Master of Philosophy
The prerequisites required for a Master of Philosophy make it the most advanced research degree after the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.). An M.Phil. is in most cases thesis-only, and is regarded as a senior or second Master's degree, standing between a taught Master's and a Ph.D. An M.Phil. may be awarded to graduate students, after completing several years of original research but before the defence of a dissertation, and can serve as a provisional enrollment for a Ph.D.
In the United States
Some American universities award the M.Phil. under certain circumstances. At those institutions (most notably Yale University, Columbia University, and the CUNY Graduate Center), the degree is awarded to Ph.D. candidates when they complete their required coursework and qualifying examinations prior to the completion and defense of a doctoral dissertation. This recognizes achievement beyond the Master of Arts and Master of Science degrees conferred after 1-2 years of graduate study and formalizes the more colloquial "All But Dissertation" status; as such, defense of a dissertation proposal is sometimes required for conferral.
Many Ph.D. candidates at these universities view the M.Phil. as a formality and elect not to receive it in order to avoid the paperwork and costs involved. However, some programs do not offer an en route M.A. or M.S., so the M.Phil. is the first opportunity to receive a degree between the bachelor's and Ph.D; others may elect not to take the nominally lower M.A. or M.S. degree in favor of the M.Phil. or the Ph.D itself. Some colleges and universities, such as the College of the Atlantic, the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Utah, offer a standalone M.Phil. degree in various fields.
In the United Kingdom
In most UK universities, completion of a M.Phil. typically requires two years of full-time study or four years or more of part-time study and the submission of a thesis comprising a body of original research undertaken by the candidate.
It is common for students admitted into a Ph.D. (or D.Phil.) program at a UK university to be initially registered for the degree of M.Phil., and then to transfer onto the Ph.D. upon successful completion of the first (or sometimes the second) year of study: this will often involve the submission of a short report or dissertation by the student, and possibly an oral examination or presentation. In addition, most universities allow examiners to recommend award of a M.Phil. if a Ph.D. candidate's thesis is deemed not to be of the requisite length or standard for a doctorate. However many students register for a M.Phil. with no intention of upgrading to a Ph.D., due to personal circumstances, due to their chosen research project having insufficient scope for a Ph.D or due to desiring to complete a slightly shorter qualification both in length and duration.
However, in some institutions, such as University College London and the University of Aberdeen, a clear set of requirements must be met for the award of a M.Phil, under which candidates are required to submit and defend a thesis against external and internal examiners, a process which may in itself take up to a year, and, as such, the award may be regarded as a mini-PhD.  For example, the degree of Master of Philosophy of the University of Aberdeen requires the submission of a thesis of up to 70,000 words plus a viva examination; this is a considerably larger piece of work than is required for the same qualification at other institutions.
Furthermore, at the University of Manchester, the candidate shall be required to attend an oral examination on the subject of the thesis and matters relevant thereto at the examiners’ discretion. The candidate may also be required by the examiners to undergo a written or other examination. The oral examination shall be attended by the candidate and the examiners and, if required, an independent chair. Each candidate shall be examined by two or more examiners of whom at least one shall be an external examiner.
Oxford & Cambridge Universities
At Oxford University, the M.Phil. is a usually two-year Master's degree, although some programs are one-year. The M.Phil. requires both a lengthy thesis and more examinations than a one-year Masters degree (such as M.Sc., M.St.).
Cambridge University offers the M.Phil. as a one-year Master's degree program. This is to distinguish it from the Oxbridge M.A. degree, to which B.A. graduates usually proceed after a certain period of time without any further study (a procedure which has been followed at the universities of Oxford, Cambridge and Dublin since the seventeenth century). The Cambridge M.Phil. can be either a taught degree or a research-based degree, depending on the course.
Ancient Scottish universities
The ancient Scottish universities, who for historical reasons award the Scottish M.A. degree upon completion of four-year first degree programs in arts and humanities subjects, differ in their use of M.Phil. or M.Litt. for postgraduate research degrees, but are slowly standardizing to the M.Phil. as a research degree and the M.Litt. as a taught degree.
In the Netherlands and Belgium
In the Netherlands and Belgium the M.Phil. is a special research degree and only awarded by selected departments of a university (mostly in the fields of Arts, Social Sciences, Archaeology, Philosophy and Theology). Admission to these programmes is highly selective and primarily aimed at those students opting for an academic career. After finishing these programs, students normally enroll for a Ph.D. program. The Dutch Department of Education, Culture and Science has decided not to recognize the MPhil degree. Accordingly, some Dutch universities have decided to continue to grant the MPhil degree but also offer a legally recognized degree such as MA or MSc to those who receive the MPhil degree.
In Norway, the degree of MPhil is a 'standard' Master's degree (120 ECTS credits) at a level equivalent to an MA or MSc. Upon completion, the MPhil qualifies for acceptance to a PhD program, but is most often taken as a stand-alone qualification. The MPhil is not a common degree in Norway; most universities award MA (in humanities or social sciences) or MSc (in technical and scientific subjects) degrees.
In Finland, the regular (first) Master's degree filosofian maisteri translates to "Master of Philosophy". However, the term "philosophy" is to be understood to the maximum extent, because this is the name of the basic Master's degree in all natural sciences and humanities. It does not imply a specialization in theoretical philosophy or even other than introductory studies. In fact, most of the students majoring in philosophy get a degree with a different name (Master of Sociology or Politics). These degrees are regular Master's degrees, not special "higher" degrees (cf. Licentiate and Doctor of Philosophy).
In Malaysia, the M.Phil. degree is not well known. There are only a handful of universities in Malaysia that offer M.Phil. program, such as Universiti Malaya, Wawasan Open University, University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus (UNMC), Monash University Sunway Campus (MUSC) and others. In most cases, M.Phil. is a pure research degree and from case to case basis, it will result in viva voce examination before the degree is awarded. For UNMC and MUSC, the Faculty of Engineering offer standalone M.Phil. degree which will lead the path to Ph.D. and normally regarded as a more prestigious Master degree than typical taught master degree such as M.Sc. or M.Eng.. In the case for University Malaya, if the desired field of research does not belong to any of the specialized faculties, it is normally categorized under the M.Phil. supervised by the Postgraduate Institute.
In November 2012, Malaysian Qualifications Agency has issued programme standards for postgraduate studies in which MPhil is attributed to Master programme by research and mixed mode (coursework and research).
- University of Cambridge Glossary of Awards
- De MPhil graad wordt niet meer verleend[dead link], Leiden University.
- Veelgestelde vragen Welke titel mag ik voeren? Dutch-Flemish Accreditation Organization.