiba phule rohilkhand university 1616, makhanlal chaturvedi national university of journalism and communication, bhopal 22, malaviya national institute of technology jaipur 361, malwanchal university, indore 44, management development institute gurgaon 25, manav rachna international institute of research and studies 220, manav rachna university 55, mandsaur university 53, mangalayatan university 122, mangalore university 2010, manipal academy of higher education 1679, manipal university jaipur 308, manipur university 1779, manonmaniam sundaranar university 7347, martin luther christian university 43, marwadi university 15, mats university 86, maulana abul kalam azad university of technology 85, maulana azad national institute of technology bhopal 282, maulana azad national urdu university 391, m.b.m. university 15, medi caps university, indore 25, meenakshi academy of higher education and research 167, mewar university 335, mgm institute of health sciences 134, mica, ahmedabad 26, mit-adt university, pune 51, mizoram university 783, mody university of science and technology 119, mohammad ali jauhar university 4, mohan lal sukhadia university 1030, monad university 36, motherhood university 1, mother teresa womens university 1071, motilal nehru national institute of technology 564, m s ramaiah university of applied sciences 70, mvn university,palwal 68, nagaland university 515, narsee monjee institute of management studies 277, national brain research centre 97, national institute of educational planning and administration (niepa) 34, national institute of fashion technology delhi 30, national institute of food technology entrepreneurship and management - niftem (k)kundli 24, national institute of food technology entrepreneurship and management thanjavur (niftem-t) 27, national institute of pharmaceutical education and research, ahmedabad 28, national institute of pharmaceutical education and research, guwahati 20, national institute of pharmaceutical education and research, hajipur 11, national institute of pharmaceutical education and research, hyderabad 41, national institute of pharmaceutical education and research kolkata 14, national institute of pharmaceutical education and research, raebareli 6, national institute of technology agartala 168, national institute of technology arunachal pradesh 54, national institute of technology calicut 228, national institute of technology delhi 64, national institute of technology durgapur 160, national institute of technology goa 49, national institute of technology hamirpur 94, national institute of technology jamshedpur 121, national institute of technology karnataka 494, national institute of technology,kurukshetra 158, national institute of technology manipur 72, national institute of technology mizoram 34, national institute of technology nagaland 11, national institute of technology (nit) meghalaya 91, national institute of technology (nit), warangal 555, national institute of technology patna 339, national institute of technology puducherry 56, national institute of technology raipur 178, national institute of technology, rourkela 398, national institute of technology sikkim 29, national institute of technology silchar 69, national institute of technology srinagar 177, national institute of technology tiruchirappalli 235, national institute of technology uttarakhand 31, national law institute university, bhopal 8, national law school of india university 48, national law university and judicial academy, guwahati 9, national law university, delhi 37, national law university, odisha 12, national museum institute of hisotry of art conservation and musicology 2, national sanskrit university 46, navrachana university 24, nehru gram bharati university 155, netaji subhas open university 1, netaji subhas university of technology 9, niit university 15, nims university rajasthan 356, nirma university 381, nitte university 89, noida international university 76, noorul islam centre for higher education 351, north-eastern hill university 2720, north eastern regional institute of science and technology (nerist) 92, odisha university of agriculture and technology 160, om sterling global university 93, o.p. jindal university 6, opjs university 21, oriental university 92, osmania university 1591, pacific university 2289, padmashree dr. d.y. patil vidyapeeth, navi mumbai 71, pandit deendayal petroleum university 169, pandit s. n. shukla university, shahdol 9, parul university 178, patna university 331, peoples university, bhopal 7, periyar maniammai university 157, periyar university 3199, pes university 24, p.k. university 15, pondicherry university 2509, poornima university 73, potti sreeramulu telugu university 1, p p savani university 3, pravara institute of medical sciences 45, presidency university 102, presidency university, karnataka 147, prist university 86, pt. ravishankar shukla university 2913, pt. sundarlal sharma open university bilaspur 250, punjab engineering college (deemed to be university) 58, punjabi university 3140, rabindra bharati university 418, rabindranath tagore university, bhopal 319, raffles university 16, raiganj university 181, rai university 308, rajasthan technical university, kota 147, rajiv gandhi institute of petroleum technology 37, rajiv gandhi national institute of youth development 7, rajiv gandhi national university of law punjab 29, rajiv gandhi proudyogiki vishwavidyalaya 583, rajiv gandhi university 652, rama devi womens university 11, ramakrishna mission vivekananda educational and research institute 222, ramakrishna mission vivekananda university 1, rama university, uttar pradesh 74, ramchandra chandravansi university 5, ranchi university 59, rani channamma university 110, rani durgavati vishwavidyalaya 356, rashtrasant tukadoji maharaj nagpur university 304, rashtriya raksha university 19, ravenshaw university 486, rayat bahra university, mohali 16, regional centre for biotechnology 1, reva university 219, rimt university 37, rkdf university 121, rk university 284, rnb global university 4, sage university, indore 82, sai nath university 138, sambalpur university 1768, sam higginbottom institute of agriculture, technology and sciences 439, sampurnanand sanskrit vishwavidhyalaya 3, sanchi university of buddhist-indic studies, bhopal 6, sandip university 12, sangam university 63, sanjay gandhi post graduate institute of medical sciences, lucknow 12, sanjay ghodawat university 2, sankalchand patel university 54, sanskriti university 48, sant baba bhag singh university 36, sant gadge baba amravati university 2939, sant longowal institute of engineering and technology 306, santosh deemed to be university 104, sardarkrushinagar dantiwada agricultural university 0, sardar patel university 3326, sardar vallabhbhai national institute of technology surat 396, sarvepalli radhakrishnan university 145, sastra university 553, satavahana university 6, sathyabama institute of science and technology 422, saurashtra university 3273, saveetha university 834, school of planning and architecture, bhopal 20, school of planning and architecture, new delhi 49, school of planning and architecture vijayawada 10, seacom skills university 107, sgt university 84, sharda university 215, sher-e-kashmir university of agricultural sciences and technology of jammu 135, shivaji university 4872, shiv nadar university 174, shobhit university, gangoh 29, shobhit university, meerut 166, shoolini university of biotechnology and management sciences 509, shree somnath sanskrit university 101, shri govind guru university 15, shri guru ram rai university 50, shri jagdishprasad jhabarmal tibarewala university 3645, shri khushal das university 114, shri lal bahadur shastri national sanskrit university 545, shri mata vaishno devi university 221, shri ramswaroop memorial university 144, shri vaishnav vidyapeeth vishwavidyalaya 47, shri venkateshwara university, uttar pradesh 2, shyam university 7, sidho kanho birsha university 105, sido kanhu murmu university 3, sikkim manipal university 87, sikkim university 202, siksha "o" anusandhan university 562, singhania university 23, sir padampat singhania university 75, sndt womens university 1254, solapur university 267, south asian university 2, s. p. jain institute of management and research 1, sree sankaracharya university of sanskrit 719, sri balaji vidyapeeth 47, sri chandrasekharendra saraswathi viswa mahavidyalaya 417, sri devaraj urs academy of higher education and research 43, sri guru granth sahib world university 84, sri guru ram das university of health sciences 9, sri krishnadevaraya university 3434, srinivas university 17, sri padmavathi womens university 237, sri ramachandra institute of higher education and research 356, sri sai university 2, sri sathya sai institute of higher learning 110, sri satya sai university of technology & medical sciences 77, sri siddhartha academy of higher education 54, sri sri university 17, sri venkateswara institute of medical sciences 23, sri venkateswara university 5461, srm institute of science and technology 1525, srm university- ap 21, srm university, delhi-ncr, sonepat 83, st. joseph university, dimapur 13, st. peter’s institute of higher education and research 388, st. xaviers university, kolkata 1, sumandeep vidyapeeth deemed to be university 41, sunrise university 5, suresh gyan vihar university 385, sushant university (earlier ansal university) 59, swami rama himalayan university 14, swami ramanand teerth marathwada university 5578, swami vivekanad subharti university 178, swami vivekananda yoga anusandhana sansthana 142, swami vivekanand university 80, swarnim gujarat sports university 7, symbiosis international university 515, tamil nadu agricultural university 1409, tamil nadu dr. ambedkar law university 59, tamil nadu open university 47, tamilnadu physical education and sports university 259, tamil nadu teachers education university, chennai 203, tamil nadu veterinary and animal sciences university 78, tamil university 161, tantia university 240, tata institute of fundamental research 963, tata institute of social sciences 583, techno india university 4, teerthanker mahaveer university 131, teri school of advanced studies 138, tezpur university 890, thapar institute of engineering and technology 1138, the assam kaziranga university 21, the assam royal global university 13, the charutar vidya mandal cvm university 5, the english & foreign languages university, hyderabad 786, the gandhigram rural institute 1374, the icfai university, dehradun 42, the iihmr university, jaipur 35, the indian law institute, new delhi 19, the lnm institute of information technology 31, the national academy of legal studies and research (nalsar) university of law 49, the national university of advanced legal studies 4, the neotia university 4, the northcap university 107, the tamil nadu dr. m.g.r. medical university 408, the university of burdwan 3079, the west bengal national university of juridical sciences 35, thiruvalluvar university 289, thunchath ezhuthachan malayalam university 16, tilak maharashtra vidyapeeth 906, tilka manjhi bhagalpur university 269, tripura university 435, tumkur university 299, uka tarsadia university 113, university of agricultural sciences, bangalore 411, university of agricultural sciences, dharwad 278, university of agricultural sciences, raichur 63, university of allahabad 2511, university of calicut 2233, university of delhi 5316, university of engineering and management, kolkata 17, university of gour banga 12, university of hyderabad 2670, university of jammu 1202, university of kalyani 2836, university of kashmir 1916, university of kerala 6654, university of kota 111, university of lucknow 5072, university of mysore 4197, university of north bengal 2066, university of patanjali 26, university of petroleum and energy studies (upes) 398, university of rajasthan 1810, university of science and technology, meghalaya 99, u.p. pt. deen dayal upadhyaya pashu chikitsa vigyan vishwavidhyalaya evam go anusandha sansthan 16, u p rajarshi tondon open university 336, usha martin university 20, utkal university 5653, uttarakhand open university 18, uttarakhand sanskrit university 56, uttarakhand technical university 271, uttaranchal university 73, vardhaman mahaveer open university, kota 21, v. b. s. purvanchal university 9063, veer kunwar singh university, arrah 32, veer narmad south gujarat university 3337, veer surendra sai university of technology 189, vellore institute of technology bhopal 2, vellore institute of technology, vellore 2264, vellore institute of technology (vit-ap) 61, vels university 877, vel tech rangarajan dr. sagunthala r&d institute of science and technology 235, vidyasagar university 857, vignans foundation for science technology and research 206, vijayanagara sri krishnadevaraya university, bellary 131, vikram university 95, vinayaka missions research foundation 361, vinoba bhave university 222, vishwakarma university 21, visva bharti university 1551, visvesvaraya national institute of technology 270, visvesvaraya technological university, belagavi 1062, vivekananda global university 74, william carey university 1, xim university 21, yashwantrao chavan maharashtra open university 330, ybn university 41, yenepoya (deemed to be university) 135, yogi vemana university 92, about shodhshuddhi.

Based on the recommendation of Sub-Committee, National Steering Committee (NSC) of e-ShodhSindhu, The Ministry of Education, Govt. of India has initiated a programme "ShodhShuddhi" which provides access to Plagiarism Detection Software (PDS) to all universities/Institutions in India since Sept 1, 2019 [Read More...]

Under this initiative, URKUND a Web Based Plagiarism Detection Software system is being provided to all users of universities/Intuitions in the country. This initiative is formally launched by Honorable Minister of HRD (now renamed as Minister of Education) on September 21, 2019

The INFLIBNET Centre receives numerous queries from Colleges regarding membership to Shodhganga and e-ShodhSindhu. Following clarifications are being provided in this regard: Read More.

Full Text Theses

Synopses/mrps/pdfs/fellowships, universities contributing, universities+cftis/inis signed mou, prof devika p madalli, sh. manoj kumar k, general / technical query, antiplagiarism query.

The Shodhganga@INFLIBNET Centre provides a platform for research students to deposit their Ph.D. theses and make it available to the entire scholarly community in open access. The repository has the ability to capture, index, store, disseminate and preserve ETDs submitted by the researchers. [Read l]

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Word limits and requirements of your Degree Committee

Candidates should write as concisely as is possible, with clear and adequate exposition. Each Degree Committee has prescribed the limits of length and stylistic requirements as given below. On submission of the thesis you must include a statement of length confirming that it does not exceed the word limit for your Degree Committee.

These limits and requirements are strictly observed by the Postgraduate Committee and the Degree Committees and, unless approval to exceed the prescribed limit has been obtained beforehand (see: Extending the Word Limit below), a thesis that exceeds the limit may not be examined until its length complies with the prescribed limit.

Extending the Word Limit

Thesis word limits are set by Degree Committees. If candidates need to increase their word limits they will need to apply for permission.

Information on how to apply (via self-service account) is available on the ‘ Applying for a change in your student status’  page. If following your viva, you are required to make corrections to your thesis which will mean you need to increase your word-limit, you need to apply for permission in the same way.

Requirements of the Degree Committees

Archaeology and anthropology, architecture and history of art, asian and middle eastern studies, business and management, clinical medicine and clinical veterinary medicine, computer laboratory, earth sciences and geography, scott polar institute, engineering, history and philosophy of science, land economy, mathematics, modern and medieval languages and linguistics, physics and chemistry, politics and international studies, archaeology and social anthropology.

The thesis is not to exceed 80,000 words (approx. 350 pages) for the PhD degree and 60,000 words for the MSc or MLitt degree. These limits include all text, figures, tables and photographs, but exclude the bibliography, cited references and appendices. More detailed specifications should be obtained from the Division concerned. Permission to exceed these limits will be granted only after a special application to the Degree Committee. The application must explain in detail the reasons why an extension is being sought and the nature of the additional material, and must be supported by a reasoned case from the supervisor containing a recommendation that a candidate should be allowed to exceed the word limit by a specified number of words. Such permission will be granted only under exceptional circumstances. If candidates need to apply for permission to exceed the word limit, they should do so in good time before the date on which a candidate proposes to submit the thesis, by application made to the Graduate Committee.

Biological Anthropology:

Students may choose between two alternative thesis formats for their work:

either in the form of a thesis of not more than 80,000 words in length for the PhD degree and 60,000 words for the MSc or MLitt degree. The limits include all text, in-text citations, figures, tables, captions and footnotes but exclude bibliography and appendices; or

in the form of a collection of at least three research articles for the PhD degree and two research articles for the MSc or MLitt degree, formatted as an integrated piece of research, with a table of contents, one or more chapters that outline the scope and provide an in-depth review of the subject of study, a concluding chapter discussing the findings and contribution to the field, and a consolidated bibliography. The articles may be in preparation, submitted for publication or already published, and the combined work should not exceed 80,000 words in length for the PhD degree and 60,000 words for the MSc or MLitt degree. The word limits include all text, in-text citations, figures, tables, captions, and footnotes but exclude bibliography and appendices containing supplementary information associated with the articles. More information on the inclusion of material published, in press or in preparation in a PhD thesis may be found in the Department’s PhD submission guidelines.

Architecture:

The thesis is not to exceed 80,000 words for the PhD and 60,000 words for the MSc or MLitt degree. Footnotes, references and text within tables are to be counted within the word-limit, but captions, appendices and bibliographies are excluded. Appendices should be confined to such items as catalogues, original texts, translations of texts, transcriptions of interview, or tables.

History of Art:

The thesis is not to exceed 80,000 words for the PhD and 60,000 words for the MLitt degree. To include: footnotes, table of contents and list of illustrations, but excluding acknowledgements and the bibliography. Appendices (of no determined word length) may be permitted subject to the approval of the candidate's Supervisor (in consultation with the Degree Committee); for example, where a catalogue of works or the transcription of extensive primary source material is germane to the work. Permission to include such appendices must be requested from the candidate's Supervisor well in advance of the submission of the final thesis. NB: Permission for extensions to the word limit for most other purposes is likely to be refused.

The thesis is for the PhD degree not to exceed 80,000 words exclusive of footnotes, appendices and bibliography but subject to an overall word limit of 100,000 words exclusive of bibliography. For the MLitt degree not to exceed 60,000 words inclusive of footnotes but exclusive of bibliography and appendices.

The thesis for the PhD is not to exceed 60,000 words in length (80,000 by special permission), exclusive of tables, footnotes, bibliography, and appendices. Double-spaced or one-and-a-half spaced. Single or double-sided printing.

The thesis for the MPhil in Biological Science is not to exceed 20,000 words in length, exclusive of tables, footnotes, bibliography, and appendices. Double-spaced or one-and-a-half spaced. Single or double-sided printing.

For the PhD Degree the thesis is not to exceed 80,000 words, EXCLUDING bibliography, but including tables, tables of contents, footnotes and appendices. It is normally expected to exceed 40,000 words unless prior permission is obtained from the Degree Committee. Each page of statistical tables, charts or diagrams shall be regarded as equivalent to a page of text of the same size. The Degree Committee do not consider applications to extend this word limit.

For the Doctor of Business (BusD) the thesis will be approximately 200 pages (a maximum length of 80,000 words, EXCLUDING bibliography, but including tables, tables of contents, footnotes and appendices).

For the MSc Degree the thesis is not to exceed 40,000 words, EXCLUDING bibliography, but including tables, tables of contents, footnotes and appendices.

The thesis is not to exceed 80,000 words including footnotes, references, and appendices but excluding bibliography; a page of statistics shall be regarded as the equivalent of 150 words. Only under exceptional circumstances will permission be granted to exceed this limit. Candidates must submit with the thesis a signed statement giving the length of the thesis.

For the PhD degree, not to exceed 60,000 words (or 80,000 by special permission of the Degree Committee), and for the MSc degree, not to exceed 40,000 words. These limits exclude figures, photographs, tables, appendices and bibliography. Lines to be double or one-and-a-half spaced; pages to be double or single sided.

The thesis is not to exceed, without the prior permission of the Degree Committee, 60,000 words including tables, footnotes and equations, but excluding appendices, bibliography, photographs and diagrams. Any thesis which without prior permission of the Degree Committee exceeds the permitted limit will be referred back to the candidate before being forwarded to the examiners.

The thesis is not to exceed 80,000 words for the PhD degree and the MLitt degree, including footnotes, references and appendices but excluding bibliography. Candidates must submit with the thesis a signed statement giving the length of the thesis. Only under exceptional circumstances will permission be granted to exceed this limit for the inclusion of an appendix of a substantial quantity of text which is necessary for the understanding of the thesis (e.g. texts in translation, transcription of extensive primary source material). Permission must be sought at least three months before submission of the thesis and be supported by a letter from the supervisor certifying that such exemption from the prescribed limit of length is absolutely necessary.

The thesis is not to exceed, without the prior permission of the Degree Committee, 80,000 words for the PhD degree and 60,000 words for the MSc or MLitt degree, including the summary/abstract.  The table of contents, photographs, diagrams, figure captions, appendices, bibliography and acknowledgements to not count towards the word limit. Footnotes are not included in the word limit where they are a necessary part of the referencing system used.

Earth Sciences:

The thesis is not to exceed, without the prior permission of the Degree Committee, 275 numbered pages of which not more than 225 pages are text, appendices, illustrations and bibliography. A page of text is A4 one-and-a-half-spaced normal size type. The additional 50 pages may comprise tables of data and/or computer programmes reduced in size.

If a candidate's work falls within the social sciences, candidates are expected to observe the limit described in the Department of Geography above; if, however, a candidate's work falls within the natural sciences, a candidate should observe the limit described in the Department of Earth Sciences.

Applications for the limit of length of the thesis to be exceeded must be early — certainly no later than the time when the application for the appointment of examiners and the approval of the title of the thesis is made. Any thesis which, without the prior permission of the Degree Committee, exceeds the permitted limit of length will be referred back to the candidate before being forwarded to the examiners.

The thesis is not to exceed, without the prior permission of the Degree Committee, 60,000 words including tables, footnotes, bibliography and appendices. The Degree Committee points out that some of the best thesis extend to only half this length. Each page of statistical tables, charts or diagrams shall be regarded as equivalent to a page of text of the same size.

The thesis is not to exceed 80,000 words for the PhD and EdD degrees and 60,000 words for the MSc and MLitt degrees, in all cases excluding appendices, footnotes, reference list or bibliography. Only in the most exceptional circumstances will permission be given to exceed the stated limits. In such cases, you must make an application to the Degree Committee as early as possible -and no later than three months before it is proposed to submit the thesis, having regard to the dates of the Degree Committee meetings. Your application should (a) explain in detail the reasons why you are seeking the extension and (b) be accompanied by a full supporting statement from your supervisor showing that the extension is absolutely necessary in the interests of the total presentation of the subject.

For the PhD degree, not to exceed, without prior permission of the Degree Committee, 65,000 words, including appendices, footnotes, tables and equations not to contain more than 150 figures, but excluding the bibliography. A candidate must submit with their thesis a statement signed by the candidate themself giving the length of the thesis and the number of figures. Any thesis which, without the prior permission of the Degree Committee, exceeds the permitted limit will be referred back to the candidate before being forwarded to the examiners.

The thesis is not to exceed 80,000 words or go below 60,000 words for the PhD degree and not to exceed 60,000 words or go below 45,000 words for the MLitt degree, both including all notes and appendices but excluding the bibliography. A candidate must add to the preface of the thesis the following signed statement: 'The thesis does not exceed the regulation length, including footnotes, references and appendices but excluding the bibliography.'

In exceptional cases (when, for example, a candidate's thesis largely consists of an edition of a text) the Degree Committee may grant permission to exceed these limits but in such instances (a) a candidate must apply to exceed the length at least three months before the date on which a candidate proposes to submit their thesis and (b) the application must be supported by a letter from a candidate's supervisor certifying that such exemption from the prescribed limit of length is absolutely necessary.

It is a requirement of the Degree Committee for the Faculty of English that thesis must conform to either the MHRA Style Book or the MLA Handbook for the Writers of Research papers, available from major bookshops. There is one proviso, however, to the use of these manuals: the Faculty does not normally recommend that students use the author/date form of citation and recommends that footnotes rather than endnotes be used. Bibliographies and references in thesis presented by candidates in ASNaC should conform with either of the above or to the practice specified in Cambridge Studies in Anglo-Saxon England.

Thesis presented by candidates in the Research Centre for English and Applied Linguistics must follow as closely as possible the printed style of the journal Applied Linguistics and referencing and spelling conventions should be consistent.

A signed declaration of the style-sheet used (and the edition, if relevant) must be made in the preliminary pages of the thesis.

PhD theses MUST NOT exceed 80,000 words, and will normally be near that length.

A minimum word length exists for PhD theses: 70,000 words (50,000 for MLitt theses)

The word limit includes appendices and the contents page but excludes the abstract, acknowledgments, footnotes, references, notes on transliteration, bibliography, abbreviations and glossary.  The Contents Page should be included in the word limit. Statistical tables should be counted as 150 words per table. Maps, illustrations and other pictorial images count as 0 words. Graphs, if they are the only representation of the data being presented, are to be counted as 150 words. However, if graphs are used as an illustration of statistical data that is also presented elsewhere within the thesis (as a table for instance), then the graphs count as 0 words.

Only under exceptional circumstances will permission be granted to exceed this limit. Applications for permission are made via CamSIS self-service pages. Applications must be made at least four months before the thesis is bound. Exceptions are granted when a compelling intellectual case is made.

The thesis is not to exceed 80,000 words for the PhD degree and 60,000 words for the MLitt degree, in all cases including footnotes and appendices but excluding bibliography. Permission to submit a thesis falling outside these limits, or to submit an appendix which does not count towards the word limit, must be obtained in advance from the Degree Committee.

The thesis is not to exceed 80,000 for the PhD degree and 60,000 words for the MSc or MLitt degree, both including footnotes, references and appendices but excluding bibliographies. One A4 page consisting largely of statistics, symbols or figures shall be regarded as the equivalent of 250 words. A candidate must add to the preface of their thesis the following signed statement: 'This thesis does not exceed the regulation length, including footnotes, references and appendices.'

For the PhD degree the thesis is not to exceed 80,000 words (exclusive of footnotes, appendices and bibliography) but subject to an overall word limit of 100,000 words (exclusive of bibliography, table of contents and any other preliminary matter). Figures, tables, images etc should be counted as the equivalent of 200 words for each A4 page, or part of an A4 page, that they occupy. For the MLitt degree the thesis is not to exceed 60,000 words inclusive of footnotes but exclusive of bibliography, appendices, table of contents and any other preliminary matter. Figures, tables, images etc should be counted as the equivalent of 200 words for each A4 page, or part of an A4 page, that they occupy.

Criminology:

For the PhD degree submission of a thesis between 55,000 and 80,000 words (exclusive of footnotes, appendices and bibliography) but subject to an overall word limit of 100,000 words (exclusive of bibliography, table of contents and any other preliminary matter). Figures, tables, images etc should be counted as the equivalent of 200 words for each A4 page, or part of an A4 page, that they occupy. For the MLitt degree the thesis is not to exceed 60,000 words inclusive of footnotes but exclusive of bibliography, appendices, table of contents and any other preliminary matter. Figures, tables, images etc should be counted as the equivalent of 200 words for each A4 page, or part of an A4 page, that they occupy.

There is no standard format for the thesis in Mathematics.  Candidates should discuss the format appropriate to their topic with their supervisor.

The thesis is not to exceed 80,000 words for the PhD degree and 60,000 words for the MLitt degree, including footnotes and appendices but excluding the abstract, any acknowledgements, contents page(s), abbreviations, notes on transliteration, figures, tables and bibliography. Brief labels accompanying illustrations, figures and tables are also excluded from the word count. The Degree Committee point out that some very successful doctoral theses have been submitted which extend to no more than three-quarters of the maximum permitted length.

In linguistics, where examples are cited in a language other than Modern English, only the examples themselves will be taken into account for the purposes of the word limit. Any English translations and associated linguistic glosses will be excluded from the word count.

In theses written under the aegis of any of the language sections, all sources in the language(s) of the primary area(s) of research of the thesis will normally be in the original language. An English translation should be provided only where reading the original language is likely to fall outside the expertise of the examiners. Where such an English translation is given it will not be included in the word count. In fields where the normal practice is to quote in English in the main text, candidates should follow that practice. If the original text needs to be supplied, it should be placed in a footnote. These fields include, but are not limited to, general linguistics and film and screen studies.

Since appendices are included in the word limit, in some fields it may be necessary to apply to exceed the limit in order to include primary data or other materials which should be available to the examiners. Only under the most exceptional circumstances will permission be granted to exceed the limit in other cases. In all cases (a) a candidate must apply to exceed the prescribed maximum length at least three months before the date on which a candidate proposes to submit their thesis and (b) the application must be accompanied by a full supporting statement from the candidate's supervisor showing that such exemption from the prescribed limit of length is absolutely necessary.

It is a requirement within all language sections of MMLL, and also for Film, that dissertations must conform with the advice concerning abbreviations, quotations, footnotes, references etc published in the Style Book of the Modern Humanities Research Association (Notes for Authors and Editors). For linguistics, dissertations must conform with one of the widely accepted style formats in their field of research, for example the style format of the Journal of Linguistics (Linguistic Association of Great Britain), or of Language Linguistic Society of America) or the APA format (American Psychology Association). If in doubt, linguistics students should discuss this with their supervisor and the PhD Coordinator.

The thesis is not to exceed 80,000 words for the PhD degree and 60,000 words for the MLitt degree, both excluding notes, appendices, and bibliographies, musical transcriptions and examples, unless a candidate make a special case for greater length to the satisfaction of the Degree Committee. Candidates whose work is practice-based may include as part of the doctoral submission either a portfolio of substantial musical compositions, or one or more recordings of their own musical performance(s).

PhD (MLitt) theses in Philosophy must not be more than 80,000 (60,000) words, including appendices and footnotes but excluding bibliography.

Institute of Astronomy, Department of Materials Science & Metallurgy, Department of Physics:

The thesis is not to exceed, without prior permission of the Degree Committee, 60,000 words, including summary/abstract, tables, footnotes and appendices, but excluding table of contents, photographs, diagrams, figure captions, list of figures/diagrams, list of abbreviations/acronyms, bibliography and acknowledgements.

Department of Chemistry:

The thesis is not to exceed, without prior permission of the Degree Committee, 60,000 words, including summary/abstract, tables, and footnotes, but excluding table of contents, photographs, diagrams, figure captions, list of figures/diagrams, list of abbreviations/acronyms, bibliography, appendices and acknowledgements. Appendices are relevant to the material contained within the thesis but do not form part of the connected argument. Specifically, they may include derivations, code and spectra, as well as experimental information (compound name, structure, method of formation and data) for non-key molecules made during the PhD studies.

Applicable to the PhDs in Politics & International Studies, Latin American Studies, Multi-disciplinary Studies and Development Studies for all submissions from candidates admitted prior to and including October 2017.

A PhD thesis must not exceed 80,000 words, and will normally be near that length. The word limit includes appendices but excludes footnotes, references and bibliography. Footnotes should not exceed 20% of the thesis. Discursive footnotes are generally discouraged, and under no circumstances should footnotes be used to include material that would normally be in the main text, and thus to circumvent the word limits. Statistical tables should be counted as 150 words per table. Only under exceptional circumstances, and after prior application, will the Degree Committee allow a student to exceed these limits. A candidate must submit, with the thesis, a statement signed by her or himself attesting to the length of the thesis. Any thesis that exceeds the limit will be referred back to candidate for revision before being forwarded to the examiners.

Applicable to the PhDs in Politics & International Studies, Latin American Studies, Multi-disciplinary Studies and Development Studies for all submissions from candidates admitted after October 2017.

A PhD thesis must not exceed 80,000 words, including footnotes. The word limit includes appendices but excludes the bibliography. Discursive footnotes are generally discouraged, and under no circumstances should footnotes be used to include material that would normally be in the main text. Statistical tables should be counted as 150 words per table. Only under exceptional circumstances, and after prior application, will the Degree Committee allow a student to exceed these limits. A candidate must submit, with the thesis, a statement signed by her or himself attesting to the length of the thesis. Any thesis that exceeds the limit will be referred back to candidate for revision before being forwarded to the examiners.

Only applicable to students registered for the degree prior to 1 August 2012; all other students should consult the guidance of the Faculty of Biological Sciences.

Applicable to the PhD in Psychology (former SDP students only) for all submissions made before 30 November 2013

A PhD thesis must not exceed 80,000 words, and will normally be near that length. The word limit includes appendices but excludes footnotes, references and bibliography. Footnotes should not exceed 20% of the thesis. Discursive footnotes are generally discouraged, and under no circumstances should footnotes be used to include material that would normally be in the main text, and thus to circumvent the word limits. Statistical tables should be counted as 150 words per table. Only under exceptional circumstances, and after prior application, will the Degree Committee allow a student to exceed these limits. A candidate must submit, with the thesis, a statement signed by her or himself attesting to the length of the thesis. Any thesis that exceeds the limit will be referred back to candidate for revision before being forwarded to the examiners.

Applicable to the PhD in Psychology (former SDP students only) for all submissions from 30 November 2013

A PhD thesis must not exceed 80,000 words, and will normally be near that length. The word limit includes appendices but excludes footnotes, references and bibliography. Footnotes should not exceed 20% of the thesis. Discursive footnotes are generally discouraged, and under no circumstances should footnotes be used to include material that would normally be in the main text, and thus to circumvent the word limits. Statistical tables should be counted as 150 words per table. Only under exceptional circumstances, and after prior application, will the Degree Committee allow a student to exceed these limits. Applications should be made in good time before the date on which a candidate proposes to submit the thesis, made to the Graduate Committee. A candidate must submit, with the thesis, a statement signed by her or himself attesting to the length of the thesis. Any thesis that exceeds the limit will be referred back to candidate for revision before being forwarded to the examiners.

A PhD thesis must not exceed 80,000 words, and will normally be over 60,000 words. This word limit includes footnotes and endnotes, but excludes appendices and reference list / bibliography. Figures, tables, images etc should be counted as the equivalent of 150 words for each page, or part of a page, that they occupy. Other media may form part of the thesis by prior arrangement with the Degree Committee. Students may apply to the Degree Committee for permission to exceed the word limit, but such applications are granted only rarely. Candidates must submit, with the thesis, a signed statement attesting to the length of the thesis.

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MPhil Course Information

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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

• Oral Examination - ‘viva’

MPhil Results

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

• The MPhil code of practice is  here .
• MPhil students may also find it useful to refer to CamGuides . This is  is a free online resource for all Master’s students with a taught element, designed as an introduction to some of the academic, digital and research practices that they will engage in at the University of Cambridge. It encourages students to think about ways they can prepare for their Master’s degree before it starts. CamGuides does not need raven access and students will have access to the resource throughout their time in Cambridge.
• Sources of advice and support can be found here.

MPhil students are assigned an MPhil advisor who oversees their studies during the course. The advisor and student will discuss essay topics and potential supervisors. The advisor is the student's first port of call for questions related to the course.

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. There are some restrictions on topics – see MPhil course structure for details – but students have a great deal of freedom to select topics of interest to them. There are also deadlines for submission and changing of titles. 

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

The first essay is submitted by the end of Michaelmas Term *. Students consult with their Advisors at the start of 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, students should consult the MPhil Course Director. Students receive a mark for the first essay and any feedback and guidance which may seem appropriate at that stage, before Christmas. 

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

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

When choosing essay titles, students should keep in mind that the title's main function is to enable the Degree Committee to select suitable examiners. Titles should be direct and specific enough to serve this purpose (without, e.g. misleading witticisms), but not so specific that they make it difficult to make some 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, students 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 rests with supervisors. However, you may expect to receive a total of about 4 hours of supervision for each essay in total. A typical and reasonable supervising schedule would be as follows:

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

-Three further supervisions (comments on preliminary reading and an outline; comments on and discussion of a first draft, with advice for possible improvement; and further comments on a revised draft)

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 the dissertation supervisor. As in the case of essays, students are advised not to be too general or too specific, and choose a title that makes it straightforward for the Degree Committee to appoint 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 students should not be tempted to make the MPhil dissertations too ambitious: students should bear in mind that there is a strict word limit (12,000 words), and a strict submission deadline at the end of Easter Term*. Students should note 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.

The MPhil dissertation will 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 students are in any doubt about this, please consult Advisors, or the Supervisor for the piece of work in question.

• How to submit (titles and work) - You must submit your proposed essay and dissertation titles via email to the MPhil Course Director via the Postgraduate Administrator ( [email protected] ) by the deadlines in the PG Calendar. No amendments can be granted to the title of your first essay. Once the MPhil Course Director has approved your title, you will receive an email from the PG Administrator confirming that your title has been approved. If, however, the MPhil Course Director cannot approve your title, for example because there is some ambiguity, you will also receive communication from the PG Administrator asking you to reconsider and resubmit an amended title. It should be stressed that approval of titles is not a pure formality. Students who start work on their essays/dissertation before the titles have been approved, do so entirely at their own risk. If in doubt, consult the MPhil Course Director (via the PG Administrator) early about the suitability of titles.  Essays and dissertations should be submitted via Moodle , the Learning Platform used by the University. Further details on the process for submitting work via Moodle will be sent to candidates by the Postgraduate Administrator. 
• Presentation guidelines - MPhil essays and dissertations must be typed in English, use footnotes rather than endnotes, have numbered pages and properly acknowledge sources of information in notes and a bibliography. You must acknowledge all sources of information, including unpublished ideas and suggestions, e.g. from your supervisor. For essays students are not required to submit a cover sheet or a separate title page. Essays are subject to anonymous marking. Please save essays just using the title of the essay (no reference to student names or student number). Students should not include their name anywhere within the text of the essay. For dissertations, it is usual for your examiners to conduct a viva with you, so marking will not be anonymous. For the dissertation only therefore, student names should be marked clearly on a front sheet and students must incorporate the Student Registry ‘Declaration in the Preface’ (please follow the instructions here  https://www.cambridgestudents.cam.ac.uk/your-course/examinations/graduate-exam-information/submitting-and-examination/mphilmres ).  The Faculty's presentation guidelines for postgraduate students can be found here  .   
• Wordcounts - MPhil candidates are examined on one essay in Michaelmas Term of not more than 4,000 words (including footnotes but excluding bibliography), an essay in Lent Term of not more than 8,000 words (including footnotes but excluding bibliography), and a dissertation in Easter Term of not more than 12,000 words (including footnotes and appendices but excluding bibliography) Please note that the word limit (including footnotes and appendices but excluding bibliography) for both essays and the dissertation will be strictly applied . Examiners may decline to read any material in excess of it. For both essays and the dissertation, candidates are required to include a statement of the word length at the end of their piece of submitted work, before the bibliography. In addition, the word count will be verified by the Postgraduate Administrator, when candidates submit their essays and dissertation.
• Coursework deadlines - can be found in the Postgraduate Calendar .  Please note that submission deadlines for essays and the dissertation are taken very seriously. In the absence of mitigating circumstances, late submission will attract a penalty of five marks for every working day, or proportion of this for part of a day.
• Extensions - We recognise that sometimes students will need to seek an extension to the submission deadline. Students seeking an extension should contact the Postgraduate Administrator and the MPhil Course Director in the first instance.
• Students with Student Support Documents outlining their access and reasonable adjustments requirements may request extensions if needed, and are invited to discuss which accommodations they require with the MPhil Course Director. 
• Short extensions of up to 5 days can be granted by the MPhil Course Director. Students will be required to confirm that they have informed their College Tutor of the extension. Students may self-certify the reasons for these short extensions and are not required to supply supporting documentation. 
• Extensions longer than 5 days: the MPhil Course Director will request that the student provides supporting documentation from a medical/welfare professional or from the student's College Tutor. The request will be considered by Degree Committee. The length of extensions may be constrained by the dates by which marks have to be approved. Students will be informed if an extension may lead to a delay in the date of their graduation. 
• Students are advised that extensions are more administratively straightforward for the Michaelmas and Lent Term essays, as short extensions there are unlikely to affect the timing of the student's graduation. For the dissertation, extensions are also possible, but extensions of longer than 5 days are likely to affect the timing of the viva, receipt of marks, and graduation. Further information about this extensions can be found on this webpage:  https://www.cambridgestudents.cam.ac.uk/your-course/postgraduate-study/y...
• Plagiarism/academic misconduct - The Faculty's policy on plagiarism/academic misconduct can be found here .  The University’s definition of academic misconduct, including plagiarism, can be found here . MPhil students will be asked to check a box confirming that they have read the University’s definition of academic misconduct when they submit MPhil coursework via Moodle. Students should be aware that the University has the right to use text-matching software to verify the originality of work submitted at any time during the MPhil course. It is the Faculty’s policy to routinely check work submitted for plagiarism .
• Assessment of MPhil essays and dissertations - please see the following: 

                    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 as introducing students to a wide range of philosophical topics. All MPhil students are expected to attend this seminar every week and a register will be taken.

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. 

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 administrator. The form can be found here: https://www.cambridgestudents.cam.ac.uk/files/voluntary_disclosure_form.pdf

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 viva will usually concentrate on the dissertation, but it may also include questions on the general area of philosophy in which it falls. 

Students should bring a copy of the dissertation to the viva in case the examiners wish to ask about specific passages in it. 

MPhil vivas typically last around an hour, although some may be significantly shorter or longer than this. 

For further information about the viva, see the MPhil Examining Procedures here:

https://www.phil.cam.ac.uk/mphil-examining-procedures

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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Preparing to submit an MPhil thesis

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If you are holding an offer to continue to further postgraduate study you are strongly advised to plan your submission timetable carefully. Allow sufficient time for your examination to take place and your degree to be approved before the start date of your next course.

1. Notice of intention to submit

At least two months before you intend to submit your thesis you need to inform the Degree Committee of your proposed title, expected submission date, and provide a short summary. Your submission date should be on or before your submission deadline . You will also have the opportunity to state your preference for an in-person viva (default) or viva by video conference at this stage.The intention to submit form initiates the Examiner appointment process and will open the submission portal to you, so it is very important that you remember to do this.

Your intention to submit notice will be normally be acknowledged within 4 working days. The acknowledgement includes a link to the Moodle course to which you will submit your thesis. The Degree Committee Office will then approach your supervisor for nominations of potential examiners.

If you do not give any/sufficient notice before submitting your thesis your examination will be delayed.

Online form: Intention to submit a research thesis

2. Examination access arrangements (optional)

Should you wish to make a voluntary disclosure of any disability/chronic illness that might affect the conduct of your viva please complete and email the disclosure form to the Degree Committee Office before you submit. We invite you to do this up to two months in advance to allow us time to consult with the DRC and make appropriate access arrangements . Please download the form, complete and sign it, then email back to us in the Degree Committee office.

Form for download: disclosure form

3. Confidential Research (optional)

If your research is confidential (e.g. you are sponsored by industry and they claim rights over your findings), you may apply for a confidentiality agreement to be put in place for the examination. Contact the Degree Committee Office at least one month before you intend to submit your thesis.

4. Complete your thesis

Word limit : Be aware of the word limit and what is/is not included . Candidates are often confused as to how to include equations and formulas in the word count. We recommend you count them as as having the same number of words that text occupying the same area would have, using an average of 13 words per line or 350 words per page (at the 1.5 line spacing).

Format: The MPhil thesis is submitted electronically in A4 portrait format.  There is no requirement for a hardbound copy at any stage in the examination for the MPhil . You are strongly advised to check your thesis carefully prior to submission for typing errors, spelling mistakes and poor English. Number the pages consecutively and ensure work is fully referenced. Remember, the Examiners must be left in no doubt as to which parts of your submitted work are your own original work and which are not.

Electronic copy : Please remember the electronic version of the MPhil thesis you submit is the only document that can be examined. You should not attempt to send any additional documents to your Examiners as they cannot be taken into consideration. If the Examiner makes the request to you directly to supply a paper copy, please contact the Degree Committee Office.

Compulsory inclusions : the Cambridge Students website details what must be included in the thesis, and in what order.

Certificate of submission : Must be downloaded , completed and signed to confirm that you are the original author of the work and have kept to the word limits. The form must be submitted with the two copies of your thesis.

COVID-19: If your progress was impeded by coronavirus, please see Research Impact Statement and extension information on our Coronavirus pages .

Ukraine:  If your progress was impacted by the situation in Ukraine, please see Research Impact Statement and extension information on our Coronavirus pages . The guidance only refers to COVID-19 but now also applies to the situation in Ukraine.

If you can't find the page you are looking for or find a broken link do let us know (please use the email link in the 'Contact us' section below).

Ukraine - University resources

Coronavirus advice from the University

Office closures

The Degree Committee for the Faculty of Earth Sciences and Geography will be closed from 5pm on Thursday 28 March 2024 and will reopen again on Tuesday 2 April 2024. Research degree theses should still be submitted by your submission deadline even if that falls over the holiday period.

Meetings of the Degree Committee and Degree Ceremonies

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MPhil students are required to submit two essays and a dissertation. Each of them must be on a topic approved by the Degree Committee that falls within one of the specified subject areas . The essays should be on topics from two different subject areas.

You are encouraged to explore a range of different topics, balancing them so that they are both relevant to your interests and also span the subject of History and Philosophy of Science and Medicine.

You are permitted to write your dissertation in the same general area as one of your essays, but the dissertation and essay must address different questions, and the dissertation must show evidence of a substantial new research effort. Any use of the essay in the dissertation has to be appropriately referenced, just like any other primary or secondary source, as if the essay were written by a different person.

Similarly, if an essay or dissertation builds on previously examined, graded or published work it is essential that this is clearly identified in the text and is appropriately referenced, as if it were written by a different person. The assessors should be in no doubt as to what work you have completed in your current degree course and it is this that will be assessed.

Finding a supervisor

The Department publishes a list of members of the Department and associates who are willing to supervise MPhil essays and dissertations, together with the topics on which they are prepared to supervise. You are not permitted to work with the same supervisor for more than two pieces of coursework.

Dissertation and essay supervisors

Your supervisors will see you on a very regular basis, but it is up to you to schedule those meetings according to your needs. As a rule of thumb, you can expect the following supervisions:

• 3 for each essay;
• 4 for the dissertation.

If you would like to work with an external supervisor – someone who is not a member of the Department – you must obtain permission from the MPhil Manager.

Topic forms

Online topic forms for the essays and dissertation will be available on Moodle .

You should complete each form by stating the topic of the essay or dissertation, selecting one of the ten subject areas , and entering the name of your supervisor.

The deadline for completing each form is shown on key dates and deadlines .

Changing the topic, subject area or supervisor

Once the Degree Committee has approved the topic, subject area and supervisor for an essay or dissertation, you must apply for permission if you want to change any of them. Permission is not automatically granted. See key dates and deadlines for the last dates for changing topics.

To change the topic, subject area or supervisor, you should complete the request form . The request must be approved by the MPhil Manager.

The University and the Department of History and Philosophy of Science take plagiarism very seriously. Please read our advice about what plagiarism is and how to avoid it.

Plagiarism guidelines

The Department uses the text-matching software Turnitin UK to blanket screen all student work submitted in Moodle.

Use of Turnitin UK

Referencing

For guidance about using correct and consistent referencing, see this page:

Human participants

If you are planning to collect data from human participants, or use data collected from human participants, you will need to plan well in advance to ensure that you have obtained ethical approval before starting work on your project and have given consideration to how you are going to handle the information you collect.

Working with human participants: ethical approval and data protection

Examined work should be uploaded to the 'HPS MPhil Coursework' site on Moodle before 12noon on the day of the deadline. Paper copies are not required.

Please note:

• The work should have numbered pages, footnotes and a bibliography.
• You cannot upload more than one file for each submission.
• The following file formats are accepted: DOC, DOCX, PDF, RTF.

The essays and dissertation will be marked anonymously, so it is important that your name does not appear anywhere on them.

Please give the following information on the first page:

• Subject area (the same as the one you selected on your topic form)

You are advised to check your email the day after you have submitted to ensure there are no queries about your work.

The Senior Examiner will advise the Examiners' Meeting of any late submissions and, unless there are exceptional circumstances, this will normally entail the cumulative loss of marks for each day's lateness beyond the published deadline: i.e. within one day, one mark will be deducted; within two days, two additional marks will be deducted (making three marks in total); within three days, an additional three marks will be deducted (making six marks in total), etc. Given that problems can and do occur (such as computers crashing), students are advised that their work should be ready almost a week in advance of the formal deadline.

Please note that the Department will retain a copy of your dissertation and essays and may make them available to future students unless you make a written request to the contrary to the Departmental Administrator.

All requests for an extension to the submission date for coursework must have a good reason and must be supported by a College Tutor and Course Manager. You are advised to discuss potential extension requests with the Course Manager before submitting a formal application.

Where an extension is granted, the deadline is 12noon on the new date.

For an extension of up to seven days the student should complete the coursework extension self-certification form .

For an extension longer than seven days the student should download and complete the extension form . The form must then be signed by the College Tutor and the Course Manager.

Students are reminded that extensions are not cost free : they reduce the amount of time you can devote to subsequent pieces of work, limit opportunities for you to receive feedback and participate in other aspects of the course, and may delay the approval of your degree. A granted extension does not mean that your supervisor will be available beyond term time.

The word limit is:

• 5,000 words for Essay 1
• 8,000 words for Essay 2
• 12,000 words for the Dissertation

This includes footnotes but excludes the bibliography and prefatory matter.

Figures may be included in the work and should contribute to the argument. They should be captioned only so as to specify the source; such captions are excluded from the word count. Formulae may be used where appropriate and are also excluded from the word count.

The word limit is strictly enforced. Each piece of work will be inspected to ensure that the word limit has been respected. If work is over the limit, the candidate will be asked to revise the work so that it does conform to the word limit. Given that the inspection will take place at the time of the deadline, the rule governing penalties for late submission will be applied (i.e. if the revised work is submitted within one day, one mark will be deducted; within two days, two marks will be deducted, etc).

The Department uses Microsoft Word to check word counts. If you use coding software, such as LaTeX, you should be aware that this software may give a different word count. You may find it helpful to use TeXcount , an online tool that analyses LaTeX code to provide an accurate count of words, formulae, captions and footnotes. If using software other than Microsoft Word you should submit a screenshot to demonstrate the word count from the software used.

Policy on data, editions, translations and bibliographies

An essay or dissertation should be self-contained, including or citing all information needed for an examiner to follow its argument.

The word limit normally includes text and footnotes but not the bibliography. However, in certain cases permission may be obtained for materials relevant to the argument of the essay or dissertation to be submitted for the information of the examiners in the form of an appendix, with such materials excluded from the word count. Materials falling into this category may include primary source materials (texts and images) that are not readily accessible, transcriptions, translations, questionnaire responses, statistical tables, formal proofs, technical descriptions of objects, analytical bibliographies and other data produced by the candidate that they wish to make accessible.

Conversely, material contributing to the word count should normally consist of the candidate's own discussion and analysis of such materials. Exceptionally, when a critical edition or translation, a formal proof, an analytical bibliography, or a technical description of objects and their provenances is based on substantial original scholarship and cannot be easily separated from the argument of an essay or dissertation, permission may be obtained for it to be included within the body of the essay or dissertation, hence contributing to the word count. No more than one third of an essay or dissertation should consist of such material.

Applications for such permissions should be sought, in consultation with the supervisor, from the Senior Examiner via the MPhil Managers.

Feedback to MPhil students

During the course of their studies, students receive feedback in person from their supervisors, and from the Course Manager, as well as from termly online supervision reports. Essay 1 is examined prior to the end of the Michaelmas Term in order to provide students with early feedback on their performance so they can gauge the level of achievement which the course requires, and so they have reliable pointers as to future applications for the PhD, whose deadlines are often early in the academic year. Essay 2 is examined at the start of Easter Term, and feedback is given on this shortly afterwards together with a provisional overall mark for the essay component of the course.

After each Board of Examiners meeting, the MPhil Managers meet with students, report the provisional agreed class and provide copies of the non-confidential parts of the reports. At these meetings the work is discussed and assessors' remarks are put in context for future work. Students may contact their supervisor after this meeting if they want to discuss the reports in more detail.

Marks are subject to moderation up until the final Board of Examiners meeting, and require approval by the Degree Committee in late June. At the end of the course a transcript with details of individual marks will be available on CamSIS.

Feedback on the overall performance of each year is provided by Senior and External Examiners' Reports which are submitted at the end of the year. Students may find it useful to see examiners' comments on the previous year's work, particularly mark distributions and recommendations.

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Research Student Administration Office

The submission and examination process.

• Throughout your research degree
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• Information for examiners
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Find out about the submission and examination process for research students.

You may also find it helpful to look at the advice and information given to examiners and supervisors regarding the examination of research degrees, as this will familiarise you with the different roles people play in the examination process and can help you with your viva preparation. Please note the information on this webpage has regulatory status. See about these webpages .

Submitting your thesis

To submit your thesis or portfolio to the Research Student Administration Office you must:

• complete section A of the  Intention to Submit  form, available under  Forms and Letter Requests
• attach a copy of your summary (see below) to the form.

Section B of the form should be completed by your main supervisor before the form is returned to us. You'll get written confirmation of receipt of your application.

Two months’ notice is required  as internal and external examiners need to be identified and formally appointed by the Research Degrees Examination Board. If you don't give full notice of your intention to submit, this will delay the examination of your thesis.

You must be registered at the time of the submission of your thesis or portfolio.

See more about preparing your work below.

You should give at least two months’ notice of your intention to submit your thesis or portfolio to the Research Student Administration Office by completing the Intention to Submit form available from our Forms and Letter Requests  page and attaching a copy of your summary to the form (below is a description of what the summary should include). You should then pass the form to your main supervisor. You will receive written confirmation of receipt from the Research Student Administration Office.

Two months’ notice is required as internal and external examiners need to be identified and formally appointed by the Research Degrees Examination Board. Failure to give full notice of your intention to submit will delay the examination of your thesis.

Please note that you must be registered at the time of the submission of your thesis or portfolio.

If you are being funded through your studies, and there is commercially sensitive information within your thesis, funders can request a non-disclosure agreement. This would be between your examiners and the University of Sussex. In these instances, staff in the Research Student Administration Office can advise ( [email protected] ) and arrange for an agreement to be signed.

The summary or abstract should provide a synopsis of the thesis, and should clearly state the nature and scope of the research undertaken and contribution made to the knowledge of the subject. It should include a brief statement of the method of investigation where appropriate, an outline of the major divisions or principal arguments of the work and a summary of any conclusions reached.

A loose leaf copy of the summary should be submitted with your Intention to Submit form and a copy should be bound (not loose) into each of your temporary bound theses/ portfolios when submitted.

Your summary should be single spaced and each copy should be on a separate sheet of A4 paper, separately printed, and must not exceed 300 words, except in the following subjects: Education/Social Work, Music-Theatre Performance, Creative Writing and Media Practice, which must not exceed 600 words. Each summary should include a heading set out in the following style:

UNIVERSITY OF SUSSEX

YOUR FULL NAME

DEGREE FOR WHICH THE THESIS OR PORTFOLIO IS SUBMITTED

TITLE OF THESIS OR PORTFOLIO SUMMARY

Your thesis should be submitted to the Research Student Administration Office by email as a .pdf. The email address is [email protected] .Please note that you must be fully registered in order to submit your thesis.

If your thesis is too large to send by email please contact us and we will arrange for a Box folder where you can upload it directly.

Once you have submitted your thesis, your registration status changes to ‘research examination’. While you are in this status you will not be required to re-register annually and fees are not accrued.

PLEASE NOTE : Current submission is by .pdf only.

Apart from quotations, the thesis or portfolio should be written in English.

The Doctoral Studies Committee may approve the submission of a thesis in a language other than English in exceptional circumstances.

The maximum word length for a PhD thesis is 80,000 words.

The maximum word length for an MPhil thesis is 40,000 words.

In the following subjects no limits are specified:

• Biochemistry
• Engineering and Design
• Environmental Science
• Informatics
• Mathematics
• Physics & Astronomy
• SPRU: Science & Technology Policy Research

The maximum word length includes footnotes and bibliography but excludes any appendices. Any request to exceed the word limit would not normally exceed 10% of the stated maximum and must be submitted via the Approval to Exceed Thesis Length form and approved by your School, as here: www.sussex.ac.uk/rsao/forms/

A PhD or MPhil taken by musical composition should be submitted in the format of a portfolio of compositions and a discursive or written component.

The portfolio must contain at least one substantial composition and one or more related shorter compositions.

The substantial composition should consist of either:

• a written score to be scored either for larger forces or for smaller forces in which case it should exceed 15 minutes in duration
• or an equivalent-scale musical, sonic or audio-visual work for digital media
• or an equivalent-scale musical performance of original work, which must be documented on DVD and submitted with the critical commentary
• the written component [associated commentary] must be between 8000 and 10,000 words in length. The portfolio of compositions should normally contain at least one large-scale work and a number of related smaller compositions.

The large-scale work should consist of either:

• a written score for larger forces or for smaller forces in which case it should exceed 30 minutes in duration
• an equivalent-scale musical, sonic or audio-visual work for digital media
• an equivalent-scale musical performance of original work documented on DVD and submitted with the critical commentary.

The written component [associated commentary] must be between 20,000 and 40,000 words in length.

The thesis should consist of either a substantial performance work, or a performance work with a portfolio of compositions or other creative work, and a discursive and critical written component.

The performance may involve any media or disciplines in combination with music, and may or may not involve the Doctoral Researcher themselves. The performance work must be documented on electronic media, which must be submitted with the critical commentary.

The MPhil discursive or critical written component of the thesis will be between 10,000 and 20,000, PhD will be between 20,000 and 40,000 words in length. The summary for both the MPhil and the PhD shall not exceed 600 words.

The MPhil shall be no more than 40,000 words in length. The PhD shall be no more than 80,000 words.

The thesis will be an original piece of creative writing and research. Many creative writing theses will consist of a creative component:

• in any recognised genre of creative writing, together with a related critical study
• the critical component should occupy no less than 20% and no more than 80% of the total word length
• where poetry is the chosen genre, the creative component will be a book length manuscript and the critical component will be no less than 25,000 words (MPhil) or 50,000 words (PhD)
• the thesis may also be presented in such a way that the creative and critical components are interwoven to create a distinctive whole. In this instance, the creative and critical components may be seen, for example, as two different but interdependent responses to the same topic
• or the creative component may arise out of the critical component (or vice versa) and be a vehicle for exploring it further
• in either case, the summary for both the MPhil and the PhD shall not exceed 600 words.

The thesis can either be submitted as a written thesis or through a combination of thesis and performance work. Where the thesis does not include a practice-based component it should follow the standard thesis format and guidelines (80,000 words for a PhD, 40,000 words for an MPhil).

Thesis and practice: the submission should consist of either a substantial practice-based work, such as a performance, a series of workshops, an installation or a durational work, or a portfolio of works. The work must be documented in relevant and retainable form such as video/digital recording, scores or scripts, photographic evidence or a combination of these, agreed and approved by the supervisor(s). The work may or may not involve the student as performer but must be entirely her/his work. The practice-based component must be accompanied by a discursive, critical written component of between 10,000 and 20,000 words (MPhil) and between 20,000 and 40,000 words (PhD). The summary for both the MPhil and the PhD must not exceed 600 words.

The thesis will consist of a substantial creative work, or a portfolio of creative work, in either video or digital imaging or photography or interactive media or sound or any other digital media or combination of media, and a discursive and critical written component.

The work may incorporate live performance and installation in which case these elements must be documented in retainable forms, such as videos, scripts and plans, that are approved by the supervisor(s).

The MPhil discursive or critical written component of the thesis will be between 10,000 and 20,000 words in length and PhD between 20,000 and 40,000 words in length. The summary for both the MPhil and the PhD must not exceed 600 words.

The thesis must not normally exceed 50,000 words. The summary for both the Doctor of Education and Doctor of Social Work must not exceed 600 words.

You may incorporate, as an integral part of the thesis, any of your work published or submitted for publication before the submission of the thesis, provided that the greater proportion of the work for the thesis has been carried out after registration for the degree and under supervision. Candidates submitting a ‘papers-style’ thesis are required to include a declaration confirming their contribution to each paper, especially in cases where the co-author is a supervisor. Examiners will be asked to pay particular attention to consistency or otherwise in the quality of those parts of the thesis which have not been submitted for publication (linking chapters).

Please note that in preparing a ‘papers style’ thesis you should bear in mind that the examiners will be judging the overall contribution of the research project in addition to the quality or impact of the individual papers. You should therefore include a section in the introduction to your thesis which explains how your project represents a significant contribution to knowledge. The introduction should also be expanded to include a short description of each chapter or paper and their contribution to the overall project. You should also prepare a final chapter bringing the papers and chapters together into a conclusion.

Please note that you may amend the original papers for inclusion in your thesis, even if they have already been published elsewhere. For example, a single set of appendices containing your data, and a single bibliography, will aid the examiners in reading and evaluating the overall thesis.

This course of registration relates to those who are the author of substantial research-led publications prior to registration.

This PhD is awarded for the submission of a portfolio of published research of the same standard as a typical PhD. The work can take the form of refereed articles, chapters, monographs, scholarly editions, software and creative work (including fine art, audiovisual works, design, music or performance) or other original artefacts, as long as they are available or traceable in the public domain.

Three copies will be required of a portfolio consisting of the following: an abstract of the submission, including a list of the items of published work; the items of published work; and a 10,000 word supporting paper that:

• summarises each published work to be submitted
• provides a commentary on the status of the publishing outlets
• describes the interrelationship of the published works to be submitted
• gives a critical review of the current state of knowledge and research in the relevant field
• reports on the reception of the published works as indicated by citations and reviews
• demonstrates how the published works to be submitted have made a significant contribution to knowledge in a particular field.

Presentation of your thesis As it is important that your thesis is presented for examination in a complete form before submission you are advised to check;

• All chapters/sections are present and complete, correctly numbered and in the correct order.
• Tables of contents, etc. are present and correct.
• All Figures and Tables are present, inserted in the correct place, have an appropriate title and legend where necessary, and are in final form and appropriately numbered.
• A minimum font size of not less than 9 is suggested after insertion of a Figure into the main text of the thesis.
• The text has been carefully checked to remove typographical, spelling and grammatical errors. As complete elimination is very difficult, insertion of a few corrections at a later stage is usually allowed, although please be advised more than one error per page is not considered acceptable.
• The bibliography is presented in an acceptable format, your supervisor should be able to advise you further.
• References are cited accurately, and every reference cited in the text is given in the bibliography and vice-versa.
• All pages are present and correctly numbered and located.
• You have correctly set out subject-specific aspects such as statistical analyses, formulae or quotations.

Advisory note You may wish to retain the services of a proof reader or editor to assist you in completing a draft of your thesis. A thesis presented for examination in an incomplete or poor form could result in the examiners being unable to assess the academic work properly.

Format of the Thesis or Portfolio The approved format of your thesis or portfolio is as follows:

• The typeface should be clear and easy to read.
• For the main text, double or one-and-a-half line-spacing.
• For indented quotations or footnotes, single line-spacing.
• The left-hand-side should be 4cm.
• The top and bottom margins should be 2.5cm deep.
• The right hand margin should be 2cm.
• Pages should be numbered consecutively through the main text, excluding photographs and/or diagrams which are not embodied in the text.
• Page numbers should be located centrally at the top of the page.
• Any photographs or diagrams not included in the text must be indexed separately by reference to the page which follows it.

Title Page The title page should include:

• the full title of the thesis and the sub-title if any;
• the full name of the author;
• the qualification aimed for;
• the name of the University of Sussex;
• the month and year of submission.

Table of Contents A table of contents should be included in the thesis and should list in sequence with the page numbers all relevant sub-divisions of the thesis including;

• the titles of chapters;
• sections and paragraphs as appropriate;
• the bibliography;
• the list of abbreviations and other functional parts of the thesis,
• any appendices and the index (if provided).

Drawings, maps and similar documents should preferably be included with the text, but may, if necessary, be submitted in a separate volume lettered in similar fashion to the text.

Bibliography A composite bibliography should be presented at the end of the thesis after the main text and before any appendices. Individual bibliographies for sub-divisions of the thesis should not be employed.

The composite bibliography should be;

• either numbered consecutively, as far as possible, in the same order as references appear in the text, with numbers only in the text;
• or be placed in alphabetical order of authors, sub-divided chronologically by year of publication, with authors' names and years of publications in the text.
• In the latter case publications in the same year by the same author(s) should be distinguished in the bibliography and the text by letters in alphabetical sequence (e.g. 1979a, 1979b).
• Referencing system: please use the referencing system most prevalent in your discipline. The same referencing system should be used throughout the thesis.

Acknowledgements In the introduction to your thesis, you should set out the sources of your information, such as particular libraries, archives, organisational records, private papers and department files.

You should also set out the plan of your research procedures, indicating what general categories of persons you interviewed and you should indicate any special conditions of access to information.

Statement Your thesis or portfolio must include a signed declaration bound into the thesis or portfolio after the title page which states:

• the thesis or portfolio, whether in the same or different form, has not been previously submitted to this or any other University for a degree, unless you are re-submitting the thesis or portfolio for re-examination.
• To what extent any material has already been submitted as part of required coursework, at any university and any award obtained as a result.
• The sources from which the information has been derived and, if any part of the thesis or portfolio results from joint work with other persons. If so, the extent to which the thesis or portfolio has drawn on the work of those others and the portion of the thesis or portfolio which you claim to be your own original work.
• in the case of the papers-style thesis, the declaration must state the candidate's contribution to each paper.

Examples of standard statements

Example 1: Work submitted elsewhere for examination

I hereby declare that this thesis has not been and will not be, submitted in whole or in part to another University for the award of any other degree. However, the thesis incorporates to the extent indicated below, material already submitted as part of required coursework and/or for the degree of:

...................................................................................................................................................

In ...................................................................................................................................... (subject)

which was awarded by...........................................................................................................(institution)

Signature:..................................................................................................................................

Example 2: Work not submitted elsewhere for examination

I hereby declare that this thesis has not been and will not be, submitted in whole or in part to another University for the award of any other degree.

Signature:………………………………………

It is an offence for any student to be guilty of, or party to, collusion, plagiarism or any other form of misconduct in an examination or work which is submitted for assessment. It is also an offence to commit any form of misconduct during the course of your research. The main types of misconduct are defined as follows:

Plagiarism is the use, without acknowledgement, of the intellectual work of other people, and the act of representing the ideas or discoveries of another as one’s own in written work submitted for assessment. To copy sentences, phrases or even striking expressions without acknowledgement of the source (either by inadequate citation or failure to indicate verbatim quotations), is plagiarism; to paraphrase without acknowledgement is likewise plagiarism. Where such copying or paraphrase has occurred the mere mention of the source in the bibliography shall not be deemed sufficient acknowledgement; each such instance must be referred specifically to its source. Verbatim quotations must be either in inverted commas, or indented, and directly acknowledged. 

Deliberate deception, usually involving the invention of data or the fabrication of results or observations. It does not include unintentional error or professional differences in interpretation or judgement of data. 

Collusion is the preparation or production of work for assessment jointly with another person or persons unless explicitly permitted. An act of collusion is understood to encompass those who actively assist others as well as those who derive benefit from others’ work. Where joint preparation is permitted but joint production is not, the submitted work must be produced solely by the candidate making the submission. Where joint production or joint preparation and production of work for assessment is specifically permitted, this will be stated explicitly in the relevant course documentation. This does not preclude collaborative working arrangements (e.g. experimental research in laboratories) where this is permitted by the School; however, the student is required to acknowledge in the thesis where the results of collaborative work are presented and outline the contributions made by each party. 

Interference

Intentional damage to, or removal of, the research-related property of another.

Non-compliance with requirements governing research

Intentional non-compliance with the terms and conditions governing the award of external funding for research or with the University’s policies and procedures relating to research, including accounting requirements, ethics, and health and safety regulations. At the time you submit your thesis, you will be asked to sign a statement to confirm that you understand the definition of plagiarism and that the sources used in your thesis have been fully acknowledged. Allegations or complaints of misconduct committed by Doctoral Researchers will be investigated by the appropriate authority, depending on the timing and nature of the allegation. Where a Doctoral Researcher is found guilty of misconduct, a range of penalties may be applied, up to and including disqualification from eligibility for the award for the most serious offences. The detailed procedures for the consideration of misconduct by Doctoral Researchers, or others, engaged in research can be accessed at: www.sussex.ac.uk/staff/research/rqi/policy/research-policy .

Turnitin for doctoral researchers

Turnitin, the text-matching service can be accessed via the online learning portal ‘Canvas’, at https://canvas.sussex. ac.uk/courses/6596 . Turnitin enables you to check the text in chapters or sections of your thesis or research reports, to ensure that material from other sources have all been identified and referenced. Turnitin does this by comparing your submitted text with its enormous database of digital text from journals, books, conference proceedings, web pages, and archived student papers. You then have a confidential and detailed report on text similarities, which you can use to identify material taken from other sources. The site also provides links to helpful resources such as copyright and referencing information and guidance for researchers. Where examiners or internal assessors of your work request so, an electronic copy of your thesis will be requested to be submitted through Turnitin. The resulting originality report will be shared with you and all involved.

Schools will ensure that students are offered support in preparation for the viva (for example participation at a suitable workshop, offer of a mock viva or reference to relevant written guidance materials).

Your principal source of support in preparation for the viva should be your main supervisor, though input from others involved in your supervision is also encouraged.

The opportunity to present and defend academic work should take place regularly and form part of the Progression Review.

Centrally-run workshops on preparation for the viva are available to all students. Details can be found on the Doctoral School website.

The examination process

See below for details of the examination process.

Your examiners will be guided by the assessment criteria outlined on the information for examiners webpage.

They will also take into account the doctoral-level qualification descriptors produced by the Quality Assurance Agency, which specify the standards and characteristics expected of those awarded doctoral-level qualifications.

Your thesis will be examined by at least one examiner, unless you are a member of Sussex staff when you would normally be examined by two external examiners. One copy of your thesis or portfolio will be sent by the Research Student Administration Office to each of your examiners and the remaining copy will be kept in the Research Student Administration Office.

As part of the examination process you will be required to attend a viva voce examination in defence of your thesis or portfolio. The internal examiner will contact both you and the external examiner to arrange a mutually convenient time to hold the viva voce examination. Please note that if you refuse to agree a time, or if you do not attend at the agreed time, you risk failure of the examination and the examiners will have the right to go ahead and conduct the examination and make a recommendation to the Examination Board, on the basis of the evidence before them, i.e. the thesis alone.

Your supervisor, with your agreement, may be invited by the examiners to attend your viva voce examination. If a supervisor does attend a viva voce examination they should only contribute to the discussion if directly addressed by the examiners.

If anyone additional attends at a viva voce examination as an observer this must be approved by the Director of Doctoral Studies of your School and on the condition that they play no part in the examination. Your consent must be obtained, and the rationale for the additional person attending must be clearly explained to you in advance, and confirmed at the outset of the viva.

Where it is School or departmental level policy, or where there are particular circumstances that warrant it, an independent chair may be employed at your viva voce examination. Where this is the case, you will be notified in advance.

The examination is normally held approximately two to three months after the time of submission of your thesis. If you will be unavailable to attend the viva voce examination for any period of time you should inform the Research Student Administration Office at the time of submission.

If you are unable to attend your viva voce examination due to illness, you should inform the internal examiner and the Research Student Administration Office as soon as possible in order that an alternative date may be arranged.

The viva may be conducted remotely via Skype or videoconference. These arrangements must be approved by the Research Degrees Examination Board well in advance. Contact the Research Student Administration Office for details.

Please note that you may not make contact with your examiners at any time other than to arrange the viva date as this may result in the examination being invalidated. Any contact, if necessary, should be made via your supervisors.

Basis of assessment

In order to decide whether you have met the required standard for the degree for which you are being examined, your examiners will be guided by the assessment criteria for your degree. They will also take into account the doctoral-level qualification descriptors produced by the Quality Assurance Agency, which specify standards and characteristics that are expected of those who are awarded doctoral-level qualifications. See the information for examiners for further details.

The role of the Research Degrees Examination Board

The role of the Research Degrees Examination Board is to formally appoint examiners on behalf of Senate and to consider the recommendations made by those examiners on the outcome of the doctoral examination. The Research Degrees Examination Board will then make a recommendation to Senate on the award of the degree, and the Research Student Administration Office will communicate the result to the Doctoral Researcher.

Most of the work of the Research Degrees Examination Board is carried out by the three ‘specialist members’, who are appointed by Doctoral Studies Committee for a three-year term, and who must have experience of graduate work at research degree level in the humanities, social sciences or science or engineering. The Exam Board Chair has discretion to call a meeting of the full Research Degrees Examination Board to consider any cases where the recommendation of the examiners, following the viva, does not appear to be straightforward.

The Research Degrees Examination Board becomes involved with a Doctoral Researcher’s progress at various points during the examination process:

• at the time of the appointment of examiners (at least two months before the thesis is submitted)
• when they have received the individual and joint reports of the internal and external examiners for consideration of the recommended outcome (several weeks after the viva)
• when they recommend the award of the degree to Senate (after all corrections requested by the examiners have been made to the thesis and approved by the examiners).

Examination outcome categories

The outcome of the examination is based both on the quality of the submitted thesis and the candidate’s performance in the viva. The examiners will recommend one of the following outcomes to the Research Degrees Examination Board:

The thesis is of doctoral quality and may be awarded the degree of Doctor of Philosophy unconditionally. A very small number of minor typographical errors, which can be corrected immediately but do not require checking by the examiners, are permitted.

The thesis is of doctoral quality and will pass pending the completion of minor corrections. This category allows for a period of up to three months during which the candidate may undertake the following types of minor corrections: spelling/typing errors, textual errors, reordering of material, correction of citations, and correction of figures, tables and diagrams, and the addition of a small number of paragraphs for clarification or qualification.

The thesis is of doctoral quality and will pass pending the completion of a number of more substantial corrections. This category allows for a period of up to six months during which the candidate may undertake the following types of corrections in addition to those specified in category 2: more substantial addition of paragraphs, including the incorporation of some new material, reordering and restructuring of chapters, or some additional data analyses.

The thesis is not of doctoral standard but may be resubmitted for examination for the award of Doctor of Philosophy. This category allows for a period of up to 12 months during which the candidate is required to thoroughly revise their thesis for resubmission, using the guidance set out in the examiners’ joint report. Fees are payable for this additional year.

The thesis is not of doctoral standard and may not be resubmitted for the award of PhD, but the MPhil may be awarded according to one of the three pass categories above, the corrections to be approved by the examiners.

The candidate be failed and not be permitted to revise and re-submit the thesis for examination.

Pass subject to minor corrections, or corrections

If your thesis or portfolio is referred for corrections only, you must return your corrected thesis to the Research Student Administration Office who will seek approval from your examiners. The corrected thesis must be accompanied by a cover-note to examiners, listing the location and detail of all changes made to the thesis.

In exceptional circumstances it is possible to apply for an extension of up to one month (minor corrections) or three months (corrections) through the Research Student Administration Office. You will not be required to re-register whilst under minor corrections or corrections.

Revision and re-submission of a thesis or portfolio

If you have not met the standard required for the award at the first attempt you will be required by the Examination Board to revise and resubmit your thesis or portfolio for re-examination within one year. The Research Student Administration Office will write to you to inform you of the recommended revisions and of the date by which your thesis or portfolio must be resubmitted. In exceptional circumstances it is possible to apply for an extension of up to six months through the Research Student Administration Office, with registration fees applying.

You will be asked to confirm your acceptance of the decision of the Examination Board of revision and resubmission and pay any appropriate fees. You should consult your supervisor regarding the recommended revisions but you must not communicate with the examiners during the period of revision. Your revised thesis must be submitted to the Research Student Administration Office who will arrange for a second examination.

Once you have resubmitted your thesis for re-examination, you will not be able to revert to the original offer made by the Examination Board following your original examination.

Unsuccessful candidates

If you are unsuccessful in your examination, the University will retain one copy of the thesis which shall become the property of the University.

Return of theses

On request, the Research Student Administration Office will return copies of your thesis to you:

• by recorded delivery, if you live in the United Kingdom
• by registered surface mail or by insured mail (if you live outside the United Kingdom)
• or you may collect your thesis in person from the Research Student Administration Office.

Please note that the Research Student Administration Office are unable to take responsibility for the safe delivery of theses by post, we would be happy to make alternative arrangements for you but they would be at your own expense.

As a precaution we advise you to retain a copy of any work submitted for examination.

Submission of the final version of the thesis

On successful completion of the examination process you must submit an electronic copy of your thesis. You must not change the thesis title at this stage unless your joint examiners’ report has specifically requested a change.

IT Services have several electronic guides that relate to creating and managing PDFs .

The electronic version of your thesis will be uploaded into the institutional repository, Sussex Research Online, where it will be available for download via open access.

Third party copyright and confidential sources

Before submitting the hard and electronic copies of your thesis, you should check that you are able to use any third party material e.g. photographs, images, diagrams, maps and long extracts from other works.

While you are permitted to use third party material in a thesis for the purposes of examination, you do not automatically have permission to make these materials freely available online. Under copyright law, making a thesis available online is considered a form of ‘publishing’ as it makes the work available to the public. Every attempt should be made, at the earliest opportunity, to gain permission from the rights holder to include such material. All permission should be obtained in writing and an electronic copy of the correspondence should be submitted along with the electronic copy of your thesis.

Further information on third party copyright permissions, including what to do if permission is not granted, is available from the Library website .

The following is intended to illustrate the kinds of material, which may be termed confidential sources, and to offer guidance on the problems which such material presents.

The nature of confidential sources

The following are examples of sources of confidential information which may be encountered by Doctoral Researchers:

• information from documents or files which were produced under the authority of a public agency or Government department, and made available by private agencies, such as firms, or individuals, with or without conditions
• information from letters written by individuals in a public or private capacity which have not been published or available in a public archive for more than one hundred years
• information from interviews with individuals about the activities and/or personnel of public or private organisations.

Any material which is protected by copyright should also be considered to determine whether it is also confidential.

In the course of their research, Doctoral Researchers may obtain information from confidential sources, and then face decisions about how to take account of the information, and how to clear it for publication. The problems should not be put aside until the thesis has been written. It is important to realise that a thesis is legally considered to have been published as soon as it is made available to anyone at all, and therefore it cannot be written as a private document.

Treatment of confidential sources

Given that a thesis is a publication it cannot, without permission, include quotations from, or citations of, documents or letters or oral statements which are confidential. Doctoral Researchers who have obtained confidential information should proceed as follows:

• Every effort should be made to find published sources which make points or substantiate data which have been encountered in confidential sources.
• Some institutions allow a researcher to consult records on condition that manuscripts of any material intended for publication are submitted to them for approval prior to publication; in such cases, copies of the letter stating conditions of access and signifying approval of the thesis manuscript should be included when the thesis is submitted for examination.
• Doctoral Researchers may be given documents or letters held by a private individual who is an employee, or former employee, of some public or private institution. If Doctoral Researchers wish to quote from or cite documents or letters belonging to such private collectors, they should obtain written permission from the originators of the letters or documents, whether personal or institutional.
• In many cases, the amount of confidential material which Doctoral Researchers will obtain in the course of their research can be dealt with simply, but if students intend to base their theses to a large extent on such sources, then they should discuss this matter carefully with their supervisor at the outset of their studies and continue to review outstanding copyright matters on an annual basis as their thesis progresses, keeping a record of any actions that need to be taken prior to submission.
• The Researcher Development Programme includes regular copyright workshops run by the Library which are specifically intended to assist Doctoral Researchers by raising awareness and understanding of the copyright issues involved in e-theses submission. Details are available via the Doctoral School website.

Access to theses and embargo arrangements

When a thesis is submitted, it is subject to the following arrangements:

• it is made available for use in the electronic University Repository, Sussex Research Online
• it is automatically uploaded to the British Library ‘EThOS’ service and hence becomes publicly available for download subject to the acceptance of the EThOS End User Licence Agreement
• details of the thesis, sometimes including abstracts, are sent to various national, international and subject bodies, and to bibliographies.

There may be valid reasons for restricting access to your thesis. Usually this will be for a limited period. Below are some common reasons why you may need to restrict access to your thesis:

• you have an agreement with a publisher to publish all or part of your thesis
• your thesis contains commercially sensitive information that may prejudice the commercial interests of another person or company
• your thesis contains material that was obtained under a promise of confidentiality
• your thesis contains sensitive material about an individual or individuals that may endanger their physical or mental well-being

All requests for an embargo should be discussed in the first instance with your supervisor who will advise you on how to proceed. Access may, with the approval of the Director of Doctoral Studies, be restricted for a period of up to three years via the thesis embargo form available on the Research Student Administration website.

If your thesis contains material for which you do not have cleared copyright, you may remove that material to a separate volume which will be permanently embargoed. In such cases you will need to submit one hard bound copy of your thesis which will be placed in the University Library for consultation by scholars but not on public access. However you must make every effort to obtain copyright during the preparation of your thesis.

You will be asked to complete an end-of-programme evaluation form following your submission which will provide an opportunity for feedback to the Doctoral School on the working of your examination process, as well as some overall reflections on your experience as a Doctoral Researcher during your time at Sussex.

All Doctoral Researchers are encouraged to complete the national Postgraduate Research Student Experience Survey. This survey is the primary way in which the University reflects on and makes changes to its Doctoral Researcher offer. The survey contains questions about supervision, research culture, resources and expectations and will be publicised by email direct to all Doctoral Researchers.

Graduation ceremonies are currently held in January and July. You will be sent details of the next appropriate ceremony based on the expected date of your viva.

Please note there is no guarantee that you will have completed in time to be eligible to graduate at the ceremony you have been sent the details for, as the process of submitting, examining and correcting your thesis typically takes several months.

In order to graduate, you must have no outstanding academic commitments or fees. If you are asked by your examiners to make corrections to your thesis after your viva, these corrections must be completed and approved by the Research Degrees Examination Board before you will be eligible to graduate.

See Sussex' s Graduation pages for more details about your ceremony.

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Thesis word count and format

Three months ago you considered whether you required a restriction to the access of your thesis, and you submitted your ‘Approval of Research Degree Thesis Title’ form. You’ve now finished writing up your thesis and it’s time to submit. We require your thesis to be presented and formatted in a certain way, so it’s important you read through the requirements below, before submitting your thesis. Find out more about thesis submission policy  (.pdf)

The completed thesis should be saved in PDF format. Once saved, please review the file to ensure all pages are displayed correctly.

Page layout

• Double line spacing should be used for everything except quotations, footnotes, captions to plates etc.
• It is desirable to leave 2.5cm margins at the top and bottom of the page.
• The best position for the page number is at the top right 1.3cm below the top edge.
• The fonts of Arial or Times New Roman should be used throughout the main body of the thesis, in the size of no less than 12 and no greater than 14

Illustrations (Graphs, diagrams, plates, computer printout etc.)

Illustrations embedded within the thesis should be formatted, numbered and titled accordingly:

a) Illustration upright - Caption at the bottom, Illustration number immediately above the

Illustration.

b) Illustration sideways - Caption at right-hand side with Illustration number above it.

Numbers for graphs, diagrams and maps are best located in the bottom right hand corner.

For further advice, please consult your supervisor.

Word counts

The following word counts are the maximum permitted for each level of award*:

What's excluded from the word count

*In all cases above, the word count includes quotations but excludes appendices, tables (including tables of contents), figures, abstract, references, acknowledgements, bibliography and footnotes (as long as the latter do not contain substantive argument). Please note these are word limits, not targets.

Specific requirements

For degrees which involve Practice as Research (PaR), no less than 50% of the research output should be the written thesis. The written thesis for PaR degrees may be comprised of a range of written elements including, but not limited to, a critical review, a portfolio, and/or a statement on theoretical discourse or methodology.

**In cases of practice-based PhD’s or MPhil’s these suggested word counts may be different. It is normally expected that the written component would comprise no less than 50% of the overall output.

Each copy of the thesis should contain a summary or abstract not exceeding 300 words.

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MPhil Thesis Secularism In India

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This Thesis entitled ‘Secularism in India: A Historical Analysis’ is an analytical account of the historical genesis, development, impact, understanding, and challenges of secularism in the Indian context. This thesis is a study of the various philosophical, economical, political, social, and cultural dimensions of the history of secularism in India.

‘Secularism’ refers to the ideology that facilitates practice without reference to religion of any kind. The title ‘Secularism in India’ points to the geographical limitations of this Thesis to India. ‘A Historical Analysis’ indicates that secularism in India will be studied with reference to its past and present in India keeping within perspective its future in the light of its historical analysis.

Secularism first appeared in the West in the classical philosophy and politics of ancient Greece. It disappeared for a time after the fall of Greece but resurfaced after a millennium and half in the Renaissance and the Reformation. The Renaissance revival of classical Greek art and culture and the Reformation insistence on the separation of the state from the Catholic Church, eventually led to the development of secularism and the rise of the modern secular state.

As the grip of religion loosened and the autonomy of reason grew in human areas, ideas of freedom, equality, nationalism, and democracy developed. As a result, revolutions broke in at several places. The declaration of the non-involvement of the state in private religious matters, in the first amendment of the American Constitution, displays how far secularism had developed in the West to at last find place in politics. Locke’s theory of natural rights, Montesque’s notion of the separation of powers and the de-centralisation of power, and Rousseau’s Social Contract theory played a major role in the intellectual development that led to the French revolution. The transition of society from its traditional form to its modern secularist form can be accounted as follows.

Firstly, religious plurality and the need for religious freedom necessitate a secular state. Secondly, scientific progress has made the theory of divine king or religious politics outdated and barbaric in the modern age. Thirdly, it can be seen that Humanism has taken the place of religion in politics and Individualism has taken the place of traditional authority in society. Finally, Democracy and Constitutional system from the Enlightenment, based on the concept of human rights, have provided valuable checks that ensure that the state does not fall back to despotism and religious warfare.

In India, the absence of the transcendent in Charvaka might be reason for its also being called as Lokayata-darsana , meaning philosophical school ‘restricted to the experienced world,’ or ‘secular.’

The religious policies of Ashoka were some of the closest to the modern principles of humanism. Ashoka gave great importance to the ideal of tolerance towards different ideologies and religions. Akbar’s religious policy towards the Hindus was in such a time when religious intolerance was on high and Muslim rule over Hindus was more often of an oppressive kind. Earlier on, only the Muslims were treated as citizens. But Akbar gave equal citizenship status to both Hindus and Muslims.

Western secularism found its way into India through the Colonialist Rule. The unification of the nation by the British facilitated the easy spread of modern and secularist ideas in the land. The laws that they enacted were in conformity to the rationality and secularity of modernity as well as those that prompted religious tolerance.

In the Colonial Period, Missions played an important role in both the ideological and political development of secularism in India. Their ideological impact in the field of religion came in through their emphasis on rationality of religion and condemnation of superstition. Education played an important role in bringing out this ideological change.

Raja Ram Mohan Roy, Sir Syed Ahmad Khan, Rabindranath Tagore, Mahatma Gandhi, and B.R. Ambedkar were some of the many Indians who contributed towards the spread of  secularism in the various fields of Indian society.

Religion and secularism played important roles during the Independence Struggle. The final part of the Independence Struggle became greatly associated with symbols; songs and odes on India’s glory were composed and sung, foreign goods were boycotted, and Western clothes cast aside for local dress.

Evangelical Christians in Britain strongly backed the national movement for independence in India. Among Indians, the overall concern was for the people of India as a nation; there was never a thought in terms of which religion one belonged to. In other words, the concern was secular; therefore, the movement was also secular. Here could be seen the beginnings of a secular form of nationalism in India. However, this secular form of nationalism soon began to foster racial overtones. While evangelical support had a positive impact on the national movement, the actions of the British in India had a very negative impact on the development of the national movement.

The period of 1905 and 1919 also saw the rise of Hindu revivalism, culturalism, and religious politics that opposed the Secular Nationalism of the Indian National Congress. However, after 1919, it was the October Revolution of Russia and Lenin’s socialistic principles that began to influence Indian nationalism. The Russian Revolution of 1917 contributed greatly to the fall of the tide of religious nationalism and communalism in India, which would otherwise have proved fatal to the existence of secularism in India. The protection of the rights of the religious minority, especially the Muslims, was a burning issue in the final phase of the Independence Struggle, eventually ending up in the partition and formation of Pakistan at Independence.

The Constitution of India that followed its independence was, obviously, highly influenced by the Constitutions of both America and Great Britain.  The words ‘Sovereign, Socialist ‘Secular’ Democratic Republic’ were substituted for the words ‘Sovereign Democratic Republic’ of the Preamble by the 42 nd amendment of the Constitution in 1976. It did not mean that the State was declared irreligious or godless. It meant that the State was neutral towards religion. Secularism, however, had to accord with the peaceful maintenance of Human rights

There were bills and acts in relation to religious conversion even before the independence. Instances are the Raigarh State Conversion Act of 1936 and the Udaipur State Conversion Act of 1946. These laws aimed at eliminating the rural and tribal rights of freedom to conscience and religion. After independence, there have been at least five states (Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Arunachal Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Gujarat) that have enacted laws to either curtail or cease conversions.

The opposition of conversion is, evidently, an attempt to destroy the citizen’s right to freedom of religion and desecularize Indian society. Though it is known that this attempt is futile in this globally connected world of information explosion, yet many of the Sangh activists are actively busy in trying to stop conversions, reconvert non-Hindus to Hinduism, and make India a Hindu nation. Such communal or anti-communal activities need to be checked for secularism to survive in India.

Democratic government, secular education, written constitution, free press, single families, and increasing globalisation are some reasons why secularism continues to survive in India.

The researcher believes that a proper orientation of education, a healthy criticism by the press and media, and promotion of inter-religious understanding can play important roles in the survival of secularism in India.  Thus, secularism will surely live on in India.

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