Politics (Political Theory) (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 (Political Theory) 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 (Political Theory) is a standalone degree but it is also suitable for those intending to embark upon doctoral research in the future.

Many of the academic staff who teach and supervise on the programme also organise extracurricular research seminars for graduate students, such as the Oxford Political Thought Seminar and the Nuffield Political Theory Workshop, which takes 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.

Course structure
In your first-year you will complete core classes and tutorials, as well as compulsory research methods training. This is supplemented in the second year by two optional subjects and a thesis.

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.

Work on the thesis is individually supervised.