Asian and Middle Eastern Studies

Entry requirements

Applicants for this course should have achieved a UK Masters (Merit).

All applicants must have at least 67 per cent in a relevant language bachelor's degree from a UK university or its equivalent overseas. Those applicants interested in pursuing a PhD must already hold a master's qualification in the language which they intend to study, which should have been awarded with a score of at least 67 per cent from a UK university or its equivalent overseas.

Those students who wish to continue to the PhD programme at the Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies will be required to obtain at least 67 per cent overall in their MPhil by Advanced Studies degree and satisfy any pre-existing requirements also set by the Degree Committee, ie English language requirement.

The standard condition for continuation to a PhD for those students who have taken a FAMES MPhil degree by Research only, is a 'pass' and for both examiners to recommend that the student is suitable to continue to the PhD.

Months of entry

January, April, October

Course content

The PhD in Asian and Middle Eastern Studies is a three-year course consisting of individual supervisions and guided research. Students are given guidance in areas specific to their subject and in advanced research methods. In the Easter term of the first year, students submit a PhD progress examination, which usually consists of a critical essay and a general statement about progress to date and the likely course of their future research.

Further information about the following pathway options can be found on the Faculty's website:

• PhD in Asian and Middle Eastern Studies (Chinese Studies)
• PhD in Asian and Middle Eastern Studies (East Asian Studies)
• PhD in Asian and Middle Eastern Studies (Hebrew Studies)
• PhD in Asian and Middle Eastern Studies (Korean Studies)
• PhD in Asian and Middle Eastern Studies (Japanese Studies)
• PhD in Asian and Middle Eastern Studies (Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies)
• PhD in Asian and Middle Eastern Studies (Sanskrit and South Asian Studies)

Learning Outcomes

At the end of each PhD programme, students will be expected to have:

• acquired the ability to read, interpret and translate primary sources fluently into their subject area (both spoken and written);
• acquired an excellent knowledge of the general scholarship on their chosen research topic;
• acquired an in-depth and focused knowledge of the secondary literature relevant to the subject of their thesis;
• developed the ability to formulate original research questions and produce a well-constructed argument to answer them, in the form of an independent piece of research based on the use of primary and secondary sources; and
• developed advanced, independent library- and internet-based research skills concomitant with successful completion of a higher research degree.