The two-year MPhil programme of the Department of English, located between the MA. and the PhD, provides the student with a unique experience of graduate study and research: unlike the MA. which works with large lecture classes and the PhD which mainly involves working alone on a research project under supervision, the MPhil offers the opportunity for intensive interaction with a peer group in small seminar sessions and training in closely supervised research.  Faculty members enjoy full freedom in designing courses in the MPhil and students choose their courses from a wide range of options offered in each semester. As a result, MPhil courses explore newly emerging research areas and problem fields, and enable thinking beyond traditional disciplinary borders.
The MPhil programme began in the Department of English in 1979, and has evolved continuously in tune with the changing contours of the discipline. Its structure too has seen several changes. The programme runs under a special ordinance of the University, which has allowed constant modulation of the programme in response to the changing needs of the students.
Spread over four semesters, the MPhil programme has the following structure:

• After admission, students are enrolled in a research methodology course. In addition to this, each student chooses one of the courses on offer in the first semester.
• In the second semester, students choose two optional courses. At the end of the this semester, they specify the area of their research specialization.
• In the third semester, in addition to continuing the coursework in an optional course, students begin work on their dissertation by writing an individually supervised essay on the area of their research interest. At the end of the this semester, interested students may apply for a direct transfer to the PhD programme without completing their MPhil. Decisions on such applications take into account the performance of the student in coursework and the quality and viability of the research proposal.
• In the fourth semester, students who do not transfer to the PhD programme write their MPhil dissertation under supervision.