MPhil: Student Feedback

What our students say:

Kyra Jasper

MPhil in Politics and International Studies 2024-25

"The MPhil in Politics and International Studies offers students of diverse academic and cultural backgrounds an opportunity to engage in discussions and independent research on contemporary trends and world events through multidisciplinary perspectives. The program's numerous course offerings allow students to craft their own unique academic trajectory during the program.

Over the last year, I've had the opportunity to think more critically about topics spanning from labor exploitation in AI training centers in Kenya, to the value in applying a conspiratorial lens to reproductive rights debates in Korea. I also enjoyed the opportunity to be supervised by a leading scholar in my field of study, whose feedback strengthened the writing, research, and analytical skills that will be imperative for me in my legal career. Perhaps most meaningfully, the MPhil in POLIS convenes a cohort of smart, thoughtful students, whose differing research and career interests and backgrounds enables challenging and engaging conversations in the classroom, at college formals, and on walks along the River Cam, both during the course and for years to come."

Zeyu Chen

MPhil in Politics and International Studies 2024-25

"Kissinger, channelling Eliot, distils the mind’s work into three tasks—gathering information, forging knowledge, and distilling wisdom. The MPhil in Politics and International Studies programme turns that outline into a lived, daily discipline.

Information arrives first and fast. A headline hits the morning wires; by lunch, faculty have stripped it to its historical roots and strategic implications. The programme keeps pace with the world’s pulse, from the geopolitics of AI governance to the classics of philosophy such as Foucault. Yet speed never substitutes for depth. Lecturers design reading lists to unsettle easy assumptions, and seminars press us to ask why a fact matters, not merely what it is.

Knowledge emerges from the questions that follow. The university offers ready access to vast archives and datasets, and supervisors’ pencilled notes slice away the extraneous until an argument stands sharpened. Methods workshops transform statistical brambles into navigable ground, while seminar conversations spill into corridors, cafés, and speaker events, where tentative ideas harden into claims sturdy enough to cross disciplinary and ideological borders.

Wisdom slips in almost unnoticed. A single antithesis can upend a carefully built position; a peer’s unexpected angle can demand a wholesale rethink. Cambridge treats those moments as victories. It teaches the reflex to revise, refine, and reconsider until convictions can breathe in unfamiliar company.

The programme fuses immense resources with relentless self‑interrogation. You leave with a piece of research and a community, certainly—but more enduringly with the habit of converting fresh information into tested knowledge, and in keeping that knowledge porous whenever wisdom knocks."

Elizabeth Onibokun

MPhil in International Relations and Politics 2021-22

“The MPhil POLIS course has managed to surpass and exceed the high expectations I had for such a life-changing program. This year has undoubtedly been such a fulfilling and rewarding experience and it is a beautiful feeling to be able to wake up everyday, excited and motivated by what lies ahead. The best part of the MPhil POLIS course is the interdisciplinary approach to studying international politics, as well as the unique mix of research and taught elements. There is room for flexibility, to explore new pursuits and as students we are granted the incredible opportunity to learn from world-renowned academics and experts who have so much knowledge and wisdom to share. To be in a city like Cambridge is a fantastic freedom and there is a unique pleasure in being apart of a university that has established itself as a leading institution worldwide. There is also a beauty in being apart of a cohort of such bright, talented, and vibrant individuals with whom you share classes with, dissertation struggles, and everything in between! There is inspiration that can be drawn from your coursemates that is incredibly special and adds to the magic of MPhil POLIS. Time and time again, I am in awe of everything this course has to offer and the growth and personal development I have experienced in a matter of months. There are certainly challenges one could face in such a rigorous course but that is not to take away from what you will gain along the way. When I leave Cambridge, I know I am leaving with all I had hoped to accomplish when I first started back in October: wonderful memories of such a special year and a solid foundation for my future as I move onto my next pursuit. It doesn’t get much better than that.”

Nadia Schroeder

MPhil in International Relations and Politics 2020-21

"I chose Cambridge because of its truly impressive range of expertise across international relations, comparative politics, political economy, and political theory. The flexible structure of the MPhil allowed me to make the most of this breadth and select modules that complemented my research interests, while also giving me the opportunity to explore and try something new. This exciting, friendly, and diverse intellectual environment, combined with the generous support of the academics at POLIS, helped me write a thesis that I am truly proud of. The department lived up to its reputation of particular excellence in my interest area of political philosophy and history of ideas, providing me with a world-class foundation from which to pursue further study. Beyond academics, I enjoyed that my peers came from a wide range of educational and professional backgrounds. Our in-class and out of class discussions were a real joy. I formed friendships for life, and will always look back fondly on an amazing year in Cambridge."

David Threlfall

MPhil in International Relations and Politics 2019-20

"The MPhil in International Relations and Politics was an intensely challenging and rewarding experience—intellectually, professionally and personally.

First, the student cohort was impressive—drawn from all over the world, many with political, legal or civil service backgrounds, and much else besides. Discussions on peace keeping or terrorism took on immediate applied significance through the presence of current members of the British Armed Forces also undertaking the degree. The coursework in the early stages provided theoretical and methodological rigour, and there was a broad range of courses on offer—something for the historically-minded, or those interested in international relations, law, or comparative politics.

When it came time to focus on my own research, I had the opportunity to be supervised by and work with one of my academic idols. I developed a really substantial project that I have now carried through into a PhD at the LSE, and am looking to publish in a journal as soon as possible. Further inspiration was never far away, either: there were so many talks and events at POLIS and all over town that you could forget to get anything done if you weren’t careful.

In short, Cambridge and POLIS combine to produce a perfect environment for study. For the bookish, the University Library is a wonderful place, and Cambridge itself is a beautiful town. Despite the mess of the COVID-19 pandemic, which changed the second half of the academic year dramatically, I’ll continue to look back fondly on the MPhil at POLIS and Cambridge."