The MPhil in Asian and Middle Eastern Studies (Chinese Studies) is an intense one-year course primarily for students who intend to go on to do a PhD in Asian and Middle Eastern Studies (Chinese Studies) at the University of Cambridge or elsewhere. It is designed for highly motivated future researchers who have a substantial undergraduate background in Chinese Studies or related fields but need more exposure to topic-specific or discipline-based analytical frameworks and more intensive training in primary source language(s) and research skills.
Students admitted for the MPhil in Asian and Middle Eastern Studies (Chinese Studies) will have the option to choose from one of the following streams:
(1) Modern and Contemporary Chinese Studies or (2) Pre-Modern Chinese Studies.
With the consent of their supervisor and relevant teachers, students may be permitted to combine papers from options (1) and (2).
Students taking the MPhil in Asian and Middle Eastern Studies (Chinese Studies) choose three papers from either:
(1) Modern and Contemporary Chinese Studies:
REQUIRED: Asia in Theory - [Team taught; theoretical and methodological approaches]
Students then choose TWO optional papers from the following list:
Chinese Literature and Modernity - Topics in Modern Chinese History - The Anthropology of China - Chinese Linguistics - Advanced Readings in Chinese on a relevant subject [e.g., Qing and Republican historical documents, Modern literary texts, Chinese religions, etc] - Alternative Paper (to be arranged with specific instructors). [An "alternative paper" can be a paper taken from the pre-modern Chinese Studies stream or in another department or faculty (e.g., POLIS, History, Anthropology, Development Studies) in the student's area of research focus.]
or:
(2) Pre-Modern Chinese Studies:
For Pre-Modern Chinese Studies, students need to choose THREE of the following papers:
Classical and Literary Chinese Texts (received and excavated texts, manuscripts) - Early China, specified topic - Medieval China, specified topic - Asia in Theory [team-taught; theoretical and methodological approaches: with the supervisor's permission as the focus of this paper is on the modern period] - Imperial China [specified topic e.g. ritual and religion] - Alternative Paper (to be arranged with specific instructors). [An "alternative paper" can be a paper taken from the modern and contemporary Chinese Studies stream or in another department or faculty (e.g., History, Divinity, Anthropology, Development Studies, POLIS) in the student's area of research focus.]
Most papers are assessed by 5,000-word essays. Some advanced text papers are assessed through examination. Please note that not all papers will be available every year and are subject to modifications if necessary.
A 15,000-word dissertation will also be submitted, and an oral examination on it and the general field of knowledge within which it falls may be held.
Please note that papers are usually only offered if there are at least two takers. Modules offered vary according to the staff available each academic year and the interests of students. Additional papers may be introduced. Please consult your potential supervisor to discuss the options available.
The Educational Aims of the course are:
- To give students with a relevant undergraduate degree and sufficient subject-language ability training in research skills and methodologies in Asian and Middle Eastern Studies;
- To develop students’ expertise in relevant aspects of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies;
- To give students the opportunity to carry out focused research under close supervision
All applicants should submit, via the Applicant Portal, a workable and relevant research proposal and demonstrate that they have the required academic knowledge and skills to carry out their project.
Those students who are enrolled in an MPhil by Advanced Studies at the University of Cambridge and 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, i.e. English language requirement. The prospective PhD supervisor may also set additional criteria when deemed necessary (e.g., a particular grade for a particular paper or for the MPhil dissertation).
Admission is at the discretion of the Degree Committee, which judges each applicant on their own merits and in accordance with its own set of rules and regulations.
