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Postgraduate Study

Expected Academic Standard

Applicants for this course should have achieved a UK High II.i Honours Degree.

If your degree is not from the UK, please check International Qualifications to find the equivalent in your country.

Although admissions interviews are generally not held, an interview may be held prior to recommending an offer of admission in some cases.

By "comparative literatures and cultures", we do not mean the study of any or all literatures in English translation. Applicants must show evidence of advanced reading competency in the language of the material proposed for the student’s dissertation research, which must fall within the purview of one of the language sections of MMLL. (Prospective students are encouraged to look at the profiles of the Faculty members in the different language sections who might supervise their work.) In cases where one is not a native speaker of the target language, competency ordinarily must be demonstrated by a degree in a field related to ELAC from a university where instruction was conducted in the language in question, or by an undergraduate degree from another university where the student has taken advanced (i.e., final-year) coursework in a relevant field using the material in the target language. If such coursework is not indicated on the student’s academic record, the student should submit the results of a formal language assessment of reading proficiency at the time of application (Common European Framework, C1 or higher, or American Council for the Teaching of Foreign Languages, Advanced High or higher).  

Students sometimes have this competency in more than one MMLL language, but many students use the MPhil to work solely on primary material from one particular language (e.g. working on Russian primary material alone for all of their written work here).  It is sometimes possible to develop your knowledge of one of the dissertation MMLL languages whilst you’re here (e.g. via the University Language Centre), though it is not plausible to do so from scratch, as you will be busy with the core work of the MPhil.  

In addition to writing on the ELAC MPhil about the material in the languages covered by MMLL, you can also write about English language material (e.g. someone working on 19th-century literature in the second term might write an essay comparing Madame Bovary and Jane Eyre).  But students who wish to focus on texts written in English or translated into English will find relevant MPhils in the English Faculty.  It is possible on the ELAC programme to use conceptual and theoretical material in English translation.

University Minimum Academic Requirements


Language Requirement

IELTS (Academic)

Element Score
Listening 7.0
Writing 7.0
Reading 7.0
Speaking 7.0
Total 7.5

TOEFL Internet Score

Element Score
Listening 25
Writing 25
Reading 25
Speaking 25
Total 110

CAE

Score: Grade A & B (overall score of 193, with no element lower than 185 plus a Language Centre assessment)

CPE

Score: Grade A, B, or C (with at least 200 with no element lower than 185).


Visa Information

No ATAS required

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Key Information


9 months full-time

Master of Philosophy

Faculty of Modern and Medieval Languages and Linguistics

Course - related enquiries

Application - related enquiries

Course on Department Website

Dates and deadlines:

Michaelmas 2024

Applications open
Sept. 4, 2023
Application deadline
May 16, 2024
Course Starts
Oct. 1, 2024

Some courses can close early. See the Deadlines page for guidance on when to apply.

Course Funding Deadline
Jan. 4, 2024
Gates Cambridge US round only
Oct. 11, 2023

These deadlines apply to applications for courses starting in Michaelmas 2024, Lent 2025 and Easter 2025.


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