MPhil in Sociology and Demography

 
This MPhil introduces students to contemporary theories and research methods at the intersection of Sociology and Demography. The 21-month course prepares students for doctoral work in Sociology and Demography and for research-intense jobs.
 
Students are introduced to contemporary approaches to the study of population change and its consequences. These approaches explicitly join the macro approach of traditional demography with the multilevel, actor-oriented life course approach.
 
The MPhil curriculum emphasises: 
 
  • population-level analysis and demographic measures
  • the life course approach
  • sociological analysis as the key approach to explanation
  • advanced quantitative methods

The programme will be particularly interesting for students with undergraduate degrees in: Sociology, Human Sciences, PPE, Social Policy, Economics & Management, Social Statistics, Geography, Public Health, and general social science degrees with substantial methods training.

Successful students can either continue with a DPhil in Oxford (or doctoral studies elsewhere) or find placement in research-intensive occupations in the public sector (e.g., ONS and other national statistical offices, government departments and regional/local authorities), in international organisations, think tanks, and in private sector occupations in which quantitative skills are highly valued (consulting, market research, health research, social research, and insurance companies).

Structure

MPhil students take four compulsory Core Papers and two Optional Papers. They will also undertake a Replication Project and an MPhil thesis.

The Core Papers are:

  • Sociological Analysis, which develops intellectual skills in explaining social phenomena: identifying puzzles, developing theoretical explanations, and evaluating empirical evidence 
  • Demographic Analysis, which introduces students to current scientific debates on different components of population dynamics, and provides technical skills for computing demographic measures and models
  • Life Course Research, which introduces students to the theory and methodological approaches of life course research
  • Methods of Social Research, which introduces students to statistical methods and the research design process

Optional Papers and the thesis will reflect either a more specialised topical study (e.g., gender, family & fertility; migration & integration of migrants; health & mortality; intergenerational relationships) or methodological work.

Through choosing their Optional Papers and a related thesis topic, students can create their own specialised pathway during their degree, support by expert supervision and teaching.

Pathways

Example topics of focus and potential supervisors within the Department:

Crime and Governance Prof Federico Varese, Dr Heather Hamill, Prof David Kirk, Prof Leigh Payne, Dr Jonathan Lusthaus
Social Inequality Mr Colin Mills, Prof Richard Breen, Prof Nan Dirk De Graaf, Prof Christiaan Monden, Dr Lindsay Richards
Political Sociology Dr Michael Biggs, Prof Stephen Fisher, Prof Nan Dirk De Graaf, Dr Heather Hamill, Dr Lindsay Richards
Gender and Family Prof Christiaan Monden, Prof Rachel Murphy, Prof Leigh Payne, Prof Man Yee Kan, Mr Colin Mills, Prof Ridhi Kashyap
Health and Society Prof Christiaan Monden, Prof Jennifer Dowd
Quantitative Methods Prof Stephen Fisher, Prof David Kirk, Dr Charles Rahal, Prof Richard Breen
Time Use Research Prof Man Yee Kan
Area Studies Prof Rachel Murphy (China), Prof Leigh Payne (Latin America), Prof Takehiko Kariya (Japan)
Demography Prof Christiaan Monden, Prof Jennifer Dowd, Prof Ridhi Kashyap
Education Prof Richard Breen, Prof Nan Dirk De Graaf, Prof Jan Jonsson, Prof Takehiko Kariya, Mr Colin Mills

The Replication Project and Thesis

MPhil students will undertake a Replication Project and a thesis.

The Replication Project module aims to introduce students to the realities of empirical research through the mediums of replication and open science, with the objective being the replication and a modest extension of a piece of recently published work. Students are assessed by a paper detailing their attempt to replicate published research findings.

The thesis consists of a new and substantial analysis of up to 30,000 words on a sociological and/or demographic topic, to be submitted by the end of the second year.