Skip to content | Change text size
 

Master of Philosophy (M.Phil)

The Master of Philosophy (M. Phil) degree research/coursework option has replaced the former Master of Commerce (Honours) and Master of Economic (Honours) degrees.

The M.Phil involves a combination of course work and research training and is designed to extend the competence of candidates in their chosen discipline. The course offers a wide range of subjects and will provide the quantitative skills and expertise required to carry out various types of econometric and statistical analyses. Students acquire the skills necessary to undertake applied and/or theoretical projects and the ability to communicate the results of their work to wider audiences. Successful completion of the program will signify that the candidate has (i) completed an advanced course of post-graduate training and (ii) satisfied the examiners that they can successfully carry out a prescribed research project.

The normal period of candidature is 18 months full-time equivalent (or 72 credit points). The minimum and maximum period of candidature is 12 and 24 months full-time equivalent respectively. Masters candidates may be able to upgrade to doctoral candidature after 12 months, provided that satisfactory progress has been made and certain preconditions are met.

Further details of the Master of Philosophy degree can be found in the Postgraduate Handbook.

For information on Econometrics & Business Statistics Coursework Degrees see

Program of study

The Master of Philosophy can be undertaken through a combination of research and coursework, using either a 67 -- 33 per cent or a 92 -- 8 per cent weighting in which the research component is assessed via the production of a thesis.

The 67 per cent thesis option

Students must complete a total of five units chosen from the graduate level courses taught within the department, or graduate units taught by the Department of Accounting and Finance, and/or the Department of Economics. Of these five units at least three must be 5000-level units taught by the department, including the econometrics graduate seminar.  Candidates must also complete a minor thesis of approximately 25,000 words.  The thesis constitutes 67 per cent of the overall course assessment.

The 92 per cent thesis option

Students must complete one unit from the 5000-level units taught by the department. The unit to be taken should be related to the thesis topic. Candidates must also complete the econometrics graduate seminar. Candidates must complete a major thesis of approximately 50,000 words.  The thesis constitutes 92 per cent of the overall course assessment.

Details of the coursework requirements for the M.Phil can be found in the Postgraduate Handbook. See also EBS units for M.Phil for links to the Handbook entries for the 5000-level coursework units, special units, and special reading units taught within the department.

The Thesis

A member of the department will be appointed as the students project supervisor and candidates are required to write a thesis on a topic selected in consultation with their supervisor. In some instances students may have more than one supervisor, and the second supervisor may be from another department. While it is not necessary that an MPhil thesis should make a major contribution to the discipline by way of new knowledge (as a PhD would require), an MPhil thesis would be expected to exhibit the candidates understanding of an existing body of knowledge by applying, clarifying, critiquing and/or interpreting that knowledge.

Participation in departmental activities

All candidates are expected to participate fully in the intellectual and academic life of the department. To this end, candidates are required to discuss their progress with the supervisor at regular intervals (at least once a month) and to attend all departmental research seminars and  workshops.

Scholarships

A number of Commonwealth Government and Monash University scholarships are available to students undertaking postgraduate studies. For further information see our Postgraduate Scholarships page.