MA Res / MPhil / DPhil in Biography

Course outline

The cutting-edge Taught MA in Biography was founded in 1996, remains unique to Buckingham and is consistently rated ‘excellent’ by external examiners and inspectors. Since then, in response to student demand, the available options have been extended  to include postgraduate research degrees at three levels: MA by Research, MPhil or DPhil level. Study can be on either a full-time or a part-time basis.

Course structure

For their first year of study students on all these courses attend the same weekly seminars as students taking the Taught MA in Biography. These provide the critical awareness of the subject which is an essential prerequisite for dissertation work and they are one of the most distinctive and valuable elements of the MA. They take place as follows:

• Autobiography (September to December)
• Special Paper in Biography (January to June)
• Research Methods (January to June)

The modules on Biography and Autobiography are designed to combine the study of classic biographies and memoirs with contemporary writing. In addition, the Research Methods module provides an invaluable and innovative training, especially devised for biographers.

Guest seminars on the course are led by leading biographers, critics, publishers and agents. Teachers and speakers on the course have included Andrew Motion, Kathryn Hughes, Frances Wilson, Frances Spalding, Jeremy Lewis, Rupert Shortt, Caroline Dawnay, Andrew Lownie and  Miranda Seymour.

Research students are expected to produce, as a valuable preliminary to their own research project, written coursework for the Research  Methods module (an annotated bibliography and a short biography, with supporting material, produced according to the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography format), and one other piece of written work, but the full amount of termly written work required for the taught course is not compulsory. During the early part of the course, research students refine their research proposal under the individual supervision of the course director for eventual discussion with the Research Officer. Once the research proposal has been accepted students concentrate on individual research and the preparation of a dissertation, under the supervision of the course director.

Research support

One of the distinctive features of the programme is the value attached to the supervision which is provided for students working on dissertations. One-on-one supervisions are held every two or three weeks during term. While the dissertation must be the candidate’s independent work, it is the supervisor who offers advice on refining the topic (if necessary), on primary sources, on secondary reading, on research techniques and on writing the dissertation. Regular group discussions between research students at all degree levels (MA, MPhil and DPhil) allow the exchange of research experiences and mutual support.

Programme director

Professor Jane Ridley founded the Buckingham Biography MA in 1996. She is an Oxford-trained historian and biographer, and her publications include The Young Disraeli (1995) and The Architect and his Wife: A Life of Edwin Lutyens (2002), which won the Duff Cooper Prize. She has contributed widely to the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, and she is a regular reviewer for publications such as the Spectator, the Literary Review and the Times Literary Supplement. She is currently completing a biography of Edward VII, for which she was awarded a research fellowship by the Leverhulme Trust.

Location

Teaching takes place in central London, usually at a venue close to  Marylebone station.

Timescale

The normal periods of study for achieving these research degrees are as follows:

• MA Res– 1 year full-time or 2 years part-time
• MPhil – 2 years full-time or 4 years part-time
• DPhil – 3 years full-time or 6 years part-time

Assessment

These are degrees by research which require an original contribution to the body of knowledge in a particular academic or professional discipline.

Assessment is by dissertation as follows:

• MA: Dissertation of 25,000 – 40,000 words
• MPhil: Dissertation of 60,000 – 80,000 words
• DPhil: Dissertation of 80,000 – 100,000 words

All research degrees are regulated by the Research Committee and students are required to conform to guidelines laid down in the Research Degrees Handbook.

Administrative arrangements

A system of preliminary registration for all research degrees is in operation to allow students to prepare a formal proposal during the early part of their course. Admission to research degrees is normally on a provisional basis while the candidate, with the help of the supervisor, refines the proposal for the research, including developing a work plan and identifying the requirements for support and resources and how these will be met. Students for the MA degree in Biography by Research are registered initially for the taught MA until the research proposal has been accepted. Postgraduate students wishing to register for the DPhil programme in Biography must first register for the MPhil and seek conversion at a later stage. Registration is upgraded to DPhil, normally between 12 and 18 months from first registration, once the student has demonstrated through the submission of draft written work that he or she has the ability to conduct research at the advanced level required for the award of the degree. All research students must also subject their work to an annual progress review.

Changing the level of the research degree after the start of the course, although not impossible, can produce complications. Prospective students uncertain about the level or length of course best suited to them are strongly advised to discuss this with the course director before applying.

Costs

Details of tuition fees and methods of payment, including discounts for advance payment, can be found on our postgraduate tuition fees page. Students taking research degrees ( MA by research, MPhil or DPhil) are eligible to apply for the one Exhibition (worth £1000) available annually.