Master of Philosophy

The Master of Philosophy at Adelaide University is a research degree. You spend most of your two years on a single supervised project in philosophy, and you finish with a thesis rather than a set of coursework exams. It suits people who already have an honours degree or a strong bachelor degree in philosophy, or in a related field, and who want to work on one question in depth.

How the degree is structured

MPhil candidates work with a supervisory panel, usually a principal supervisor and at least one co-supervisor. You begin with a period of reading and scoping, then confirm your project through a formal proposal or confirmation process, then write the thesis. The thesis is examined by people outside your supervision team. Some candidates take a small amount of coursework or research training in the first year, particularly around research methods, ethics approval and academic writing, but the thesis is the main assessment. Because it is a research degree, there are no standard semesters or trimesters of lectures in the way a coursework master's has them. Your timeline is set with your supervisors, and you enrol full time or part time.

What you actually study

Philosophy at this level is not a survey of the discipline. You pick a problem and stay with it. That could be work in ethics, political philosophy, metaphysics, epistemology, logic, philosophy of mind, philosophy of science, or the history of philosophy. Your reading is driven by the argument you are making. You will write chapter drafts, present your work to other research students and staff, respond to criticism, and rewrite. The skills you build are the ones research demands: reading closely, constructing a clear argument, handling objections, using sources properly, and writing at length for an expert audience.

Adelaide and the Australian research setting

Adelaide has a long tradition of philosophy teaching and research, and the university sits within a national research community that includes conferences, seminars and cross-institutional collaboration. As an international student you can work up to 48 hours per fortnight while your course is in session. After you finish, the Temporary Graduate visa (subclass 485) post-study work stream may let you stay and work in Australia, though the rules depend on your circumstances and you should check them with the Department of Home Affairs. Tuition is listed on the CRICOS register under course code 116011M, and you should confirm fees, intake dates and English requirements on the official university page before you apply.

• PhD candidate or academic researcher in philosophy or a related discipline
• University tutor or sessional academic
• Policy analyst or researcher in government departments and public sector agencies
• Ethics officer or research ethics adviser in health, medical research and universities
• Writer, editor or researcher in publishing and media
• Analyst or consultant in organisations that need careful argument and clear writing
• Secondary or tertiary teacher, after the relevant teaching qualification