Egyptology MPhil

**The information provided on this page was correct at the time of publication (November 2024). For complete and up-to-date information about this course, please visit the relevant University of Oxford course page via www.graduate.ox.ac.uk/ucas.**<br/><br/>The MPhil in Egyptology is a two-year taught graduate degree that offers a satisfying and tailored advanced course of study in the languages, cultures, and history of ancient Egypt. While the MPhil functions as a course in its own right, it is also designed to take students to the stage where they can embark on doctoral research in Egyptology.<br/><br/>The MPhil in Egyptology normally has two distinct paths through the curriculum. The first, Syllabus A, allows those with previous training in Egyptology to pursue their study of the subject to a higher level, to gain specialised expertise, and to begin advanced research in an area of their choice. The second, Syllabus B, enables graduates in another discipline to convert to Egyptology through a graduate level course that offers a certain amount of specialisation, including a significant element of advanced research. In both cases, syllabuses are tailored to the interests of individual students as much as possible and as far as planned teaching and supervising specialism allows.<br/><br/>The study of ancient Egyptian language and textual culture lies at the heart of the degree and is generally a major component of Syllabus A. The principal focus throughout both syllabuses is on detailed familiarity with the primary textual sources, studied in the original language and through the original manuscripts where possible, and with various methods and approaches. Use of a range of interpretive and analytical approaches to the primary sources is integral to the course, including, for example, historiographical and/or literary-critical frameworks; overall there is an emphasis on texts as artefacts in a material context.<br/><br/>The syllabuses can also be designed with an archaeological and/or material-culture focus where teaching allows. You will have the opportunity to develop your skills in working with Egyptian artefacts from the extensive and diverse collections of the Ashmolean Museum. Options that are regularly offered for Syllabus A students and second year Syllabus B students include: Art and iconography; Deir el-Medina, sources and analysis; Coptic language and texts; Demotic language and texts; Greco-Roman hieroglyphic texts; Hieratic texts; Egyptian literary and/or religious texts; Egyptian letters; aspects of material culture.<br/><br/>The MPhil is a very intensive course. For example, you must treat the University vacations as integral parts of your work time and you will be expected to take relatively limited holidays. Where possible, if you have not been to Egypt before you should ideally try to visit before the end of the course, to experience something of the landscape and country (some colleges offer travel grants). Currently, it is usually not possible to engage in fieldwork in Egypt, but there can be possibilities for fieldwork elsewhere.<br/><br/>The number of students accepted for the course each year is very small. This ensures that teaching can be tailored to the research interests and training requirements of individual students. Teaching is also very much focused around small groups and one-on-one tutorials and supervisions for which small cohorts are vital. In the first year of Syllabus B you will share Middle Egyptian language classes (three hours a week) and lectures on history and culture (two hours week) with first year undergraduates. Some other classes may also be shared with undergraduates and graduates on other degrees where appropriate for your research training needs. Depending on options, there are usually on average six to nine contact hours a week.