Research Degrees

The Degree of Master of Philosophy

The MPhil degree is awarded to candidates able to carry out research under supervision. Candidates are also required to demonstrate their command of practical and theoretical methods by a report in the form of a thesis.

The MPhil programme requires registration for two years and involves experimental or observational work generally completed under supervision. The project is written up as a thesis containing a literature review, description of methods, accounts of results, and a short discussion.

An MPhil degree will demonstrate possession of the skills necessary to carry out supervised research by the analysis of existing data or small original data sets, while a PhD will demonstrate the ability of the student to conduct original research and will be an independent and original study, using new and larger data sets, which advances the frontiers of knowledge in the subject area.

The Degree of Doctor of Philosophy

The PhD degree is awarded to candidates with the ability to carry out independent research, and the submission of a thesis containing an account of the successful original study of a scientific problem.

The PhD programme generally requires at least three years of study. In most cases, all research work is completed, and writing up the results in a thesis is commenced within three years of first registering. The thesis is read by an internal and external examiner, and the author is then subjected to formal oral examination.

The most obvious skill required by research students is self-motivation; research students often work in isolation, and they often need to draw from their own resources to see their work through.

The Degrees of MPhil and PhD are research degrees and are awarded after the examination of a candidate's thesis, produced following a period of research. While the majority of candidates pursue research degrees on a full-time basis, in certain circumstances it is possible to offer part-time schemes of study.

The usual period of registration for research degrees is summarised below:

	Full-time	Part-time
MPhil	2 years	3 years
PhD	3 years	5 years

In some instances, where the cndidate is particularly well prepared, the MPhil may be completed following a one-year period of registration. For PhD candidiates holding a relevant Master's degree, the period of registration may, exceptionally, be of two years' duration. This arrangement must be agreed by the Head of Department and Director of Studies before commencement of the research.

It is expected that PhD students at Bangor will produce and submit a thesis for examination within four years of commencing a three-year programme. Skill is therefore required in recognising non-viable areas which should be abandoned in order to pursue a more promising line of enquiry.

Increasingly, in order to equip MPhil and PhD candidates with the necessary research techniques, registration for a broadly-based one-year MSc advanced course is required. Such courses contain elements of research methodology, IT skills, bibliographic techniques, intellectual property and writing skills.

After satisfactory completion of this course,students may be transferred to the MPhil or PhD schemes; the effect of this may be to extend the total period registration for a PhD to four years, but much will depend on the aptitude of the student and the topic chosen for the PhD project.

Students usually register for research degrees at the beginning of the session. However, in certain circumstances, registration is permitted in either January or April.

SOS Research