M.Phil.

Master of Philosophy

M.Phil. or Master of Philosophy is a Postgraduate Academic Research Degree Course. It studies about the nature of man and ideas in context to a certain field of study. Philosophy is a comprehensive system of ideas about human nature and the nature of the reality we live in. The duration of Master of Philosophy degree is 1-2 years involving many semesters. The Course is of 2 years duration if pursued Part-Time, like in Bharathidasan University. A pre-doctoral programme - Master of Philosophy (M.Phil.) is taken after completion of the Master's Degree. This can either be completely research based or can include course work as well. Master’s Degree in Philosophy is offered by various Indian Universities in a wide variety of subjects ranging from English, Mathematics, and Physics to Management. Master’s Degree Programs in Philosophy can also be pursued through distance learning programs which one can pursue at one's own flexibility. After completing Master of Philosophy through distance learning, one can continue further research through other doctoral programs. Some of the Institutes providing Distance Education in Philosophy are Alagappa University, Andhra University, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Open University, Tamil Nadu Open University etc.

Master of Philosophy Eligibility

• Aspiring candidates should have a Master's degree in science, arts or engineering. Candidates need to acquire 55% marks in the subject chosen for M.Phil. course or an allied subject at the postgraduate level to be considered eligible for the course. The percentage Norm may vary from Institute to Institute.
• A written test maybe conducted to assess the candidate’s knowledge. Those who qualify in the written test will be required to appear in an interview. Certain institute’s waiver entrance test if the candidate has qualified in NET, SET or equivalent national level examination.
• The admission procedure and mode of selection for admission to Master of Philosophy (M.Phil.) through distance learning however, may vary from one Institute to another. Some Institutes have specified added eligibility criteria for admitting candidates into their distance learning M.Phil. program.

Master of Philosophy Specialisations

• Biochemistry
• Prakrit
• Bioinformatics   
• Gujarati   
• Chinese & Japanese Studies
• Bioscience
• Guru Nanak Sikh Studies   
• Psychiatric Social Work
• Biotechnology
• Hindi
• Psychology

M.Phil. Regular (2 Years) Course Regulations - University of Calcutta

• Research findings for the M.Phil. degree for the concerned candidates may be extended in the thesis for the Ph.D. degree. However, the M.Phil. degree is not a prerequisite for admission to the Ph.D. degree. Candidates shall not however be allowed to pursue both the courses simultaneously.
• In case of a candidate qualified in NET, SET or equivalent national level examination exemption will be granted for the Entrance Test. A supervisor shall not have, at any given point of time, more than five (5) M.Phil. students.

Master of Philosophy Course Structure

• The candidates shall take up four out of many specified papers on advanced topics and on research methodology and submit a dissertation or undertake a project work.
• The 1st year of the course shall be devoted to course studies and at least one seminar to be delivered. The 2nd year of the course will be devoted for dissertation and term papers.
• After having admitted each M.Phil. student shall be required by the University to undertake course work for a minimum period of one semester of six months duration. The course work must include a course on research methodology which may include quantitative methods and computer applications. It may also involve reviewing of published research in the relevant field. The concerned Department shall decide the minimum qualifying requirement for allowing a student to proceed further with proceeding with the course.
• The courses shall be so designed that these not only enhance the capacity to take up research but also help the students for deeper understanding of the subject/field. A candidate shall deliver at least two seminars, for discussing new results and developments in his chosen subject/field.
• The number of lectures/seminars per course shall be not less than 25 units and the same for the whole programme shall be at least 100.
• Conventional lecturing shall be replaced as far as possible by seminars ensuring the students’ active participation. Presentation of papers and group discussions shall also be encouraged. Attendance less than 75% and/or unsatisfactory performance at the seminars etc. shall disqualify a candidate from further studies. V.C will take the final decision in the matter in consultation with the concerned in this regard.
• M.Phil. in Clinical Psychology to be conducted following RCI rule and be accepted as exception.

Examination and Evaluation

Performance of an M.Phil. student shall be evaluated on a continuous basis as prescribed by the M.Phil. committee. The total marks allotted to a course, distribution of marks in each course to different components of performance, such as through terms papers, review essays, oral presentation in seminars, viva-voce, etc., shall be spelt out at the beginning of the session by the concerned M.Phil. Committee.

The Scheme of examinations shall be as follows: -

• To pass, a candidate must obtain 50% marks in Part-I (in course work) & 50% marks in Part-II examination. Each successful candidate in Part-I examination is eligible for Part-II examination. Each successful candidate in both Part-I and Part-II shall be awarded the degree.
• Only those candidates who have prosecuted the course of studies in the Ist year and passed the Part-I examination with 50% marks may submit the Dissertation / Project Work assigned to him in term of the regulations, shall be eligible for admission to the Part-II examination and sit for final comprehensive /Viva-voce Examination. Eligible candidates shall apply in the prescribed form for admission to this examination together with an examination fee as to be fixed by the University from time to time. A student who has qualified in the Part-I examination shall be required to submit a dissertation before he appears at the final comprehensive viva-voce failing which his registration shall automatically stand canceled.
• Single examiner for course work and double examiners (one internal and one external examiner preferably from outside the home university) to assess the performance of the candidates at the viva voce examination as also to examine the dissertation/project work shall be appointed by the relevant P.G. Board of Studies on the recommendation of the M.Phil. Committee.
• Prior to the submission of the dissertation, a student shall deliver pre-M.Phil. presentation in the Department that may be opened to all faculty members and research students for getting feedback and comments, which may suitably have incorporated in the draft thesis with the advice of the supervisors.

Review

• A Candidate shall be eligible to apply for review for a maximum of two theoretical papers only provided he has appeared at the said examination and has obtained at least 50% marks in aggregate in the rest of the papers taken together in that examination. This shall not apply to a candidate who has partly appeared or has appeared in a supplementary examination.
• Candidates seeking review may apply to the University in a prescribed form along with requisite fees as may be fixed by the University within such date as may be notified by the University.
• In case marks awarded in a paper on review exceeds the original marks obtained by more than 15% of the total marks in the paper or falls 5% of the original marks in the paper, the script will be referred to a third examiner and the candidate will be awarded the average of the best two of the marks awarded by the two examiners.
• Change in marks shall not be given effect if said change leads to decline in result status and in such cases re-examination result shall be declared as “No Change”.

M.Phil. (1 Year) Course Regulations - Bharathidasan University

Entrance Test for Admission

The written test would comprise objective questions for 75 marks and the viva-voce examination would be conducted for 25 marks. The marks secured in written test and interview will be added to the marks obtained in the PG Degree Examinations and the rank list will be prepared accordingly.

Programme of Study

The M.Phil. candidates shall take 3 Courses:

(1) Research Methodology
(2) The second paper in the area related to the area of research as on support for pursing research (as elective).
(3) The third paper on Topic of Research. Besides these three courses, which are aimed to equip the candidates for pursuing research
(4) Fourth shall be offered on general skills required on teaching, learning process, such as
(i) computer application skills.
(ii) Communicative skills. 
(iii) Educational skills (Pedagogical skill including practical 4 training in teaching). 

For each course, 40% of marks would be allotted for the continuous internal evaluation and the remaining 60% would be allotted for the End Semester University Examination.

The following components shall be adopted for continuous internal evaluation/assessment

Final Examination (FE)

• The final examination for courses - I, II, III, & course – IV (Elective) shall be conducted at the end of the first semester (January/February) for full-time candidates and in the case of part-time candidates the final examination for course I, II, III, and course - IV shall be conducted in April/May completing a minimum of 10 months of classwork.
• Each course shall have 60 marks for the Final Examination and 40 marks for continuous Internal Assessment. The duration of each written examination shall be 3 hours.
• Question papers for the final examination of Courses - I to IV shall be set externally and valued by external examiners who will form the Board of Examiners to pass the results. A candidate shall be declared to have passed courses I, II, III and IV if he/she secures not less than 40% of the marks in the University Examination and 50% of the marks in the aggregate (i.e. continuous internal assessment and the written Examination taken together).
• Supplementary examinations for the theory courses shall be conducted depending upon the exigency.

Dissertation

• Candidates shall submit the dissertation to the University through the Supervisor and the Head of the Department/Principal not earlier than 5 months but within 6 months from the date of start of the second semester in the case of Fulltime program and not earlier than 10 months but within one year from the date of start of the second year, in the case of Part-time programme. If a candidate is not able to submit his/her dissertation within the period stated above, he/she shall be given an extension time of 4 months in the first instance and another 4 months in the second instance with penalty fees. It a candidate does not submit his/her dissertation even after the two extensions, his/her registration shall be treated as cancelled and he/she should re-register for the programme. However, the candidate need not write the theory papers again, if he/she has already passed these courses.
• The dissertation shall be valued by one external examiner, who is within the respective University area where the Supervisor is located and by the Research Supervisor for Maximum of 150 marks by each examiner and the average of the marks awarded by both the examiners shall be taken. The external examiner shall be selected from a panel of 3 experts suggested by the Research Supervisor and working within the respective University area of the Research Supervisor.
• However, the University may ask for another panel, if necessary. The viva-voce examination shall be conducted by both the external examiners and the Supervisor and evaluated for the maximum of 50 marks. The valuation of M.Phil. Dissertations and the viva-voce examination shall be carried outs on the same day at the place of the Research Supervisor (viva is to be conducted only if the student passes in the valuation of the dissertation). The mark should be sent to the Controller of examinations by the Research Supervisor.
• The dissertation shall ordinarily be written in English. However, the option of writing the dissertation in Tamil is given to the candidates at the time of assigning the candidates to the Supervisor, in mutual consultation with the Research Supervisor and the Scholar.

Viva-Voce Examination

• There shall be a viva-voce examination which shall be conducted by two examiners, one being the supervisor and the other who evaluated the dissertation. The maximum marks for the viva-voce examination shall be 50 (joint evaluation). A candidate shall be declared to have passed Part - II Examination if he secures not less than 50% of the marks prescribed for the dissertation and 50% of the marks prescribed for the viva-voce Examination.
• If the examiner who values the dissertation makes a qualified recommendation such as revision of the dissertation, the candidate shall be advised to revise the dissertation in the light of the suggestions made by the examiners and resubmit the dissertation, within a period of SIX months. A sum of Rs.1500/- shall be charged as a fee for Re-submission of a dissertation. The revised dissertation shall be sent to the same examiner who evaluated the dissertation in the first instance.

Classification of Successful Candidates

The candidates who passed written papers and dissertation in their first attempt shall be classified as follows:

Candidates who pass the programmed in more than one attempt shall be declared to have completed the programme under II Class.

Restriction in Number of Chances

• Full-Time Candidates - No candidate shall be permitted to appear for the written Examination in any course more than twice or to re-submit the dissertation or appear for the viva-voce examination more than twice. Resubmission of a dissertation shall be done with a penalty fee, within 6 months from the first of the month which follows the month in which the result of the first attempt is announced. The permitted attempts of semester-I & II Examinations shall be completed within a maximum period of 36 months from the first of the month which follows the month in which the registration was done.
• Part-Time Candidates - No candidate shall be permitted to appear for the written examination in any course more than twice or to re-submit the dissertation or appear for the viva-voce examination more than twice. Resubmission of a dissertation shall be done with a penalty fee, within 6 months from the first of the month which follows the month in which the result of the first attempt is announced. The permitted attempts of Part-I & II Examinations shall be completed within a maximum period of 48 months from the first of the month which follows the month in which the registration was done.

Master of Philosophy Course Suitability

• Master of Philosophy Degree is especially meant for academicians, interested in research or scholars willing to upgrade their knowledge after post-graduation in their field of interest. Accordingly, an increasing number of science graduates are undertaking a postgraduate research study to upgrade their practical qualifications.
• Those desirous of additional areas of employment in which practical and general scientific skills are useful one can pursue this degree.
• It is also meant for those who would like to acquire a certain level of analytical and applied skills but who are not keen on pursuing a Ph.D. degree. 

Master of Philosophy Colleges

• University of Delhi - DU, Delhi
• University of Calcutta, Kolkata
• University of Mumbai, Mumbai
• Bharathidasan University, Tiruchirappalli

How is M.Phil. Course Beneficial?

• The Master of Philosophy program aims to transform Post Graduates into Research Scholars.
• It is an integrated theory and practical course to carry out research and Prepare a research proposal.
• M.Phil. course is a pre-doctorate degree course which is mainly based on research. After finishing these programs, students can enroll for a Ph.D. program.

Master of Philosophy Employment Areas

• Consultancy
• Educational Institutes
• Human Services Industry
• Law Firms
• Magazines
• Newspapers
• Publishing Houses
• Research and Development Institutes

Master of Philosophy Job Types

• Consultant
• Social Service Worker
• Teacher & Lecturer
• Speaker
• Human Services Worker
• Editor
• Scientist
• Assistant Professor