Politics (European Politics and Society) (Taught)

The information provided on this page was correct at the time of publication (November 2025). For complete and up-to-date information about this course, please visit the relevant University of Oxford course page via www.graduate.ox.ac.uk/ucas.

The MPhil in Politics (European Politics and Society) is an advanced graduate degree providing training in research techniques and methodology, enabling you to acquire substantive knowledge in this sub-area of the discipline.

The MPhil in Politics (European Politics and Society) is a standalone degree but it is also suitable for those intending to embark later upon doctoral research.

The MPhil is taught by a group of scholars who specialise in all aspects of European politics, including European integration, comparative European government, Europe’s external relations and the political systems of individual European countries.

The course will provide you with training and skills suitable for a wide range of careers, including academic, professional, commercial, diplomatic and governmental positions.

Course structure
As part of this course, students must complete core classes and tutorials, undertake a programme of research methods training, and write a thesis. Students are also expected to complete two specialist option papers.

The approach to teaching comprises intensive and interactive work between you and your supervisor and course teachers, combined with a carefully planned programme of classes, seminars and lectures, as well as directed self-study.

Many of the academic staff who teach and supervise on the programme also organise extracurricular research seminars for graduate students, such as the Comparative Political Economy seminar, the Politics Research Colloquium and the Politics and IR Research Colloquia which take place throughout term.

The Department of Politics and International Relations (DPIR) also hosts a wide range of research centres and programmes which actively seek to develop collaborative research activity via conferences, workshops and other academic events, and which include graduate students in their activities.

Research centres provide opportunities for you to present your own work in research seminar series and at conferences in the department and beyond. The research centres have an established and popular visitors’ programme which has allowed many scholars of international repute to participate in the DPIR’s research activities.