The Master of Philosophy (M.Phil) in English at the Institute of Advanced Communication, Education, and Research (IACER), Kathmandu is a two-year postgraduate research program affiliated with Pokhara University. IACER has offered M.Phil in English since its inception in February 2001.
The program combines interdisciplinary coursework in the humanities and social sciences with advanced research methods and an original thesis.
Its academic scope includes literature and culture, development and conflict, global humanities, Nepali society and history, and research methodology. The program has 30 seats and uses English as the language of instruction.
| Particular | Details |
|---|---|
| Program | Master of Philosophy (M.Phil) in English |
| Institution | Institute of Advanced Communication, Education, and Research (IACER) |
| Affiliation: | Pokhara University |
| Level | Postgraduate research program |
| Duration: | 2 years / 4 semesters |
| Eligibility: | Master's degree in any discipline |
| Seats | 30 |
| Language of instruction | English |
| Research requirement | Original M.Phil thesis |
| Location | New Baneshwor, Kathmandu |
M.Phil in English at IACER is structured around interdisciplinary study and independent research. Rather than restricting postgraduate research to a narrowly defined literary field, the program draws on concepts and methods from both the humanities and social sciences.
Students work with questions involving literature, culture, knowledge, power, society, development, conflict, history, identity, language, and research. This wider academic foundation is intended to support more focused disciplinary research as students establish their individual areas of inquiry.
The program also has a pre-doctoral orientation, with substantial attention given to research methodology and the production of an original thesis.
Eligibility: A master's degree in any discipline is the stated minimum qualification.
Duration: The program runs for two years across four semesters.
Seats: 30 students.
Language of Instruction: English.
The broad master's-level eligibility corresponds with IACER's interdisciplinary approach, where researchers from different academic backgrounds can engage with humanities and social-science concepts before concentrating on a specific research area.
The M.Phil curriculum covers several interconnected fields rather than following a literature-only structure.
This area engages with major philosophical and theoretical questions concerning knowledge, meaning, culture, and power. Thinkers included in this area include Plato, Kant, Nietzsche, Foucault, Derrida, and Spivak.
The course gives students a theoretical basis for examining literary and cultural questions from different intellectual positions.
This component considers peacebuilding in divided societies, with attention to Nepal's history and peace process. It also addresses relationships between the state and society and questions surrounding conflict transformation.
Research methodology covers qualitative and quantitative approaches used across humanities and social-science research.
The methods addressed include:
Fieldwork
Archival research
Discourse analysis
Ethnography
Qualitative research methods
Quantitative research methods
Research methodology has a direct connection with the later thesis because students need to establish an appropriate method for their chosen research problem.
Global Humanities brings literature, philosophy, and culture into comparative study across national and disciplinary boundaries.
Its scope includes world literature and intellectual traditions examined within a broader comparative framework.
This academic area concentrates on Nepali society, history, ethnic and cultural diversity, political transformation, state-building, and democratization.
It gives researchers a Nepal-focused component within a program that also works across global and interdisciplinary questions.
The thesis is a central requirement of the program.
Students undertake original independent research and produce an M.Phil thesis of approximately 30,000–40,000 words. Research is carried out with a designated supervisor and research committee.
The thesis allows students to concentrate on a defined research problem after working through theoretical, interdisciplinary, and methodological coursework.
This progression is important to the academic structure of the program: broad conceptual study provides a foundation, research methodology establishes methods of inquiry, and the thesis provides sustained work on an individual research question.
Assessment combines continuous academic work with an external examination.
| Assessment Component | Weight |
|---|---|
| Final Paper, 4,500–5,000 words | 15% |
| Four Essays, 900–1,000 words each | 20% |
| Workshop Exercises, 500–600 words each | 5% |
| Two Presentations | 5% |
| Weekly Assignments | 15% |
| External Examination | 40% |
Internal assessment accounts for 60%, while the external examination carries 40%. Weekly assignments involve a paragraph-length summary and analysis.
The assessment pattern places continuing emphasis on reading, analytical writing, presentations, shorter academic exercises, and longer research-based papers rather than relying on a single examination format.
M.Phil students at IACER have undertaken research across a range of humanities and social-science fields, including:
Nepali Literature and Cultural Identity
Gender and Women's Studies
Conflict, Peacebuilding, and Transitional Justice
Postcolonialism and Diaspora Studies
Media, Power, and Society
Environmental Humanities and Ecocriticism
Translation Studies and Comparative Literature
Development Communication
IACER's wider research areas also include literary theory and cultural studies, gender, race and identity studies, discourse analysis and linguistics, media and communication, postcolonial and diaspora studies, environmental humanities, and translation and comparative literature.
IACER's research environment includes work on South Asian Studies and regionalism.
The institute initiated South Asia discourse with South Asian and U.S. academics in 2008. From 2011, Prof. Gayatri Spivak and scholars from Columbia University have conducted workshops with IACER researchers.
This research work considers questions such as how South Asia changes when the location of analysis shifts toward Nepal or the Himalayas, how conventional ideas of regionalism can be examined critically, and how regional knowledge can contribute to wider theoretical research.
M.Phil students study within an institutional setting that includes the IACER Writing Center, library resources, computer facilities, seminar spaces, conferences, reading activities, and guest lectures.
The Writing Center supports academic writing through:
Peer-led workshops
Mentoring sessions
Writing discussions
Editing-related support
Online resources
Workshops on academic and other forms of writing
The library provides hard-copy resources, access to thousands of online journals, and nearly ten thousand online books. These resources are particularly relevant to postgraduate researchers working with theoretical literature, previous research, comparative scholarship, and thesis writing.
The M.Phil program has a pre-doctoral research orientation. Its combination of advanced coursework, research methodology, sustained academic writing, and an original thesis provides a basis for students considering doctoral-level study.
Depending on individual qualifications, research experience, and institutional requirements, graduates may also consider work connected with:
Academic research
Higher education
Policy research
Literary and cultural research
Research-based organizations
These directions depend on the requirements of particular institutions and positions rather than following automatically from completion of the degree.
Students entering M.Phil study after master's-level work may also be familiar with IACER through its MA in English.
M.Phil stands for Master of Philosophy.
Duration: Two years, organized across four semesters.
Affiliation: Pokhara University.
Eligibility: A master's degree in any discipline is the stated minimum qualification.
The M.Phil in English program has 30 seats.
Yes. Students complete an original M.Phil thesis of approximately 30,000–40,000 words.
The core academic areas include Theories of Literature & Culture, Democracy, Development & Conflict, Advanced Research Methodology, Global Humanities, Nepal: Society, History & Culture, and the M.Phil Thesis.
Internal assessment carries 60% and includes papers, essays, workshop exercises, presentations, and weekly assignments. The external examination carries 40%.
Advanced Research Methodology includes qualitative and quantitative methods, fieldwork, archival research, discourse analysis, and ethnography.
Research areas include literary and cultural studies, gender and identity, conflict and peacebuilding, postcolonial and diaspora studies, discourse analysis, media and society, environmental humanities, translation, comparative literature, and development communication.
