MPhil: Admissions

The application period for the 2025/26 academic year has now passed. The application portal for 2026/27 will open in September 2025.

Entry requirements

• First class honours from UK university, GPA of 3.85/4 from the American system or other international First equivalent. Please note: For applications from the United States - Although the wider University considers a GPA of 3.7 as equal to a UK First, this is a course of exceptionally high demand so the Department has decided to make the entry requirement a high first (3.85 GPA)

• For those whose first language is not English and who have not previously studied for a degree in an English language university, evidence of proficiency in English: an IELTS score of 7.5 (with a minimum of 7.0 in each individual component) or a TOEFL score of 110 (with 25 in each element). Please note the Department of Politics and International Studies does not refer applicants to the University’s Language Centre.

• You can use this website to find out if you will have a language requirement. 

• A background in international relations, politics, law, economics, security or history is a definite asset but is not a requirement. Each application will be assessed upon its own merits and the Department is by no means averse to receiving applications from candidates with unconventional backgrounds.

• Candidates are asked not to contact potential supervisors before application. If you are successful in your application the Department will allocate an appropriate supervisor for you based on your research proposal.

Please Note: This course is very popular and a high volume of applications are received every year. If you have not or are not predicted to achieve these academic requirements it is very unlikely you will be offered a place on the course.  If you do not achieve the required English Language scores you will not be admitted.

How to apply

Information on the application process can be found on the Postgraduate Admissions website. Further information can be found on the Postgraduate Admissions website and on their "How do I apply?" page. They also have a very comprehensive FAQ page. 

Please note: When you have completed the necessary preparation and you are ready to begin your online application, please take note of the following important information before you create your application.

1. There is an application charge for each application. You can make the payment by providing your credit/debit card details when you submit the online application. Please note: You may be eligible for an application fee waiver dependent on your country of residence, or a scholarship you have applied for, please see further information and to download the waiver form here.

2. Your application is not complete without the required supporting documentation. 

   Postgraduate Admissions only send applications to the Department once all the documents are present. The Department will not see the application for consideration until all the documents are uploaded. Incomplete applications will not be considered for funding, even if you apply in time. We do not chase applicants for missing documents. 

   Incomplete/inactive applications (i.e. those which have been missing documents for a considerable length of time) will be withdrawn by Postgraduate Admissions, and will therefore never reach the Department. 

3. Applications are made online at https://www.postgraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/courses/directory/popimpirp.

Please see our Postgraduate Application pages for further information on the postgraduate application process.

Required documentation

You will need to submit:

An application form, which takes the form of a web form

Two academic references

• First academic reference
• Second academic reference

Please see this website for information on who to nominate as your referees, and how they submit their references. 

Personal reference

• This is only required if you are applying for the Gates Cambridge Scholarship.

Full Transcript (or as up to date as you have available)

• Please see this website for information on how to upload your transcripts. 

Evidence of competence in English if English is not your first language

• You can use this website to find out if you will have a Language Requirement. 
• This website has information about the accepted tests and how to upload them. 

Applicants are not required to provide evidence of language ability as part of the initial application. PAO will set a language condition for applicants that do not provide evidence on submission, allowing them to undertake a language test at a later date.

CV/resume

Research proposal with title

This should be about 500-800 words, one to two pages, on any area of the syllabus and should indicate some familiarity with the context of the proposal and research methods to be employed.

Please include each of the following elements:

• a clear, well-thought-out title
• explicit details to the methods of research to be used (e.g. archival, discourse-analytical, empirical - whether quantitative, interview, or survey)
• references to relevant literature of which you are already aware, or which you expect to be able to consult
• reasons why Cambridge is, in your view, a particularly appropriate research institution within which to carry out this research, including the presence of specific individual scholars with expertise in the field of your proposed dissertation, and whose supervision you would welcome

Please note if your application is successful we will search for an appropriate supervisor, please do not contact potential supervisors yourself. 

Within the application form there is a section which asks you to either provide your reasons for applying for the course or a research proposal. We expect you to use this box to indicate your interest in the course as the research proposal is submitted separately.