phd in oxford university cost

Graduate fees and funding

Currently available soge scholarships, useful information.

• None currently listed.
• DPhil Studentship: Governing residential heat decarbonisation in the UK [Deadline: 31 May 2024]

Please see the information below for further scholarship opportunities available at Oxford.

You will be liable to pay full course fees for the following period of time:

• Master of Science (MSc) Courses: 1 year.
• Master of Philosophy (MPhil): 2 years.
• Doctor of Philosophy (DPhil): Full-time 3 years; Part-time 6 years (a termly continuation fee will be charged for those exceeding the standard period of University tuition fee liability.)

For the latest information on fees charged by the University please visit the University's Fees and Funding webpage or use the Graduate Fees, Funding and Scholarship Search tool.

Scholarships

There are four categories of scholarship opportunities available at Oxford:

1) Central - Oxford University Scholarships

For details on these scholarships please see the University's Oxford funding webpage.

In order to be considered for these scholarships, you should apply no later than the January deadline for your programme of study.

These scholarships are managed by the central Student Fees and Funding team. You can apply for many of these scholarships by ticking the relevant boxes on the application form under the University of Oxford Scholarships headings. For some scholarships you may need to make a separate application. The individual scholarship web pages will indicate what application material is required.

You should use the fees, funding and scholarship search which will help you to locate Oxford University scholarships that are specific to you. The search will also give further information on applying for the scholarship and the deadline by which decisions will be made. The School of Geography and the Environment is able to nominate (shortlist) candidates for some Oxford University scholarship and we will notify successful nominees at the beginning of March. Please note that a nomination (shortlist) for a scholarship does not imply that you will be successful. The University funding office will only be able to notify successful candidates - if you are unsuccessful you will not receive notification of the outcome of your scholarship application. If you do not receive a notification by the first week in March to say you are being nominated (shortlisted) for a scholarship, or by the advertised scholarship decision deadline, you will not have been successful.

If you have any queries relating to these scholarships you should read the most popular questions section of the University website and/or submit your query using the online Ask a Question facility.

Black Academic Futures Scholarships

Up to 30 scholarships are available for applicants who are ordinarily resident in the United Kingdom, who are of Black or Mixed-Black ethnicity and who hold an offer for either a taught or research postgraduate degree, starting in the 2023-24 academic year. This includes all full-time and part-time DPhil and master's courses.

Please see the Black Academic Futures for more info.

Scholarships offered by the colleges of the University. You will need to look at individual college web pages for details of available scholarships and for information on how to apply. College Scholarships may also be included in the results of any fees, funding and scholarship search . In recent years we have been able to offer joint scholarships with the following colleges: Hertford, Linacre, St Anne's, St Antony's, and St Cross. Information on the availability of any joint college / departmental scholarships will be advertised on this webpage and the corresponding college websites.

3) UK Research Councils

To be considered for research council scholarships, applications must be submitted by the January deadline.

Research Council studentships are open to both Home (UK) and International candidates. However, the University are limited to awarding a maximum of 30% of studentships per cohort to International students.

We will notify you if you have been nominated for an award and notify you of the final decision. Most decisions are finalised by late April each year.

The School of Geography and the Environment hopes to be able to offer research council scholarships each year for the following:

The Grand Union ESRC Doctoral Training Partnership

In order to be considered for a Grand Union DTP ESRC studentship, you must select 'ESRC Grand Union DTP Studentships in Social Sciences' in the University of Oxford scholarships section of the University's graduate application form. You must also complete a Grand Union DTP Application Form and upload it, together with your graduate application form .

Applicants applying for the MSc or MPhil who, after completion of their course intend to continue onto the DPhil, are eligible to apply for an ESRC scholarship on a 1+3 or 2+2 basis. Please note that this scholarship is not available for those applying for the MSc or MPhil courses only. More information can be found on the Grand Union DTP website.

If you do not receive a notification by the first week in March to say you are being nominated (shortlisted) for a Grand Union DTP ESRC studentship, you will not have been successful.

Environmental Research NERC Doctoral Training Partnership

This is available to DPhil students only. You do not apply directly to the School of Geography and the Environment but directly to the Doctoral Training Partnership (DTP) through one of the three research streams. More information can be found on the Environmental Research DTP website.

Open-Oxford-Cambridge AHRC Doctoral Training Partnership

The AHRC provides public funding in support of research into the arts and humanities, for approximately one quarter of the UK's research population. Oxford participates in the Open-Oxford-Cambridge AHRC Doctoral Training Partnership, providing a number of scholarships each year to students working on eligible subject areas across the Humanities and Social Sciences Divisions. Information about applying for AHRC scholarships at Oxford can be found on the Open-Oxford-Cambridge AHRC Doctoral Training Partnership website.

If you do not receive a notification by the first week in March to say you are being nominated (shortlisted) for an AHRC scholarship, you will not have been successful.

4) External

You can find information on funding available from external organisations, trusts, and companies that provide support to graduate students on the University's External scholarships webpages. These are managed by organisations external to Oxford, therefore various application processes and closing dates will apply. If you have any questions you should contact the relevant organisation directly.

In recent years our students have been successful with many awards offered by both the University and external organisations such as:

• Kwok Scholarships
• Rhodes Scholarships
• Clarendon Awards
• Commonwealth Scholarships
• OSI/FCO Chevening Scholarships
• Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies (OCIS) Scholarships
• Oxford-Weidenfeld and Hoffmann Scholarships and Leadership Programme
• Hill Foundation Scholarships (Graduate)
• China Oxford Scholarship
• China Scholarship Council - University of Oxford Scholarships
• Felix Scholarships
• Oppenheimer Scholarship
• Fulbright Awards
• Marshall Scholarships
• CONACyT, Mexican Government Funding
• Frost Scholarship
• Oxford - Indira Gandhi Graduate Scholarship
• Oxford Kobe Scholarship
• St Antony's College: Swire Scholarships
• St Antony's College: Swire and Oxford & Cambridge Society of Kenya Scholarship
• Trudeau Foundation Scholarship
• Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada
• IJURR Foundation Scholarship
• Cost of living in Oxford , University of Oxford
• The British Council's website is a useful source of information, see Study UK and the Scholarships and Funding page .
• Association of Commonwealth Universities - awards are primarily intended for Commonwealth graduates, but the majority of awards are also open to those from non-Commonwealth countries.
• Postgraduatesearch.com - postgraduate funding .
• Prospects - the UK's official graduate careers website.
• Internationalscholarships.com - financial aid, college scholarship and international scholarship resource for students wishing to study abroad.

Back to Postgraduate

Fees and funding.

At St Peter's College, we proudly hold to our founding mission to provide an exceptional Oxford education that is affordable for the brightest students, regardless of background or means. This page provides helpful information on accommodation and dining costs, and possible funding sources for postgraduate students at St Peter's College.

In keeping with our mission, we strive to offer excellent accommodation and dining at reasonable rates, and we encourage students to explore the many opportunities available for scholarships, prizes, grants and bursaries.

For up-to-date guidance from the University of Oxford regarding fees, course living cost estimates and other sources of funding, please visit the Oxford University website .

Course fees

For up-to-date information about Oxford University course fees, please consult the Oxford University website .

Continuation charges

Students who have reached the end of their standard period of fee liability may be required to pay a termly University continuation charge. For further information please consult the Oxford University website .

The College also charges a termly continuation fee for students whose studies extend beyond four years until the completion of their degree. The current charge rate can be found here .

The College offers limited financial support in the form of grants, prizes and scholarships to its students.

There is extensive Information about funding available from the University and external sources available on the Oxford University website .

Information about US federal loans can be found on the University website .

For students living in College accommodation, rent is payable in advance at the beginning of the term. For 2023-24 , the cost of a room in College accommodation for a postgraduate student varies between £216 and £219 per week (38-week lease).

The College is also able to nominate a number of graduate students to occupy rooms in University-managed accommodation, for which the costs will differ.

Accommodation

A variably priced menu is available for all meals except Formal Hall. In 2023-24 , average meal costs will be approximately:

• Breakfast: £3.95
• Lunch: £4.95
• Dinner (informal): £5.25
• Formal Hall (Tuesday and Thursday evenings, optional): £11.85

The College operates a pre-payment system where undergraduate students are billed at the start of each term for a credit which is placed on their account. They can then spend this sum down in the Dining Hall over the course of the term.

Learn more about meals and the pre-pay scheme

Information about estimated living costs can be found on the  Oxford University website .

Where to next?

• Postgraduate Courses at Oxford Read more
• How to Apply Read more

How much will my tuition cost?

A  fees, funding and scholarships search tool is available on the fees and funding website; this will enable you to calculate the costs of studying at Oxford.

The fees you pay will depend on your course and fee status (for example, whether you are a home/EU student, or an overseas student). Which rate you are charged depends on your nationality, your immigration status in the UK, where you have been living and what you have been doing for the three years prior to the start of your course.  The information is also available from the  tuition costs and  college fees  pages on the fees and funding website.

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• DPhil in Public Policy
• DPhil in detail
• How to apply to the DPhil
• DPhil fees and funding

Undertaking the DPhil can be a significant financial commitment; you will need to budget for the course fee and living expenses.

Many candidates who are offered a place will require some form of outside financial assistance. We are committed to ensuring that the financial burden of undertaking the DPhil does not discourage the brightest and best applicants from applying to our programmes. While the School works very hard with offer holders to secure appropriate funding, we also expect all applicants in need of financial assistance to start exploring all funding opportunities available to them as early as possible. In the past few years, all full-time students have received full funding.

You will find a range of funding opportunities below, but we encourage you to be creative in your search for funding.

There are two types of expense to budget for when calculating the cost of graduate study - the course fee and living costs.

Annual fees for entry in 2024–25

Full-time study, part-time study.

Further details on the course fee can be found on the  Graduate Admissions pages  under 'Funding and Costs'. Course fees cover your teaching, and other academic services and facilities provided to support your studies. They do not cover your accommodation or other living costs (see living costs below). You may have seen separate figures in the past for tuition fees and college fees. We have now combined these into a single figure.

Living costs

The estimated living costs for a graduate student at Oxford can be found on the  University living costs pages .

We expect all applicants in need of financial aid to explore all funding opportunities available to them, including through their own governments, private sponsorship, and scholarship or bursary opportunities. You should investigate all possible funding routes available to you as early as possible. In fact, some scholarship schemes have deadlines before the DPhil application deadline, so make sure you check.

Funding from the University

Many of our students have been successful in receiving University scholarships such as Clarendon awards. You will automatically be considered for the majority of University scholarships for which you are eligible.

External funding

There are many different external scholarships or funding schemes available to students, with a diverse variety of eligibility requirements. We are pleased to say that a significant number of our students have been successful in applying for some form of external scholarship or financial award.

Below you will find a list of resources that will help you navigate your fundraising journey. In addition, the  Blavatnik School Blog  features some posts and experiences that might help or inspire your search for the right financial support.

Scholarships

University-wide scholarships.

There are over 1,000 full scholarships available through the University for graduate courses. For most of these, your application is automatically considered as soon as you submit your general course application online. That's part of the reason we strongly recommend that you submit your application early as possible, before the first deadline.

To search which scholarships you are eligible for, including those that require additional applications, please visit the  University of Oxford's webpages  for graduate students about fees, funding and scholarships.

BLAVATNIK SCHOOL OF GOVERNMENT SCHOLARSHIPS

Through the generous support of our funding partners the Blavatnik School of Government is pleased to be able to offer a limited number of scholarships.

EXTERNAL FUNDING AND SCHOLARSHIP OPTIONS

There are many scholarships, bursaries and grants that might support your studies. These could be from a charity, individual sponsor, research council, employer, the European Union or other professional associations. Many external scholarships are only eligible to applicants of a doctorate degree, so start searching for funding opportunities as early as possible. The  Alternative Guide to Postgraduate Funding  gives advice about applying for funding from charities and trusts, provides a searchable database of external funders, and advises on how to make a strong application. You may also want to check the University of Oxford  external scholarships webpage  for links to external funders.

View details of the available scholarships you may be eligible for below:

Alfred Landecker Programme DPhil Scholarship Region/country: Africa Asia Europe Europe (excluding UK) Latin America and the Caribbean North America Oceania South America Scholarship source: Blavatnik School of Government

The Blavatnik School of Government, together with Wolfson College, is pleased to announce a scholarship to work under the supervision of Professor Jonathan Wolff, Dr Maya Tudor, Professor Dapo Akande, Professor Chris Stone, Dr Thomas Simpson, and/or other Blavatnik School faculty members on the themes of democracy and minority rights.

The scholarship covers full tuition fees and a stipend for living expenses for students of any nationality enrolled in the DPhil programme at the Blavatnik School. The scholarship is made possible through the Alfred Landecker Programme , which in turn is generously supported by the Alfred Landecker Foundation . The successful candidate will also benefit from membership of Wolfson College.

Wolfson College is one of the University of Oxford’s largest graduate colleges and is truly unique in its academic scope and international reach. Founded in 1966 by the philosopher and historian of ideas, Sir Isaiah Berlin, Wolfson is committed to sharing knowledge, inspiring change, and continuing to explore the human condition. The College motto, ‘Humani nil alienum’ – “nothing to do with human beings is foreign to me” – expresses our ideal for intellectual curiosity in the betterment of the human condition.

The project

The Alfred Landecker Programme aims to advance the goals of the Alfred Landecker Foundation, by drawing on lessons from the Holocaust and the collapse of European civilisation in the 1930s, and applying them to leadership today.

The overall aim of the programme is to draw upon cutting-edge research across disciplines to understand how the rights and interests of vulnerable people and groups are under threat through the overreach of authority and other threats to the rule of law, and to recommend and advocate for policies that strike the right balance between the protection of the most vulnerable and the celebration of distinct national cultures, in a way that benefits the integrity of democratic institutions. The Programme is mindful of the fate of Alfred Landecker himself , who like so many Jewish people, was murdered as a result of unchecked Nazi anti-Semitism.

We are especially interested in supporting work that combines a deep theoretical engagement on the themes of the programme with a concern for public policy. We anticipate that public engagement will be a natural part of the programme of activity undertaken by the scholar.

The candidate

Applicants will be assessed through the regular DPhil application process of the Blavatnik School. Please make clear in your DPhil application that you wish to be considered for the Alfred Landecker Programme scholarship. We welcome outstanding applicants from any discipline that can support the aims of the project, and are prepared to consider applications from philosophy, political theory, political science, social science, law and other relevant disciplines. Students are ordinarily only accepted to the Blavatnik School DPhil programme if they already possess a research master’s degree or equivalent training. For any questions, please contact the admissions team . The deadline for applications is the early January University deadline.

Black Academic Futures Scholarship Region/country: United Kingdom (UK) Europe Scholarship source: University of Oxford

• Amount: Fees and a contribution towards living expenses
• Eligibility: Up to 30 scholarships are available for applicants who are ordinarily resident in the United Kingdom, who are of Black or Mixed-Black ethnicity and who hold an offer for either a taught or research postgraduate degree, in the 2024–25 academic year, for any full or part-time graduate course at Oxford.
• Application process: To apply for the Black Academic Futures scholarships , all you have to do is submit your completed graduate course application, including ethnicity information , by the January deadline and you will automatically be considered. You do not need to submit any additional documents and there is no separate scholarship application form for these awards.

If you are eligible for these scholarships, you will be considered automatically regardless of which college (if any) you state as your preference on your graduate application form. However, some of these awards are only tenable at specific colleges and successful applicants will be transferred to the relevant college in order to take up the scholarship if applicable. Selection is expected to take place in May.

Blavatnik School of Government-Nuffield College Joint Graduate Scholarship in Public Policy Region/country: Africa Asia Europe Europe (excluding UK) Latin America and the Caribbean North America Oceania South America Scholarship source: Blavatnik School of Government

The Blavatnik School of Government-Nuffield scholarship is designed to help the University and Nuffield College attract and recruit outstanding graduate students in Public Policy. All applicants for the Blavatnik School DPhil will automatically be considered for this scholarship. For more information please see the Nuffield College website .

Please note that other scholarships linked with other colleges may also be available. For this reason, unless you already have funding secured, we recommend you submit an open college application.

Clarendon Scholarship Region/country: Africa Asia Europe Europe (excluding UK) Latin America and the Caribbean North America Oceania South America Scholarship source: University of Oxford

• Amount: Full fees and a set amount to cover living expenses
• Eligibility: Academic merit and potential
• Application process: No separate application process
• Clarendon Scholarships aim to give the most academically-able students not only the life-changing opportunity to study at Oxford but also the chance to form lasting social, academic and professional networks.
• Read about Hannah Foxton's experiences as a Clarendon Scholar on the MPP .

Jardine Scholarship Region/country: Cambodia China Hong Kong Indonesia Malaysia Myanmar Philippines Singapore Taiwan Thailand Vietnam Asia Scholarship source: University of Oxford

• Eligibility: Residents of countries identified by the Jardine Matheson Group, and applicants to specific Oxford colleges
• Application process: You can apply directly to the Foundation – applicants will also be considered through a separate strand automatically if applying to the MPP.
• Up to five full scholarships are available for applicants who are ordinarily resident in Cambodia, mainland China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand or Vietnam. The scholarships have been made possible through the support of the Jardine Foundation , an educational trust supporting scholars who have the potential to become outstanding citizens with a high commitment to the community.
• The scholarship is only tenable at one of the Foundation’s four link colleges: Exeter College, Oriel College, The Queen’s College and Trinity College. All eligible applicants will be considered for this scholarship, regardless of which college (if any) you state as your preference on the graduate application form. However, successful applicants will be transferred to one of the link colleges in order to take up the scholarship.
• Read about Weijie Tan's experience on the MPP as a Jardine Scholar .

National governments Region/country: Africa Asia Europe (excluding UK) Latin America and the Caribbean North America Oceania South America Scholarship source: External

Many national governments provide funds for their students to study overseas in the interest of fostering the skills and knowledge of their citizens.

Many of our students have successfully been awarded funding to complete their studies. For example, previous students have been successful in securing scholarship support from the governments of Chile (through the BECAS Chile), India, Indonesia, Singapore, Mexico (through CONACyT), and Qatar.

Newton Fund - Newton PhD Programme Region/country: Brazil Chile China Colombia Egypt India Indonesia Jordan Kenya Malaysia Mexico Peru Philippines South Africa Thailand Turkey Vietnam United Kingdom (UK) Africa Asia Europe Europe (excluding UK) Latin America and the Caribbean South America Scholarship source: External

The Newton Fund promotes the economic development and welfare of poor people in partnering countries through science and innovation partnerships. The Newton PhD Programme offers funding for individual partner country students to undertake full PhD studies in the UK, or vice versa.

Open Society Foundations Scholarship source: External

The Open Society Foundations award grants, scholarships, and fellowships throughout the year.

Other Blavatnik School Scholarships Region/country: Asia Europe Europe (excluding UK) Latin America and the Caribbean North America Oceania Africa South America Scholarship source: Blavatnik School of Government

• Amount: Variable; depending on need
• Eligibility: Any applicant with financial need
• Application process: The Blavatnik School of Government Scholarship Questionnaire (which will be sent to everyone who receives an offer)
• These scholarships collect the gifts generously made available by some of our donors who wish to remain anonymous. Please contact the Admissions team if you have any questions relating to the Blavatnik School of Government Scholarships process. Please also be aware that due to other scholarship deadlines, the Blavatnik School of Government Scholarships Committee may not be able to make some decisions until late June.

Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies Scholarships Region/country: United Kingdom (UK) Afghanistan Albania Algeria Azerbaijan Bahrain Bangladesh Benin Brunei Burkina Faso Cameroon Chad Comoros Cote d'Ivoire Djibouti Egypt Gabon Gambia Guinea Guyana India Indonesia Iran Iraq Jordan Kazakhstan Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Lebanon Libya Malaysia Maldives Mali Mauritania Morocco Mozambique Niger Nigeria Oman Pakistan Palestine Qatar Saudi Arabia Senegal Sierra Leone Somalia Sudan Suriname Syria Tajikistan Togo Tunisia Turkey Turkmenistan Uganda United Arab Emirates (UAE) Uzbekistan Yemen Africa Asia Europe Europe (excluding UK) Latin America and the Caribbean Scholarship source: University of Oxford

• Eligibility: Various countries with Muslim communities
• Application process: Attachment of OCIS Scholarships Supporting Statement to university application
• These scholarships have been established by the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies to allow graduates to pursue studies of benefit to the Muslim world.

Oxford-Indira Gandhi DPhil Scholarship Region/country: India Asia Scholarship source: University of Oxford

• Amount: The scholarship covers course fees and a grant for living costs. Awards are made for the duration of fee liability for the course.
• Eligibility: Applicants must be ordinarily resident in India or have previously studied at an Indian higher education institution. The scholarship is applicable to any DPhil programme in Oxford, but the proposed area of study must be relevant to the Oxford India Centre for Sustainable Development’s agenda of interdisciplinary research on sustainable development and India. The Centre’s core research areas are: sustainable cities, climate change and clean energy, healthcare innovation, environmental sustainability and food and water security, law, governance and human rights are cross-cutting themes. Independent proposals on any India-related theme which fits within the overall aims of the Centre will be considered.
• Application process: Via University of Oxford application form. This award is only tenable at Somerville. All eligible candidates who have applied for graduate study by the January deadline will be considered, regardless of which college preference (if any) is included in the graduate application. Successful scholars will be transferred to Somerville. There is no separate application process, but shortlisted candidates will be asked to attend a video interview.

Find out more about the Oxford-Indira Gandhi Graduate Scholarship .

Oxford-Reuben-Blavatnik School of Government Scholarship Region/country: Africa Asia Europe Europe (excluding UK) Latin America and the Caribbean North America Oceania South America Scholarship source: Blavatnik School of Government

• Amount: Full fees and a set amount to cover living expenses (UKRI stipend equivalent)
• Eligibility: Any applicant to the MPP, the MSc in Public Policy Research or the DPhil in Public Policy; preference will be given to those coming from under-represented socio-economic groups.

The Oxford-Reuben Graduate Scholarships were created as part of the Reuben Foundation’s landmark £80m gift to the University, and in this endowing Reuben College. The Foundation is committed to the betterment of society in the UK and around the globe through focused charitable giving in the areas of education, health and the community. The University has supplemented the £15m hypothecated to Reuben College scholarships with £7.5m from the Graduate Endowment Matched Scholarships initiative. This aims to support students who have demonstrated excellent academic ability and potential, and who will go on to make a great impact in their future careers.

Reuben College was founded in 2019 as the 39th college at the University of Oxford. To promote the ethos and practice of interdisciplinary interaction, there is an initial focus on four research clusters within the college, whose themes have been chosen for their wide reach across the University, their strongly interdisciplinary nature, Oxford’s existing and potential strengths in these areas, and their innovation and entrepreneurship potential. Each of the four areas is interpreted as broadly as possible, as the College is keen both to host students from all four of the University’s Academic Divisions (Medical Sciences, Maths, Physical & Life Sciences, Social Sciences and Humanities) and to support the admission and progression of students from under-represented demographics.

Rhodes Scholarship Region/country: Australia Bermuda Canada China Anguilla Antigua and Barbuda Bahamas Barbados Belize British Virgin Islands (BVI) Cayman Islands Dominica Grenada Guyana Montserrat Saint Lucia Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Trinidad and Tobago Turks and Caicos Islands Uganda Tanzania Rwanda South Sudan Burundi Germany Hong Kong India Israel Jamaica Kenya Malaysia New Zealand Pakistan Saudi Arabia Singapore South Africa Botswana Lesotho Malawi Namibia Swaziland Syria Jordan Lebanon Palestine United Arab Emirates (UAE) United States of America (USA) Benin Burkina Faso Cabo Verde Gambia Ghana Guinea Guinea-Bissau Cote d'Ivoire Liberia Mali Mauritania Niger Nigeria Saint Helena Senegal Sierra Leone Sao Tome and Principe Togo Zambia Zimbabwe Africa Asia Europe Europe (excluding UK) North America Oceania South America Latin America and the Caribbean Scholarship source: University of Oxford

• Eligibility: there are now also two Global Rhodes Scholarships available to outstanding candidates from any country not already with an existing Rhodes scholarship.--> Please see the Rhodes Trust website.
• Application process: Separate application process through the Rhodes Trust – follow link for details
• The Rhodes Scholarships are postgraduate awards supporting exceptional students from around the world to study at the University of Oxford. Rhodes's vision in founding the Scholarship was to develop outstanding leaders who would be motivated to fight 'the world's fight' and to 'esteem the performance of public duties as their highest aim' and to promote international understanding and peace.
• Read Rafiullah Kakar's experience on the MPP as a Rhodes Scholar .

World Bank Scholarship Program – for Japanese applicants Region/country: Japan Scholarship source: External

• Amount: Tuition fees, subsistence allowance and airfare
• Eligibility: Japanese offer holders
• Application process: Please see the application guidelines available online
• The Joint Japan/World Bank Graduate Scholarship Program (JJ/WBGSP) provides scholarships for up to two years to a limited number of Japanese mid-career professionals who are dedicated to the alleviation of poverty and enhanced shared prosperity in developing countries, and who have been admitted to or are currently enrolled in a master’s or PhD graduate degree programme outside of Japan and in development-related fields.
• After earning their degree, Japanese scholars are expected to advance their professional careers with a keen focus on the alleviation of poverty and enhanced shared prosperity in developing countries.
• The next application window for Japanese candidates will open from 12 February to 19 April 2024 at noon Washington time.
• For more details on eligibility and how to apply please see the World Bank website .
• Please note: in order to apply to this scholarship candidates must meet their English language and transcript conditions as well as various other requirements prior to the application deadline in April and submit, with their application, a letter from the School confirming these requirements have been met. This can be a very tight turnaround given that offers from the School only go out in mid-March. Therefore, if you are hoping to apply for this scholarship we would advise you to make arrangements to meet your English language and transcript conditions in March – and you may need to make arrangements prior to outcome decisions. If you have any questions please email [email protected]

In addition, we are aware that students from the US coming to the DPhil would be eligible for the  Fulbright Scholarship , the  Marshall Scholarships  and  Truman Scholarships .

This is not an exhaustive list – if you know of publicly funded scholarships for studying at the University of Oxford in your country, please let us know.

If you are in contact with an external funding body who would like to liaise with us directly please contact the  Admissions team , who will be happy to give advice or provide a letter of support for an external funding application.

There are also a number of scholarships available through specific colleges. Use the  Graduate fees and Funding search  to see which awards you are eligible for. 

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• Accessibility
• Graduate Entry Medicine
• Graduate Entry Medicine: About the Course

Graduate Entry Medicine: Fees and Funding

Some aspects of the current funding scheme are subject to change, and the safest way to gain access to the most up-to-date information about fees is to check the University’s web site. Some general points may help you to understand the basic structure:

• for “home” students, the Oxford course costs about the same as most other UK graduate-entry medical courses;
• students with “home” status (defined in the graduate prospectus and University web site) pay lower fees than do overseas students; in addition, “home” students will (at the time of writing) usually have part of their fees for the final three years of the course paid for them by the Department of Health (through the NHS), and may also be eligible for student loans and NHS bursaries for these final three years: again, the University's web site will give full details of the loans and bursaries available.

The University's site is the definitive resource for questions about fees .

In addition to the fees, remember that you will have to find the cost of living (food, accommodation, etc.) for the four years of the course. The University currently suggests that you allow a budget of about £13,000 per year for living expenses ; many people feel that this is a very conservative figure. When budgeting for the course, you should also take into account the expenses you may incur in travelling to hospitals for residential attachments: the medical school has no funds to reimburse these expenses. (Transport to the one-day clinical teaching sessions in the first year is provided by the Medical School without charge.)

Please note that the fees are not fixed for the duration of the course and are likely to rise broadly in line with UK retail price inflation.

Internal funding opportunities

Bursaries, scholarships, hardship funding :

Oxford bursary . Bursary amount depends on annual household income (see link above for amount of funding based on household income). You will be contacted by the bursary team in mid-September if you are eligible.

Baber studentships & Dr Jacqueline White funds: hardship fund for Graduate Entry Medical Students. The primary criterion for the award of a bursary is financial need and priority will be given to students where this is demonstrated. However, decisions will also take into account relevant academic record. Once you start the GEM course, you will be contacted about applying for this award.

Oxford hardship fund . Students must have already started the course and demonstrate financial difficulties during the course.

• Students with Home fee status can be considered for a grant of up to £2,500.
• Students with Overseas/EU/Islands fee status can be considered for a grant of up to £6,000

College specific funding: Colleges offer different scholarships to their students and some have scholarships specifically for medical students. Many colleges also offer hardship funds as well as funds towards ancillary costs (such as for medical equipment and books).

• Green-Templeton
• Harris-Manchester
• St Catherine’s
• Somerville :

External funding opportunities

Bursaries :

NHS bursary . You can apply for an NHS bursary to support you in the 2-4th year of the GEM course. Depending on your eligibility, you can receive substantial support with both tuition and living expenses.

Scholarships :

Black Heart Foundation Scholarships . Awards are made on the basis of alignment with the aims of the Foundation and financial need.

Sir Richard Stapley Foundation . Awards are competitive and made on the basis of academic merit and financial need. Grants are normally from £500 to £1,300 in value. They are intended to cover the shortfall incurred by educational and subsistence expenses upon payment of tuition fees.

Foulkes foundation . The Foundation provides Fellowships to outstanding postdoctoral scientists in the form of financial support, giving exceptional scientists a unique opportunity to study medicine and become the research leaders of the future. Notable eligibility criteria: must have completed a PhD at the time of application

The Hilda Martindale Trust makes a very limited number of awards to British women who are training or studying for a career in a profession where women are under-represented. The maximum award is £3,000. Notable eligibility criteria: must be a female British national

Leathersellers' Student Grants . The Leathersellers’ Student Grants programme aims to support disadvantaged undergraduate students whose circumstances may prevent them achieving their goals otherwise. The maximum grant that may be awarded is £5,000 per year for up to four years, which will be reassessed annually. Notable eligibility criteria: must be a British citizen or non-British citizen with at least 5 years right to remain in the UK.

Rotary Club Scholarships . Offer-holders and current students can apply to their local club for support; please see the weblink for a search engine to find your local club.

Sidney Perry Foundation . Foundation provides supplemental grants to students, maximum grant being £1,000.

Royal Medical Benevolent Fund . The RMBF offers grants to assist with essential living expenses while studying. The amount of each grant is set according to an individual’s needs. The RMBF does not provide financial support towards tuition fees.

NHS hardship grant . A hardship grant is available for medical and dental students. You may be able to claim between £100 and £3,000, depending on your current financial circumstances.

Student Loans:

Student Finance England : Most GEM students are on a SFE loan. You can see if you are eligible and how much you could get.

The Royal Medical Benevolent Fund has some useful information about you can budget each year of the graduate entry course and how much support you can receive from SFE and NHS bursaries each year.

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Graduate Admissions

Admission for entry in October 2024 is now CLOSED. Applications for entry in October 2025 will open in September 2024.

Below you will find information about the graduate courses offered by the Oxford Philosophy Faculty, including the Faculty’s flagship two-year Master’s course, the BPhil in Philosophy. For information about the application process, please visit the Admissions Procedure and Entry Requirements page .

Introduction to graduate study in Philosophy

Each year, around 75 graduate students in philosophy are admitted to Oxford. About two-fifths are admitted for the Bachelor of Philosophy in Philosophy course, the “ BPhil ” (note that, despite its name, the BPhil is a Master's level, postgraduate degree, equivalent to a two-year MPhil) and between five and eight students are admitted for each of the Faculty’s specialised Master of Studies courses, in Ancient Philosophy and Philosophy of Physics . There are also a number of students admitted to the Master of Studies  in Practical Ethics . 

The aim of the Faculty’s graduate programmes is to prepare students for an academic career in philosophy. The usual progression through the Oxford philosophy graduate programme is to take the BPhil or one of the specialist MSt courses and then to continue research on the DPhil, which is examined by a thesis of approximately 75,000 words. Students who progress from one of the specialist MSt courses must spend one year as a Probationary Research Student (“PRS”) before applying for full DPhil status. Typically, a candidate’s thesis for the BPhil or the MSt in Ancient Philosophy will provide a basis for his or her DPhil thesis. There is no thesis element to the MSt in Philosophy of Physics, but candidates who progress to the DPhil from that course are required to write a 20,000 word thesis during their year as a PRS. For all these degrees the student must be a matriculated member of a college, and must normally reside in Oxford for at least one or two years.

A number of students are admitted each year directly to the Doctor of Philosophy course (the “ DPhil ”, the Faculty’s doctoral programme), initially as Probationary Research Students. These students will typically have already completed substantial graduate work in philosophy, usually equivalent to that required for the BPhil.

It is also possible to study philosophy at Oxford at graduate level without being enrolled for a degree. In order to do this, you must apply for entry as a Recognised Student . 

Entry Requirements

For a detailed description of the entry requirements for each course, please click on the relevant course link below:

• DPhil in Philosophy 
• BPhil in Philosophy
• MSt in Ancient Philosophy
• MSt in Philosophy of Physics
• MSt in Practical Ethics

We hold a Graduate Open Day in March each year, for applicants who receive an offer of a place. If your application is successful, you will receive further information about this in due course. The Open Day in 2025 is provisionally scheduled for Wednesday 19 March.

For the latest information on fees charged by the University, and living costs, please visit the Fees and Funding page .

Please visit our Graduate Funding page to identify various sources of funding for the Philosophy Faculty’s graduate programmes.

Please read through our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about Admissions pages .

• DPhil in Philosophy
• Other Courses

In addition to progressing from the BPhil or one of the specialist MSt courses, an alternative route to the DPhil, involving initial admission directly as a Probationary Research Student (PRS) and later transfer to DPhil status, is available to candidates who already have a substantial background in philosophy, usually equivalent to that acquired by taking the BPhil. A general condition for admission of any candidate to the DPhil course is that their proposed thesis constitutes a suitable philosophical project of the required length and that there is a member of the Faculty who is able to act as supervisor.

For a full description of the DPhil, please visit the DPhil in Philosophy page .

The BPhil is an intellectually demanding course, presupposing an undergraduate and/or graduate background in philosophy or a closely related discipline. It is not suitable as a conversion course for students changing to philosophy from another subject and it cannot be studied part-time or externally. It is regarded both as training for the DPhil and a basis for teaching a range of philosophical subjects and requires sustained and focused work over two years.

For a full description of the BPhil in Philosophy, please visit the BPhil in Philosophy page .

The MSt course in Ancient Philosophy attracts students of the highest calibre with a background in philosophy or classics and aims to provide a graduate education in ancient philosophy of the highest possible quality: one which will provide a foundation on which students can go on to pursue doctoral work in the area. The course consists of two subject options (examined by a total of three 5,000 word essays) and a thesis of 10,000-15,000 words.

It is not a course requirement that students without any (or with little) Ancient Greek attend the Ancient Greek language classes currently run by the Faculty of Classics but it is highly recommended that they do so as being able to read philosophical texts in the original language is an advantage for Ancient Philosophy studies. 

Students who pass the MSt in Ancient Philosophy will have the opportunity to apply to continue to the Faculty’s DPhil (doctoral) programme, via a year as a Probationary Research Student. MSt in Ancient Philosophy graduates who continue to the DPhil, will be expected to have reached a certain standard in classical Greek. While there is no related examination requirement, it is a requirement for the MSt in Ancient Philosophy students without any (or with little) knowledge of classical Greek to attend language classes run by the Faculty of Classics, if they want to progress to the DPhil. 

For a full description of the MSt in Ancient Philosophy, please visit the MSt in Ancient Philosophy page .

This course aims to attract students with a strong background in physics at undergraduate level or higher, who wish to learn about philosophy in general and philosophy of physics in particular. The course will offer a graduate education in Philosophy of Physics of the highest possible quality, providing a foundation on which candidates can go on to pursue doctoral work in the area.

The course consists of three subjects: Philosophy of Physics, Philosophy of Science, and an elective component (chosen from the following list: Metaphysics and Theory of Knowledge; Philosophy of Mind and Action; Philosophical Logic and the Philosophy of Language; and Philosophy of Mathematics).

Students who pass the MSt in Philosophy of Physics will have the opportunity to apply to continue to the Faculty’s DPhil (doctoral) programme, via a year as a Probationary Research Student.

For a full description of the MSt in Philosophy of Physics, please visit the MSt in Philosophy of Physics page .

Since October 2018, the Department of Continuing Education, in coalition with the Faculty of Philosophy, has been offering a two-to-three-year part-time masters course in Practical Ethics, the MSt in Practical Ethics. For more information, please check the Department of Continuing Education course webpage and the MSt in Practical Ethics page .

Other degrees that may be of interest include the MSt in Film Aesthetics , MSt in Women's Studies , MSt in Philosophical Theology  and MPhil in Philosophical Theology .

Student Fees and Funding

Fees and continuation charges

Information about fees and other charges

Undergraduate bursaries, scholarships and prizes

Information about undergraduate funding opportunities

Undergraduate UK government support

Information about UK government funding for undergraduates

Graduate scholarships

Information about scholarships and funding for postgraduate students

Loans for UK postgraduate and international students

Guidance around loans

Financial assistance

Information about financial assistance for current students

International opportunities

Opportunities for students to study abroad

Contact details for Fees and Funding teams

Find the best person to advise you on your query 

General funding enquiries [email protected]

General fee enquiries [email protected]

Find out more about the AAD

• About the AAD
• Contact the AAD

DPhil Finance

Start date:

• 7 October 2024

Time commitment:

About the programme

Our doctoral training will immerse you in all aspects of academic life.

You will be both a student and a junior research colleague. We provide courses in a wide variety of research methods and you will work closely with your supervisors to define your research question and develop your thesis. You will also have opportunities to gain teaching and research assistant experience and become involved with the intellectual community within both Saïd Business School and the wider University. You will attend academic conferences, make presentations, organise lectures and seminars and contribute to management and academic decisions. Both of our doctoral programmes run in parallel, with only differences in taught courses and preparation for writing in relevant journals to your subject of choice. We have deliberately kept the programmes small which means that in the vast majority of cases, students are fully funded to allow them to devote their energies to research. The DPhil corresponds to a PhD degree offered at most other universities. Examples of previous research topics include asset-pricing and corporate finance, the design and regulation of securities markets, corporate financial policy, and the impact of financial markets on real economic activity.

Supervision

You will be assigned two initial supervisors who will guide you through your first year.

They will help you to identify your specialist area of interest and further suitable advisers in that field. You will work closely with them to define your research question and develop your thesis. It is an important relationship and also a very personal one: it is shaped by you, your supervisors and the ways you interact. You will have a minimum of nine meetings, or equivalent per year with your supervisor.

You do not need to contact any faculty in advance of making your application but you can review the  profiles of our faculty  to look for at the areas of research covered at the School. You can note within your application if you feel that you are interested in a particular research area and working with a specific faculty member. 

The allocation of a supervisor is the responsibility of Saïd Business School, it is not always possible to accommodate the preferences of incoming graduate students to work with a particular member of staff. Under exceptional circumstances a supervisor may be found outside the School.

Review some current research taking place around the school as well as from some of our alumni.

Review articles and podcasts written by our researchers at  Oxford Answers . 

Learn more about  becoming a researcher  from Andromachi Athanasopoulou, who graduated in 2007 and is now an Associate Professor in Organisational Behaviour at Queen Mary University London and an Associate Fellow at Oxford Saïd.

View Professor Renée Adams' discussion on  Women on boards: The superheroes of tomorrow?  

View Dr Amir Amel-Zadeh discussion on  (Mis-)information in financial markets .

Assessment and programme milestones

Our DPhil offers students the opportunity to engage with internationally renowned faculty who are here to help you become an academic scholar.

You will be initially admitted to the status of Probationer Research Student (PRS). During your first year, you will be required to attend taught causes where foundational economic and financial theory will be studied. Based on previous years, these may include, but are not limited to courses that cover topics such as:

• Asset pricing
• Corporate finance
• Financial econometrics

During second and third terms, you will select four elective courses offered for the second year of the MPhil in Economics, one of which must be either Financial Economics I or Financial Economics II. Following successful completion of all necessary courses and within a maximum of six terms as a PRS student (and normally by the fourth term) you will be expected to apply for transfer of status from Probationer Research Student to DPhil status. A successful transfer of status is required to give a clear indication of whether it would be reasonable to consider submission within the course of a further three terms, if work on the thesis continues to develop satisfactorily. Students who are successful at transfer will also be expected to apply for and gain confirmation of DPhil status within nine terms of admission, to show that your work continues to be on track. Both milestones normally involve an interview with two assessors (other than your supervisor). This provides important experience for the final oral examination. You will be expected to submit a thesis, which provides a significant and substantial contribution to the field of learning in finance, which should not exceed 100,000 words after four years from the date of admission. It should be good enough to be published in book form or as a series of academic articles. To be successfully awarded a DPhil in Finance you will need to defend your thesis orally (viva voce) in front of two appointed examiners.

Changes to this course and your supervision

We seek to deliver this course in accordance with this description. However, there may be situations in which it is desirable or necessary for the us to make changes in course provision, either before or after registration. The safety of students, staff and visitors is paramount and major changes to delivery or services may have to be made in circumstances of a pandemic, epidemic or local health emergency. Also in certain circumstances, for example due to visa difficulties or because the health needs of students cannot be met, it may be necessary to make adjustments to course requirements for international study.

Where possible your academic supervisor will not change for the duration of your course. However, it may be necessary to assign a new academic supervisor during the course of study or before registration for reasons which might include illness, sabbatical leave, parental leave or change in employment.

For further information please see our pages on changes to courses and the provisions of the student contract regarding changes to courses.

I think the most important issues in the supervisor relationship are communication and trust. You need a supervisor who can tell you the things you need to hear even if you don’t want to hear them, and who can nudge you back on to the right track. Alexander Montag Current DPhil in Finance student

Benefits and opportunities

• Engage with internationally renowned faculty
• Conference and research funding
• Training in principal research methods at both at Saïd Business School and wider University.

Opportunities

• Paid teaching and research assistant opportunities
• Contribute to management and academic programme decisions through student representation on committees
• Postgraduate careers resources

You will become a member of an Oxford college. Your college is both an academic and social community that will enrich your time at Oxford. It offers everything from formal dinners and balls to sports and lecture series.

The Oxford college system enables you to interact with students and faculty from other disciplines. Some colleges provide accommodation for students. 

Who can apply

Our candidates are passionately intellectual people who have a superlative academic record and are committed to a career in academia.

DPhil in Finance

You will require:

• a good undergraduate degree: 2.1 (GPA 3.5 or its equivalent)
• GMAT or GRE test results
• TOEFL or IELTS test results (If you are not from an English speaking majority country)
• three pieces of written work, including a well-developed research proposal
• three academic references

Application process

Applications are now closed for October 2024 entry.

The deadline for applying was 13 December 2023 at 23:59 GMT. 

Complete applications received by the deadline will be considered. You will be informed by late January if you have been shortlisted for interview.

Final decisions will be communicated by the end of February.

There are nine shared places available for the DPhil Finance and DPhil Management. The average number of applications for entry between 2021 and 2023 was 70. 

Fees and funding

The course fee in 2024-25 is £23,580 for both home and overseas students.

The programme is four years in duration. Course fees are payable each year, for the duration of your fee liability (your fee liability is the length of time for which you are required to pay course fees). Please be aware that fees will usually increase annually. For details, please see our guidance on changes to fees and charges .

Course fees cover your teaching as well as other academic services and facilities provided to support your studies. Course fees do not cover your accommodation, residential costs or other living costs. 

Following the period of fee liability , you may also be required to pay a University continuation charge and a college continuation charge. The University and college continuation charges are shown on the Continuation charges page.

Additional cost information

There are no compulsory elements of this course that entail additional costs beyond fees (or, after fee liability ends, continuation charges) and living costs. However, depending on your choice of research topic and the research required to complete it, you may incur additional expenses, such as travel expenses, research expenses, and field trips. You will need to meet these additional costs, although you may be able to apply for small grants from your department and/or college to help you cover some of the expenses.

Scholarships and funding

Doctoral students admitted to our programme receive full funding over four years. This includes course fees and an annual living expenses stipend. To maximise the overall availability of funding for candidates, we will identify suitable alternative scholarships and may ask you to submit funding applications. We also ask that you identify and pursue any other funding opportunities, including external funding.   

For some scholarships you are required to submit a scholarship essay and/or tick the relevant box in the Funding section of the application form.

Cost of living

In addition to your course fees, you will need to ensure that you have adequate funds to support your living costs for the duration of your course. Please view the University's  living expenses page for information about likely living costs for 2024-25.

Further information about fees

The Fees and Funding section of The University of Oxford's website provides further information about course fees , including information about fee status and eligibility  and your length of fee liability .

Alumni placements

• University of Michigan Ross School of Business – Assistant Professor of Finance
• Vanderbilt University – Assistant Professor of Finance
• Ivey Business School - Assistant Professor in Finance
• University of Warwick - Assistant Professor of Entrepreneurship and Innovation
• International Monetary Fund - Economist (Economist Program), Research Department
• Harvard Business School - Post-Doctoral Fellow
• University of Hong Kong - Assistant Professor of Finance
• Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and Tinbergen Institute - Assistant Professor of Finance
• Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland – Research Economist
• Indiana University – Assistant Professor of Finance
• City University of Hong Kong - Assistant Professor
• Please contact us if you have any queries.
• [email protected]

Fees & funding

Find out more about the funding you can apply for to support you in your study

You can find information about fees on the Oxford University Fees and Funding webpages . You will need to ensure you have enough funds to cover your fees and expenses for the whole period of study; MPhil and doctoral students will possibly need to allow for fieldwork expenses where the thesis topic requires it and where fieldwork is approved. Unfortunately, opportunities to raise funding through teaching or research assistantships are not available within the department. All our courses are full time and have a heavy workload, so you will be only be able to take on up to a maximum of eight hours per week of paid employment during term time.

Information about your fee status, including for applicants from the EU, EEA and Switzerland, can be found on the University website .  

Funding & studentships

Below is a list of a few of the awards that are available for students applying to all or some of our courses. You are advised to explore as many funding opportunities as possible both within and outside the University.

The January deadline is the last deadline for anyone applying for a course at this department. You should ensure that your course application has been submitted together with all required supporting materials before this deadline in order to be considered for admission and also for University and college scholarships .

For two-thirds of Oxford scholarships, nothing more than the standard course application, made in time for the January deadline, is usually required. If you fulfil the eligibility criteria, you will automatically be considered. There are some scholarships for which you need specifically to apply, and they may use different deadlines. Check the deadlines and other instructions through the Fees, Funding and Scholarship Search , where there is a page for each scholarship in the "A-Z of scholarships" section .

English language certificates must be submitted by any applicant whose first language is not English who has not successfully completed a degree course in the UK within the two years prior to the start of the course for which they are applying . For the MSc in Economics for Development, a GRE certificate must be submitted by all applicants. These items can arrive after the deadline.  

Departmental Awards

We offer a number of full scholarships (covering course fees, plus an amount towards living costs), which are available to students on our courses

The criteria for selection will normally be outstanding academic ability and citizenship of (and normal residence in) a developing country as defined by the United Nations, with a preference for candidates from Sub-Saharan Africa. Continuation of scholarships in the case of multi-year courses (MPhil and DPhil) will be conditional upon a high standard of academic performance.

No separate application is required. All eligible candidates who are offered a place on the course will be considered.

Black Academic Futures Scholarships

These scholarships are available to applicants who are ordinarily resident in the United Kingdom, who are of Black or Mixed-Black ethnicity and who hold an offer for any of our degrees.

To apply, all you have to do is submit your completed graduate course application, including ethnicity information, by the January deadline and you will automatically be considered. No separate application is required.

Each scholarship covers course fees and a grant for living costs. Further information is available here .

Clarendon Scholarships

Clarendon Scholarships are awarded to academically excellent students with the best proven and future potential. They cover course fees in full, along with a generous grant for living expenses.

Find out more .

Commonwealth Scholarships

The Commonwealth Scholarship Commission in the UK (CSC) awards over 800 scholarships and fellowships for postgraduate study and professional development to Commonwealth citizens each year.

Commonwealth Shared Scholarship

Applicants for the MSc in Economics for Development only who are from least developed and lower middle income Commonwealth countries and who complete a separate application form available from the Commonwealth Shared Scholarships website . Only those who submit the application by 4pm (GMT) on 14 December 2023 can be considered for the Commonwealth Shared scholarship. 

ECB Women in Economics Scholarships

These scholarships from the European Central Bank (ECB) offer grants of €10,000 to women who are EU citizens who are planning to enrol on a master’s in economics at a university or business school in Europe.

Economics Department Scholarships

The Economics Department provides funding of up to £20,000 to be allocated to any successful candidate offered a place on the MSc in Economics for Development. The funding is open to any candidate for the course, irrespective of nationality or background; all applications will be considered on merit only. In the event of multiple strong candidates applying, some with partial funding from other sources, the department will share the award between more than one candidate. No separate application is required. All eligible candidates who are offered a place on the course will be considered. Successful candidates will be notified by the second half of May.

ESRC Studentships

The ESRC is the UK’s largest organisation for funding research on social and economic issues. The University, in collaboration with Brunel University and the Open University, hosts the Grand Union Doctoral Training Partnership – one of 14 Doctoral Training Partnerships accredited by the ESRC as part of a Doctoral Training Network.

In order to be considered for a Grand Union DTP ESRC studentship, you must select ‘ ESRC Grand Union DTP Studentships in Social Sciences ’ in the University of Oxford scholarships section of the University's graduate application form. You must also complete a Grand Union DTP Application Form and upload it, together with your graduate application form, by the relevant January deadline for your course.

Information about ESRC studentships at Oxford can be found on the Grand Union DTP website . Please ensure you have read all of the guidance available on the website before completing the Grand Union DTP Application Form . Questions can be directed to the Grand Union DTP Office .

Please note that the studentships are not intended for taught master’s degrees on their own – all applicants should envisage continuing with a doctorate.

In all cases, you must apply for the studentship at the same time as you apply for your degree , and if there are several application deadlines, you should apply no later than the January deadline .

Most of the information you will need about these studentships, for example whether you are eligible and how to apply, can be found on the DTP website . Questions can be directed to the Grand Union DTP Office .

For those applying for a studentship through the Migration Pathway , applicants must also email [email protected] after they have applied to flag up that they wish to be considered for a studentship.

Felix Scholarships

The Felix Scholarship enables outstanding students from India to pursue graduate studies in any subject. It covers 100 per cent of University and college fees, a grant for living costs and one return flight from India to the UK.

Rotary Scholarships

The Rotary Foundation offers scholarships for graduates and professionals to study peace and conflict resolution. Find out more from their website . Individual Rotary Clubs offer scholarships for graduate study – check with your local Club.

Swire and Oxford & Cambridge Society of Kenya Scholarship

This scholarship is for an applicant who is a Kenyan citizen to study for a one-year Master’s degree in the academic year 2024-25 at St Antony’s College. The scholarship will be for a value of up to £40k. 

Swire Scholarships

Four fully funded scholarships are available   for applicants who are permanent residents of Japan, Chinese mainland or Hong Kong SAR   and have completed the majority of their formal education in their country/region of permanent residency.   For all those who will commence study on a course offered by St Antony's College in 2024/25 (DPhils, MPhils and MSc are all eligible).

Find out more.

Weidenfeld Scholarships

The Weidenfeld-Hoffmann Scholarships and Leadership Programme cultivates the leaders of tomorrow by providing outstanding university graduates and professionals from developing and emerging economies with the opportunity to pursue fully funded graduate studies at the University of Oxford, combined with a comprehensive programme of leadership development, long-term mentoring and networking.

Other funding opportunities

A range of other scholarships are available, for example through the British Council , Foreign and Commonwealth Office , the Fulbright Trust , the Rhodes Trust , Harvey Fellowships and University bursaries and college awards. Separate application may be required and students are advised to consult the University's Fees & Funding webpage for further information or contact the Student Funding Office for help: [email protected] .

Using AND between your search terms narrows your search as it instructs the database that all your search terms must appear (in any order).

For example, Engineering science AND Robotics

Information about postgraduate study in Engineering Science at the University of Oxford - fees and funding

Fees and Funding

Studying the MSc by research, fees are payable for up to six terms, with a minimum of three terms in residence. For the DPhil, fees are payable for up to nine terms, with a minimum of six terms in residence.

As well as your tuition fees, you should budget for various living costs including accommodation and meals. Use the fees calculator to calculate how much it will cost to study and live in Oxford.

For more information, please see https://www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/graduate/fees-and-funding.

Funded studentships

Home students.

The Department holds funding from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council to support around six research students per year.

There is no separate application form to apply for these awards, but competition is strong. It is unlikely that an award will be allocated to anyone who does not have a first-class honours degree, or equivalent.

All Home applicants for the DPhil will automatically be considered for this funding.

In addition, the Department regularly advertises studentships funded by various partners and sponsors. See a list of current funded studentships.

International students

The University of Oxford offers scholarships and funding for non-Home students. For more details, please see the University's graduate fees and funding page , or go to your country page at the international section of the admissions website.

International students are also considered for the Departmental funding from EPSRC (see Home students section above) but the places are very limited. If you are an international student and want to apply for one of these studentships please contact the supervisor to see whether the flexibility might be available for you. 

Scholarships for MSc Energy Systems

Bseisu-oxford scholarship.

The Bseisu-Oxford Scholarship is available to graduate students demonstrating exceptional academic merit and/or potential ordinarily resident in Jordan, Palestine, Lebanon or Syria, commencing a Masters course of study in Energy Systems at the University’s Department of Engineering Science.

The scholarship covers course fees at the Overseas rate, as well as living costs for one year.

The scholarship receives generous funding from The Bseisu Foundation .

Energy Systems Scholarship

The MSc Energy Systems Scholarship is available to students accepted onto the MSc Energy Systems programme , with preference for female students from developing countries, not already in receipt of a fully-funded scholarship.

This scholarship covers course fees at the Overseas rate, as well as living costs for one year.

How will Brexit affect my application?

The University of Oxford is and intends to remain a thriving, cosmopolitan community of scholars and students united in our commitment to education and research. The UK leaving the European Union will not change this; our students from all across the world are as warmly welcome as ever.

The University of Oxford has published a range of Q&As covering the sort of questions you might have about studying here now that the UK has left the European Union. You'll find answers to many of your questions, as well as details on who to contact to find out more at https://www.ox.ac.uk/students/oxford-and-the-eu .

Oriel Graduate Scholarship in Artificial Intelligence

Following a generous gift from an Orielensis, Oriel College is offering a new scholarship to support one postgraduate student focused on artificial intelligence research as part of a DPhil course in either Engineering Science or Computer Science. We look forward to welcoming the recipient of this scholarship in Michaelmas Term 2021.

The Oriel Graduate Scholarship in Artificial Intelligence will provide an annual award of £5,000 for up to three years, provided the recipient remains on course at Oriel. College accommodation is available during the first year of the course and by competitive ballot in subsequent years.

Oriel has one of the liveliest MCR communities in Oxford, with regular social events and the well-established ‘Oriel Talks’ presentation series which offers graduate students the opportunity to share their research with the College community. Please visit the MCR website for more information about life as a graduate student at Oriel.

How to Apply

Applicants should make a direct DPhil application to the Department of Engineering Science or Department of Computer Science, following the University’s admissions procedures and course deadlines. Applicants should list Oriel College as their first-choice college and note the Oriel Graduate Scholarship in Artificial Intelligence on their application form.

Please note that all applications should go through the University of Oxford online application system and applications should not be made to Oriel College directly.

Financial aid

The University of Oxford offers various forms of financial aid which you may be eligible for. Please note that you must apply for these yourself. The Department cannot do so on your behalf; it has no scholarships, bursaries or teaching assistantships and few other sources of aid beyond those mentioned above.

Postgraduate Applications

Research Studentships

• OII >  

Summer Doctoral Programme

The annual Summer Doctoral Programme (SDP) brings together outstanding doctoral students from around the world for a fortnight of study at the world-leading University of Oxford.

The programme is structured around daily lectures, seminars and tutorials with leading academics in the field of Internet Studies, and provides an academic framework in which to share and discuss students’ current research.

Since 2003, hundreds of doctoral students have been brought together for two weeks of intensive teaching and learning. The international networks established endure over the years and deliver concrete examples of collaboration .

Key Information

Details in brief.

Unfortunately we will not be running the Summer Doctoral Programme in 2024.

Details for future years will be announced in due course on this page.

Each year in July, the OII Summer Doctoral Programme (SDP) brings together up to 30 advanced doctoral students engaged in dissertation research relating to the Internet and other digital technologies. By sharing their work, debating topics of mutual interest and learning from leading academics in the field, we hope that participants can enhance the quality and significance of their thesis research. Our multi-disciplinary approach means that students are exposed to new ways of thinking about their topics, whilst the strong focus on diverse methodologies encourages renewed focus on effective research design. The programme’s emphasis on generating positive interactions and providing safe spaces to talk through research problems also serves to create a tightly-knit peer network of excellent junior researchers, many of whom go on to collaborate academically, or just to support each other as friends.

The course was established in 2003 as the OII’s first foray into teaching, and was intended to help us think about where we could add value in developing our own graduate degree programmes, as well as providing an early opportunity for our faculty to teach. It remains one of the highlights of the OII academic year and we are proud to have worked with the hundreds of wonderful alumni who have passed through the programme, many now in tenure-track positions as field-leading academics.

The Summer Doctoral Programme will build upon the research strengths of the OII, involving many of our faculty from across multiple disciplines as well as bringing in excellent guest speakers from other institutions. It will emphasise methodological innovation and good practice in research design and will expose students to the benefits of discussing their research in a multi-disciplinary teaching environment. There will also be an opportunity to connect with several alumni from previous years, ensuring that the benefits of the OII SDP network are passed on to this year’s cohort.

How to Apply

Up to 30 places are available and will be awarded on a competitive basis. Only students at an advanced stage of their doctorate who have embarked on writing their thesis will be eligible to apply. All teaching will be in English, so all applicants should be able to demonstrate their competence in this language.

All applications must also be supported by at least one academic reference. This should usually be provided by a dissertation supervisor, but we can also accept references from other faculty with close knowledge of your work. Similarly, students should be able to clearly explain how their doctoral studies will benefit from the programme.

Fees and Funding

The cost of the course is £1,950, and includes accommodation and breakfast at Christ Church College Oxford, in July, and all course tuition fees. There are also some places available on the course without accommodation included. Travel to and from Oxford is not included in this fee. Lunch will be provided on week days, and several dinners and social events are also included.

The OII offers two partial SDP scholarships. All applicants will be considered automatically and need not submit any additional information.

Who should apply

The three main criteria for acceptance onto the SDP are academic excellence, overlap with the OII’s areas of interest, and a likelihood that the student will benefit from undertaking the programme. Bear this in mind when you put together your application to ensure that you provide clear evidence on each count.

• We really need to know about your thesis research,  as one of the primary aims of the programme is to help improve students’ dissertations. So make sure that your thesis abstract is clear and compelling. Remember that although the research is very familiar to you, we will never have heard about it before, so make sure you spell out the broad topic, research questions and likely contribution as simply as possible. Practice this ‘elevator pitch’ on your peers to see if they can understand what your research is really about.
• CVs are a great way to show off your strengths, so if you have given presentations, won prizes or undertaken relevant research or teaching experience, make sure you highlight this.
• Have a clear understanding of what you want to get out of the SDP, and make sure your reference is aware of this as well.  It’s helpful to know if you have a particular problem with your survey structure or your theory chapter, so that we can see where we can add some value. Obviously, the networking is an excellent reason to attend, but the best experiences are had by students who know what they need to work on whilst they’re with us.

In the words of a past SDP student: “Be honest about your research. Think about the strengths of your PhD: what’s the gap in the literature that you want to fill and how are you going to achieve this? Remember that your readers might not be familiar with your theoretical background so be clear and concise in addressing the literature. Don’t forget to justify your methods and what you expect to find. If some things are still unclear about your research, that’s normal. Don’t be shy in articulating your expectations from SDP. You won’t find all the answers there but lots of useful hints and advice that will help you keep going.”

SDP students come from a wide variety of disciplinary and methodological traditions; what they all share is a genuine intellectual curiosity and a willingness to consider these different perspectives.

Can’t find an answer to a question? Then ask us a question and we will get back to you. Please also see  SDP Alumni blogs for information about the programme from past participants.

The OII’s research covers a vast range of topics and disciplines: law, economics, politics, digital humanities, etc etc. How do I know if I will fit into the mix?

The most fundamental requirement is that our SDP students must be writing a thesis or dissertation about some aspect of life with the Internet. Beyond that, it’s the place to be if you have an open-minded approach to how best to study the Internet. Our typical cohort includes students from a wide variety of disciplinary and methodological traditions, and what they all share is a genuine intellectual curiosity and a willingness to consider these different perspectives.

How much am I expected to know (or care) about other disciplines? What is the benefit of (for example) a law student, or economist engaging with people and ideas from outside their own discipline?

The simple answer is that you’re not expected to know about other disciplines, but you are expected to be interested in their possible contribution to your research field. One of the perks of running SDP is seeing all the water-cooler conversations striking up outside the formal seminars. So, for example, we’ve previously taken students focused on online privacy, some studying it from a sociological perspective, others from a regulatory one. Each may have knowledge of a common core of literature, but can still learn from the other’s expertise. Or in another case, students may not share a common disciplinary or even topic approach but could have similar interests in applying a particular method. In each case, there has to be a basic willingness to step back from your own work and see how others might understand it.

Do you accept candidates who study the Internet from outside the social sciences (eg the sciences and humanities)?

Yes, we certainly do, but with the proviso that most of our teaching will draw on social science theories and methods.

Do I have to study ‘the Internet’, or could my thesis research involve other ICTs?

We interpret the Internet in a very broad way, as a ‘network of networks’ that incorporates the use of many ICTs. We do have faculty who have focused specifically on the use of particular technologies e.g. mobile phones, or grid computing, but in each case, the interest stems from the fact that they are ‘wired’.

Should I have a clear idea / plan of what I want to get out of the programme?

Yes, this is really vital. First of all, the programme is going to cost you or your sponsor quite a bit of money and you have to be sure it’s worthwhile. But more importantly it will help to frame your application and your participation. For example, everyone who attends will benefit from the peer network established, but only those who have a genuine motivation to learn and a sense of their work’s weaknesses will be able to use the two weeks to really make progress on their thesis.

When is the ideal point in my doctoral studies to apply to the programme?

Applicants should be at an advanced stage of their doctorate and have started writing their thesis.

I haven’t decided on a thesis title yet: is that a problem?

We will give priority to those who are more advanced in their doctoral study. If you don’t have a final title yet, at least give us a provisional one.

If my application is not accepted, can I still apply for subsequent year(s)?

Absolutely! We always have more good applicants than we can accept, and sometimes an application is stronger when the applicant’s work becomes more advanced.

SDP Alumni Gallery

Catching up with summer doctoral programme (sdp) alumni.

2 February 2012

Catching up with the SDP alumni

17 February 2014

Ceci n’est pas un “legacy project”

15 January 2010

SDP2009 (Brisbane) Student Documentary Rated ‘Devastatingly Abstract’

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Professor Francesca Stavrakopoulou

Professor of hebrew bible and ancient religion.

[email protected]

01392 724290

Supervision

Publications.

Twitter/X: @ProfFrancesca

I'm Professor of Hebrew Bible and Ancient Religion here at the University of Exeter. 

I studied Theology, and then the Hebrew Bible, at the University of Oxford, where I also completed my doctorate. I spent a further three years teaching and researching in Oxford as a Junior Research Fellow, before joining Exeter's Theology and Religion team in 2005. I was appointed to a personal chair in 2011. Alongside my research and teaching, I also undertake various media activities, including writing and presenting the BBC TV documentary series Bible's Buried Secrets , which was recently re-aired on Netflix US and is currently streaming on BBC Select. 

My research is primarily focused on ancient Israelite and Judahite religions, and portrayals of the religious past in the Hebrew Bible. More specifically, I'm interested in biblical traditions and ancient religious practices most at odds with Western cultural preferences, especially those bound up with the materiality and sociality of the body - whether living or dead, divine or human. Much of my research has been supported by grants awarded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council, the British Academy, and the Leverhulme Trust. 

My most recent book deals with ancient constructs of God's body:  God: An Anatomy  (Picador/Knopf 2021) won the  PEN Hessell-Tiltman Prize  for non-fiction, was shortlisted for the Wolfson History Prize , named a best book of the year in both the Economist and Sunday Times , and serialised in abridged form on BBC Radio 4's  Book of the Week . 

My first book explored the misrepresentation of the religious past in the Hebrew Bible:  King Manasseh and Child Sacrifice: Biblical Distortions of Historical Realities (de Gruyter, 2004). In my second book,  Land of Our Fathers: The Roles of Ancestor Veneration in Biblical Land Claims  (T&T Clark, 2010), I furthered my somewhat morbid interests by examining the relationship between the veneration of the dead and territorial claims in the Hebrew Bible. The dead have proved to be stimulating company: I've since published a number of works examining the social and religious impacts of the human corpse upon the living, and I'm currently working on a monograph called  The Social Life of the Corpse - Within and Without the Bible (forthcoming). 

I've edited a number of scholarly books: Life and Death: Social Perspectives on Biblical Bodies (T&T Clark, 2021); Religious Diversity in Ancient Israel and Judah  (with John Barton; T&T Clark, 2010);  Ecological Hermeneutics  (with Exeter colleagues David Horrell, Cherryl Hunt and Chris Southgate; T&T Clark, 2010). I'm founder and general editor of Bloomsbury's new Hebrew Bible in Social Perspective series, and I work closely with Oxford University Press as founder and co-editor of a series of monographs focusing on biblical characters, called Biblical Refigurations.

Alongside my specialisms in ancient Israelite and Judahite religions, my research interests include material religion; ancient constructs of the body and personhood; anthropological and archaeological approaches to ancient religion; the materiality and sociality of death and dying; ancient visual cultures and the Hebrew Bible; mythology and ritual; kingship in ancient southwest Asia; history and ideology in the Hebrew Bible; methods of historical reconstruction; constructs of ‘popular’ and ‘official’ religion; and ‘secular’ approaches to teaching and learning in biblical studies. I supervise a number of doctoral students working on a wide range of topics pertaining to the Hebrew Bible/early Judaisms and the socio-religious cultures of ancient southwest Asia. 

I teach a range of undergraduate and postgraduate modules focusing on the Hebrew Bible and its texts and language; ancient southwest Asian religions; the early cultural history of God; social and cultural constructs of death and dying; the relationship between religion and material culture; the role and place of the Bible in the modern world; and religious constructs of the body in ancient and contemporary societies.  

I supervise a number of doctoral students. I am happy to consider working with candidates working on any aspect of ancient Israelite and/or Judahite societies and religions, including their mythologies, rituals, and mortuary practices; the history and literature of the Hebrew Bible; reconstructions of the past in biblical studies; personhood, gender, sexuality in ancient southwest Asia; Levantine mortuary practices; ancient materiality and material-critical approaches to the study of ancient religions; anthropology of ancient religions; anthropology of the societies giving rise to the Hebrew Bible and/or early Judaisms; cultures of the body and body modification in ancient southwest Asian and eastern Medierranean societies. 

Candidates interested in working with me are very welcome to send me a 500 word outline of their proposed research and a copy of their CV.  

Research students

I am surrently supervising a PhD student working on the mythological and geo-spatial locations of Bethel, and co-supervising a PhD student working on early Jewish mimesis and imitation in Mark's gospel.

Previous PhD students include:  

Daniel O. McClellan, 'Divine Agency in the Ideologies of the Hebrew Bible: Cognitive Perspectives'

Rebekah Welton, ‘A Study of Meat and Wine in the Hebrew Bible in Relation to the Law of the Rebellious Son (Deut. 21:18-21)’ (AHRC funded) 

Bethany Wagstaff, ‘An Anthropology of Clothing in the Hebrew Bible’ (AHRC funded)

Alan Hooker, ‘You Shall Know Yahweh: God’s Penis and Divine Sexuality in the Hebrew Bible’ (AHRC funded)

Elisabeth Cook, ‘The Foreign Women of Ezra 9-10: Identity and Exclusion in the Hebrew Bible’ 

David Beadle, ‘Royal Ritual Heavenly Ascent and Netherworldy Descent in the Hebrew Bible and Ancient Judah’ (AHRC funded)

Jonathan Morgan, ‘Land, Sin and Sacrifice in Leviticus: Towards an Environmental Ethic’ (AHRC funded)

Stuart Macwilliam, ‘Queer Theory and the Prophetic Marriage Metaphor in the Hebrew Bible’

External impact and engagement

Alongside my media work (see below), I also undertake a number of public speaking events. These include lectures at the British Museum and Smithsonian, events at the Hay Literary Festival and the  London Thinks series, as well as lectures for Jewish synagogue communities, Christian cross-denominational societies, and atheist organisations. As a patron of Humanists UK, I have lectured on the roles of the Bible, religion, and atheism in ancient and contemporary societies at a number of Humanist conventions and conferences.  

Contribution to discipline

Grants awarded

• £45,572, Leverhulme Trust Research Fellowship, 2016-17
• £45,560, AHRC Early Career Fellowship, 2011.
• £7,110, British Academy, 2007-2009.
• "Uses of the Bible in Environmental Ethics", with David Horrell. £196,333 + c. £45,000 PhD studentship, AHRC, 2006-2009.

Editorial positions

• Biblical Refigurations series, OUP
• Biblical Interpretation journal, Brill (2010-13)
• Library of Hebrew Bible/OT Studies series, Bloomsbury
• Hebrew Bible in Social Perspective series, Bloomsbury
• Special issue of Hebrew BIble and Ancient Israel journal (co-edited with Martti Nissinen)

Academic society positions

• Secretary of the Society for Old Testament Study, 2010-12

Media (selected)

• Three-part BBC documentary series about the Bible and archaeology, called Bible's Buried Secrets , broadcast in the UK on BBC 2 in March 2011
• 'Talking head' contributions to various television documentaries. Regular appearances on BBC1's debate shows The Big Questions and Sunday Morning Live
• Discussion of biblical scholarship on several TV and radio programmes for both national and international broadcasters

Informing international policy

• Publication on corpse abuse cited at the Supreme Court of the United States in a case about the picketing of the funerals of US soldiers by members of the fundamentalist Westboro Baptist Church
• Winner of the 2022 PEN Hessell-Tiltman Prize for non-fiction
• Shortlisted for the 2022 Wolfson Hisory Prize 
• Awarded the 2020 Rosalind Franklin Medal for public scholarship 
• Student Guild award for Research-inspired Teaching 2013

Television series

Bible's Buried Secrets (BBC2, 2011; Netflix US). Presenter of this prime-time, three-part documentary series.

Television programmes (selected examples)

Searching for Exile - The Debate (BBC4, 2013)

The Big Questions (BBC1). Regular appearances on this Sunday morning programme. 

Sunday Morning Live (BBC1). Regular appearances on this Sunday morning programme. 

BBC Points of View (BBC1, 2011).

The Weekly with Charlie Pickering , studio interview on an Australian prime-time TV news/chat show (ABC, 2016)

The Real Star of Bethlehem: Sky at Night Christmas Special  (BBC4, 2015)

Secrets of the Bible (ZDF, Germany/IMG worldwide, 2014).

Bible Secrets Revealed (History Channel, US, 2013).  

The Bible: A History (Channel 4, 2010).

Online television (selected examples)

‘God’: a short film for the BBC’s Story of Now interactive documentary series (2015)

‘Are we wired to believe in a higher power?’: Two short films for the BBC iWonder Guide ( http://www.bbc.co.uk/guides/z3b6hyc )

‘The Real Garden of Eden’: interactive web material and film for the BBC iWonder Guide 

Radio (selected examples)

Australian Broadcasting Corporations' God Forbid : a discussion with author Karen Armstrong about the history of God (13 August 2023)

BBC Radio 4's  Book of the Week : an abridged serilsation of my book God An Anatomy  (five episodes, 13-17 September 2021).

'God's Body' on BBC Radio 3's Free Thinking (4 November 2021).

Private Passions (BBC Radio 3, 19 September 2021).

Interview on RNZ's Afternoons with Jesse Mulligan (Radio New Zealand, November 2021).

Interview on Radio Cape Town's Afternoon Drive with John Maytham (February 2022).

Interview on FreeThought Radio, USA (January 2022)

BBC Radio 4's The Moral Maze (14 October 2020)

Unbelieveable : Is Christianity Sexist? (Premier Christian Radio, 2018).  

Living with the Gods:  Contributor to two episodes of this major documentary series co-produced by the BBC and the British Museum, presented by Neil MacGregor (BBC Radio 4, 2017)

The Hollow Earth – A Travel Guide : Contributor to this documentary presented by Robin Ince (BBC Radio 4, 2015)

The Infinite Monkey Cage : Christmas Special  (BBC Radio 4, 2014 and 2017)

Beyond Belief : Panellist on this discussion programme, debating the impact of archaeology on religion and faith (BBC Radio 4, 2014).

BBC Radio 5 Live Breakfast Show : Hosting a debate with teenagers from a selection of faith schools in Manchester, and reporting back to the show live throughout the morning (2013)

Museum of Curiosity (BBC Radio 4, 2011). 

Woman’s Hour (BBC Radio 4. 2011). 

Nightwaves (BBC Radio 3, 2011): Panel discussion of TV series Bible’s Buried Secrets.

Podcast interviews (selected examples)

‘The truth about Easter’: an interview on Dan Snow’s History Hits podcast ( http://www.historyhitpodcast.com/the-truth-about-easter-francesca-stavrakopoulou/)

‘The historical reliability of the Bible’: an interview on Dan Snow’s History Hits podcast ( http://www.historyhitpodcast.com/the-historical-reliability-of-the-bible-francesca-stavrakopoulou/)

National Life Stories (in partnership with the British Library): 8 hours of interviews about my life, research, and career, recorded as an archive of podcasts ( https://www.bl.uk/projects/national-life-stories)

‘The Day the Earth Stood Still’: live podcast for The Cosmic Shed, debating the relationships between science fiction and religion ( http://thecosmicshed.com)

The Godless Spellchecker Podcast : podcast interview ( https://www.gspellchecker.com/tag/francesca-stavrakopoulou/)

Modules taught

• THE1072 - Introducing Biblical Hebrew
• THE1101 - The Bible: Past and Present
• THE1109 - Introduction to the History and Literatures of the Bible
• THE2173 - Life and Death in Israel and Judah
• THE2218 - The Invention of God
• THE3173 - Life and Death in Israel and Judah
• THE3218 - The Invention of God
• THEM122 - Approaches to Biblical Studies
• THEM309 - Socialising (with) the Dead

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The Materials 4.0 cohort-based training programme offers a four-year doctoral course focusing on the digitalisation of materials research and innovation to link the digital and physical via cyber-physical systems for prediction, classification, and control of material performance.

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Part-time pathways (up to 8 years) both University- or industry-based are also offered alongside the traditional full-time engagement programme.

In the first two years as a full-time student (four years if studying part-time), you will learn core skills such as basic programming, data analysis and visualisation, machine learning, research data management, experimental design, and communication and coaching. These core-skill courses will provide you with the personal toolkit required to conduct your research.

In the last two years, (four years if studying part-time) you will take the lead in developing and delivering training materials for the younger students and become an advocate for the digitalisation of materials discovery and manufacturing in industry and academia. 

Supervision

The allocation of graduate supervision for this course is the responsibility of the Department of Materials and it is not always possible to accommodate the preferences of incoming graduate students to work with a particular member of staff. Under exceptional circumstances a supervisor may be found from outside the Department of Materials.

Typically, you should expect to have meetings with your supervisor or a member of the supervisory team with a frequency of at least once every two weeks averaged across the year. The regularity of these meetings may be subject to variations according to the time of the year, and the stage that you are at in your research programme.

The first 18 months are a probationary period, soon after which, subject to satisfactory progress, you will normally transfer from Probationer Research Student (PRS) to full DPhil status.  The probationary period for part-time students will be normally be two years in duration. A second formal assessment of progress, Confirmation of Status, takes place later in the programme, normally at the start of the fourth year for full-time students. The Transfer of Status and Confirmation of Status assessments are conducted by two members of staff other than the student’s supervisor(s) or advisors.

Examination for the DPhil takes place at the end of the programme by means of a written thesis and an oral examination.

Graduate destinations

Graduates of the DPhil and MSc by Research in Materials are highly regarded by a wide range of employers, including universities, high-tech start-up companies, engineering consultancies, industry (including aerospace, electronics, automotive, steel manufacture, medical and household products sectors), world-famous technology companies, schools and colleges, and the financial and business sectors.

Changes to this course and your supervision

The University will seek to deliver this course in accordance with the description set out in this course page. However, there may be situations in which it is desirable or necessary for the University to make changes in course provision, either before or after registration. The safety of students, staff and visitors is paramount and major changes to delivery or services may have to be made in circumstances of a pandemic, epidemic or local health emergency. In addition, in certain circumstances, for example due to visa difficulties or because the health needs of students cannot be met, it may be necessary to make adjustments to course requirements for international study.

Where possible your academic supervisor will not change for the duration of your course. However, it may be necessary to assign a new academic supervisor during the course of study or before registration for reasons which might include illness, sabbatical leave, parental leave or change in employment.

For further information please see our page on changes to courses and the provisions of the student contract regarding changes to courses.

Entry requirements for entry in 2024-25

Proven and potential academic excellence.

The requirements described below are specific to this course and apply only in the year of entry that is shown. You can use our interactive tool to help you  evaluate whether your application is likely to be competitive .

Please be aware that any studentships that are linked to this course may have different or additional requirements and you should read any studentship information carefully before applying. 

Degree-level qualifications

As a minimum, applicants should hold or be predicted to achieve the following UK qualifications or their equivalent:

• a first-class or strong upper second-class undergraduate degree with honours in a suitable science subject.

The above qualification(s) should be achieved in one of the following subject areas or disciplines:

• materials science
• mathematics
• engineering

However, other subjects may be acceptable depending on the area of research chosen.

For candidates with a UK bachelor's degree or UK integrated undergraduate master's degree, normally an overall grade of at least 65% is required.

For applicants with a degree from the USA, the minimum GPA sought is 3.5 out of 4.0 on a four-year bachelor's programme. For applicants with a degree from China, an overall degree mark of 85% on a four-year bachelor's degree programme from a Double First Class University is normally regarded as equivalent.

If your degree is not from the UK or another country specified above, visit our International Qualifications page for guidance on the qualifications and grades that would usually be considered to meet the University’s minimum entry requirements.

In some countries, some bachelor's degrees are not acceptable for direct progression to a PhD in that country; normally such degrees are not acceptable for entry to this course unless the candidate also holds or expects to achieve a master's degree with an overall mark equivalent to at least 65% in a UK taught master's degree.

Normally the required qualification(s) must be achieved by the date of commencement of the research programme for which you have applied. 

GRE General Test scores

No Graduate Record Examination (GRE) or GMAT scores are sought. 

Other qualifications, evidence of excellence and relevant experience

Additional indicators considered when assessing an application against the department's criteria include performance in previous research project(s), the award of national prizes, the award of substantial scholarships to assist with previous university-level study/activity (if you mention such scholarships in your CV please indicate the monetary value and duration), preliminary knowledge of relevant research techniques, and your suitability for the research projects in which you have expressed interest.

The criteria against which your written application and performance at interview will be assessed are:

• appropriate indicators of proven and/or potential: academic excellence, research excellence, originality, ability to absorb new ideas, reasoning ability, creativity of thought, initiative, and capacity for sustained and intense work;
• sufficient evidence, in the view of the assessors, to suggest that you have the academic ability, motivation and commitment to (i) pursue the chosen research programme to a successful conclusion within the required time limits, and (ii) to pursue research in the subject of materials at a high level;
• the programme of study, including research topic, that you wish to pursue is well suited to the academic interests and abilities to which you and/or your referees have drawn attention in your application. For some projects this may include the ability to work as part of a team; and
• sufficient evidence of ability to (i) engage in a scientific or technical discussion in English at a satisfactory level, both verbally and in writing, (ii) understand a reasoned case presented in English and (iii) present a reasoned case in English.

Publications are not essential but will be taken into account. Please include the references and abstracts of any publications you may have in peer-reviewed international journals in your CV.

Further guidance

It should be noted that acceptance on a particular programme gives no guarantee of final success, and all research programmes require you to develop your learning and skills to new levels in order to successfully undertake all the assessment hurdles of a research programme.

English language proficiency

This course requires proficiency in English at the University's  standard level . If your first language is not English, you may need to provide evidence that you meet this requirement. The minimum scores required to meet the University's standard level are detailed in the table below.

*Previously known as the Cambridge Certificate of Advanced English or Cambridge English: Advanced (CAE) † Previously known as the Cambridge Certificate of Proficiency in English or Cambridge English: Proficiency (CPE)

Your test must have been taken no more than two years before the start date of your course. Our Application Guide provides further information about the English language test requirement .

Declaring extenuating circumstances

If your ability to meet the entry requirements has been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic (eg you were awarded an unclassified/ungraded degree) or any other exceptional personal circumstance (eg other illness or bereavement), please refer to the guidance on extenuating circumstances in the Application Guide for information about how to declare this so that your application can be considered appropriately.

You will need to register three referees who can give an informed view of your academic ability and suitability for the course. The  How to apply  section of this page provides details of the types of reference that are required in support of your application for this course and how these will be assessed.

Supporting documents

You will be required to supply supporting documents with your application. The  How to apply  section of this page provides details of the supporting documents that are required as part of your application for this course and how these will be assessed.

Performance at interview

Interviews are normally held as part of the admissions process. 

Interviews normally take place after you submit your application and normally within an eight-working week period of the application deadline for which you submitted a complete application.

These interviews may be conducted face-to-face or by telephone or video-link. Shortlisting for interview is carried out according to the criteria included in the present entry requirements as judged from your written application (including references).

Normally the applications of candidates who are recommended post-interview by a prospective supervisor as suitable for a place will be assessed by at least two members of staff with experience of supervising doctoral students and in addition may be assessed by the department’s Director of Graduate Studies. All decisions to offer a place require approval by the Director of Graduate Studies or deputy.

How your application is assessed

Your application will be assessed purely on your proven and potential academic excellence and other entry requirements described under that heading.

References  and  supporting documents  submitted as part of your application, and your performance at interview (if interviews are held) will be considered as part of the assessment process. Whether or not you have secured funding will not be taken into consideration when your application is assessed.

An overview of the shortlisting and selection process is provided below. Our ' After you apply ' pages provide  more information about how applications are assessed . 

Shortlisting and selection

Students are considered for shortlisting and selected for admission without regard to age, disability, gender reassignment, marital or civil partnership status, pregnancy and maternity, race (including colour, nationality and ethnic or national origins), religion or belief (including lack of belief), sex, sexual orientation, as well as other relevant circumstances including parental or caring responsibilities or social background. However, please note the following:

• socio-economic information may be taken into account in the selection of applicants and award of scholarships for courses that are part of  the University’s pilot selection procedure  and for  scholarships aimed at under-represented groups ;
• country of ordinary residence may be taken into account in the awarding of certain scholarships; and
• protected characteristics may be taken into account during shortlisting for interview or the award of scholarships where the University has approved a positive action case under the Equality Act 2010.

Processing your data for shortlisting and selection

Information about  processing special category data for the purposes of positive action  and  using your data to assess your eligibility for funding , can be found in our Postgraduate Applicant Privacy Policy.

Admissions panels and assessors

All recommendations to admit a student involve the judgement of at least two members of the academic staff with relevant experience and expertise, and must also be approved by the Director of Graduate Studies or Admissions Committee (or equivalent within the department).

Admissions panels or committees will always include at least one member of academic staff who has undertaken appropriate training.

Other factors governing whether places can be offered

The following factors will also govern whether candidates can be offered places:

• the ability of the University to provide the appropriate supervision for your studies, as outlined under the 'Supervision' heading in the  About  section of this page;
• the ability of the University to provide appropriate support for your studies (eg through the provision of facilities, resources, teaching and/or research opportunities); and
• minimum and maximum limits to the numbers of students who may be admitted to the University's taught and research programmes.

Offer conditions for successful applications

If you receive an offer of a place at Oxford, your offer will outline any conditions that you need to satisfy and any actions you need to take, together with any associated deadlines. These may include academic conditions, such as achieving a specific final grade in your current degree course. These conditions will usually depend on your individual academic circumstances and may vary between applicants. Our ' After you apply ' pages provide more information about offers and conditions . 

In addition to any academic conditions which are set, you will also be required to meet the following requirements:

Financial Declaration

If you are offered a place, you will be required to complete a  Financial Declaration  in order to meet your financial condition of admission.

Disclosure of criminal convictions

In accordance with the University’s obligations towards students and staff, we will ask you to declare any  relevant, unspent criminal convictions  before you can take up a place at Oxford.

Academic Technology Approval Scheme (ATAS)

Some postgraduate research students in science, engineering and technology subjects will need an Academic Technology Approval Scheme (ATAS) certificate prior to applying for a  Student visa (under the Student Route) . For some courses, the requirement to apply for an ATAS certificate may depend on your research area.

The department has excellent and wide-ranging research resources including:

• a world-class suite of electron microscopy facilities including a JEOL ARM analytical STEM, a JEOL 3000F FEG STEM, and two Zeiss Merlin ultrahigh resolution SEMs optimised for EBSD and EDX analysis, together with a number of supporting and training instruments. Much of this equipment is installed in the David Cockayne Centre for Electron Microscopy ;
• additional electron microscopy facilities are available at the national electron Physical Science Imaging Centre ;
• extensive further facilities for characterising materials including, for example, AFM, XPS, and Raman microscopy;
• advanced sample preparation and micromachining facilities including a Zeiss NVision 40 FIB/SEM and three other FIB instruments;
• microhardness measurement facilities (at high temperatures and at the nm scale);
• special processing or manufacturing facilities for ceramics, composites, carbon nanomaterials, rapidly solidified materials and devices such as novel batteries
• superb facilities for 3-D atom probe analysis (including LEAP 5000XS and LEAP 5000XR);
• an alloy processing and mechanical properties laboratory, for aerospace and nuclear materials; and
• a wide range of specialist modelling software including some operated by the Materials Modelling Laboratory, and access to Oxford's High Performance Computing resources.

The department’s Institute for Industrial Materials and Manufacturing, located at the University's Begbroke Science Park, offers world-class facilities for advanced materials processing. The Begbroke site also houses a number of materials-related spinout companies.

The  Oxford Materials Characterisation Service  provides a major suite of equipment for the characterisation of materials used in microtechnology and nanotechnology.

In addition to the excellent central and college library provision, there is a specialist Materials Science Library housed within the department.

Department of Materials

As a student on one of Oxford's research degree programmes in materials, you will be part of one of the top-ranked materials departments in the world ( QS World University Rankings 2023 ).

In the 2021 Research Excellence Framework (REF) assessment of research excellence in UK universities, research from the University's Department of Materials and Department of Engineering Science was jointly submitted to REF Unit of Assessment (UOA) 12 - Engineering (there is not a specific REF UOA for Materials). The results for this submission show that:

• 71% of the research activity of the two departments was judged to be in the highest category of excellence, Grade 4* ('World-leading');
• a further 26% of the research activity of the two departments was judged as Grade 3* ('Internationally Excellent'); and
• 90% of research impact was judged to be ‘World-leading’.

The department's high rating for research is evidence of its excellence in a wide range of materials research.

The department's vibrant materials research community consists of around 33 academic staff, 13 Senior Research Fellows, and around 240 DPhil students and 80 postdoctoral researchers. Research students are of many nationalities and come to the department from diverse scientific backgrounds.

Leading-edge research is carried out across a wide range of materials science, ranging from atomic-scale characterization, through state-of-the-art materials modelling, to pilot industrial-scale processing. 

Research students in the Department of Materials are also members of the University's MPLS Graduate School, which provides a wide range of support and training in addition to that offered by the department.

View all courses   View taught courses View research courses

All applicants who are offered a place on this course will be offered a fully-funded scholarship, covering all course fees for the duration of their course and a living stipend.

Further information about funding opportunities for this course can be found on the department's website.

Annual fees for entry in 2024-25

Full-time study.

Further details about fee status eligibility can be found on the fee status webpage.

Part-time study

This information is not currently available. It will be updated when the course opens to applications. Please check back regularly for updates.

Information about course fees

Course fees are payable each year, for the duration of your fee liability (your fee liability is the length of time for which you are required to pay course fees). For courses lasting longer than one year, please be aware that fees will usually increase annually. For details, please see our guidance on changes to fees and charges .

Course fees cover your teaching as well as other academic services and facilities provided to support your studies. Unless specified in the additional information section below, course fees do not cover your accommodation, residential costs or other living costs. They also don’t cover any additional costs and charges that are outlined in the additional information below.

Continuation charges

Following the period of fee liability , you may also be required to pay a University continuation charge and a college continuation charge. The University and college continuation charges are shown on the Continuation charges page.

Where can I find further information about fees?

The Fees and Funding  section of this website provides further information about course fees , including information about fee status and eligibility  and your length of fee liability .

Additional information

There are no compulsory elements of this course that entail additional costs beyond fees (or, after fee liability ends, continuation charges) and living costs. However, please note that, depending on your choice of research topic and the research required to complete it, you may incur additional expenses, such as travel expenses, research expenses, and field trips. You will need to meet these additional costs, although you may be able to apply for small grants from your department and/or college to help you cover some of these expenses.

Living costs

In addition to your course fees, you will need to ensure that you have adequate funds to support your living costs for the duration of your course.

For the 2024-25 academic year, the range of likely living costs for full-time study is between c. £1,345 and £1,955 for each month spent in Oxford. Full information, including a breakdown of likely living costs in Oxford for items such as food, accommodation and study costs, is available on our living costs page. The current economic climate and high national rate of inflation make it very hard to estimate potential changes to the cost of living over the next few years. When planning your finances for any future years of study in Oxford beyond 2024-25, it is suggested that you allow for potential increases in living expenses of around 5% each year – although this rate may vary depending on the national economic situation. UK inflationary increases will be kept under review and this page updated.

If you are studying part-time your living costs may vary depending on your personal circumstances but you must still ensure that you will have sufficient funding to meet these costs for the duration of your course.

Students enrolled on this course will belong to both a department/faculty and a college. Please note that ‘college’ and ‘colleges’ refers to all 43 of the University’s colleges, including those designated as societies and permanent private halls (PPHs). 

If you apply for a place on this course you will have the option to express a preference for one of the colleges listed below, or you can ask us to find a college for you. Before deciding, we suggest that you read our brief  introduction to the college system at Oxford  and our  advice about expressing a college preference . For some courses, the department may have provided some additional advice below to help you decide.

The following colleges accept students for full-time study on this course:

• Corpus Christi College
• Hertford College
• Kellogg College
• Linacre College
• Mansfield College
• St Cross College
• St Edmund Hall
• Worcester College

The following colleges accept students for part-time study on this course:

Before you apply

Our  guide to getting started  provides general advice on how to prepare for and start your application. You can use our interactive tool to help you  evaluate whether your application is likely to be competitive .

If it's important for you to have your application considered under a particular deadline – eg under a December or January deadline in order to be considered for Oxford scholarships – we recommend that you aim to complete and submit your application at least two weeks in advance . Check the deadlines on this page and the  information about deadlines and when to apply  in our Application Guide.

Application fee waivers

An application fee of £75 is payable per course application. Application fee waivers are available for the following applicants who meet the eligibility criteria:

• applicants from low-income countries;
• refugees and displaced persons; 
• UK applicants from low-income backgrounds; and 
• applicants who applied for our Graduate Access Programmes in the past two years and met the eligibility criteria.

You are encouraged to  check whether you're eligible for an application fee waiver  before you apply.

Readmission for current Oxford graduate taught students

If you're currently studying for an Oxford graduate taught course and apply to this course with no break in your studies, you may be eligible to apply to this course as a readmission applicant. The application fee will be waived for an eligible application of this type. Check whether you're eligible to apply for readmission .

Application fee waivers for eligible associated courses

If you apply to this course and up to two eligible associated courses from our predefined list during the same cycle, you can request an application fee waiver so that you only need to pay one application fee.

The list of eligible associated courses may be updated as new courses are opened. Please check the list regularly, especially if you are applying to a course that has recently opened to accept applications.

Do I need to contact anyone before I apply?

Prior to applying, you are strongly encouraged to contact the department for advice and assistance using the contact details provided on this page under Further information and enquiries . 

Having first read the guidance and project descriptions on the Department of Materials website, if you wish to learn more about a specific project please contact the relevant supervisor by email.

Completing your application

You should refer to the information below when completing the application form, paying attention to the specific requirements for the supporting documents . 

If any document does not meet the specification, including the stipulated word count, your application may be considered incomplete and not assessed by the academic department. Expand each section to show further details.

Proposed field and title of research project

Proposed supervisor.

Under 'Proposed supervisor name' enter the name of the academic(s) who you would like to supervise your research. 

Referees Three overall, of which at least two must be academic

Whilst you must register three referees, the department may start the assessment of your application if two of the three references are submitted by the course deadline and your application is otherwise complete. Please note that you may still be required to ensure your third referee supplies a reference for consideration.

It is desirable that one of your references is from an academic staff member who has supervised you in a research project.

If you are a current master’s student or have completed a master’s course, one of your referees should be your supervisor or course director on this course. If you do not provide a reference from your master’s supervisor or course director, the department will usually ask you to do so before completing the assessment of your application.

Normally at least two of your references should be from academic staff members who taught or supervised you during your bachelor’s and/or master’s degree programmes. The primary purpose of the three references is to provide the department with evidenced insight into your potential to excel as a research student.

Your references will be assessed for:

• your intellectual ability
• your academic achievement
• your motivation and interest in the course and subject area
• your ability to work effectively both in a group and independently

Official transcript(s)

Your transcripts should give detailed information of the individual grades received in your university-level qualifications to date. You should only upload official documents issued by your institution and any transcript not in English should be accompanied by a certified translation.

More information about the transcript requirement is available in the Application Guide.

It is very important that you include official evidence of your overall mark (%) or cumulative GPA if this is not clearly stated on your transcript.

A CV/résumé is compulsory for this course. Most applicants choose to submit a document of one to two pages highlighting their academic achievements and any relevant professional experience.

In your CV/résumé, please include the references and abstracts of any publications you may have in peer-reviewed international journals. Please do not include full copies of your publications.

Statement of purpose: A maximum of 400 words, accompanied by a list of preferred projects and supervisors

A detailed research proposal is not required. Instead, you should provide a single document comprising both:

• a list of up to four research projects (and the associated supervisors) in which you are interested, in order of preference, selected from currently advertised projects; and
• an outline of your research interests, written in English, that clearly indicates the rationale behind your choice of projects.

Please be sure to also include all of the supervisor names in the supervisors field of the application form. However, there is no need to repeat the project titles in the research project field of the application form.

The 400-word limit applies to the outline of your research interests. There is no word-count limit for the list of preferred projects and supervisors. 

If possible, please ensure that the word count is clearly displayed on the document.

Your statement will be assessed for:

• your reasons for applying
• your ability to present a coherent case in proficient English
• your commitment to the subject, beyond the requirements of the degree course
• your preliminary knowledge of the subject area and research techniques
• your capacity for sustained and intense work
• reasoning ability
• your ability to absorb new ideas, often presented abstractly, at a rapid pace

Start or continue your application

You can start or return to an application using the relevant link below. As you complete the form, please  refer to the requirements above  and  consult our Application Guide for advice . You'll find the answers to most common queries in our FAQs.

Application Guide   Apply - Full Time   Apply - Part Time

ADMISSION STATUS: FULL TIME

Open - applications are still being accepted

Up to a week's notice of closure will be provided on this page - no other notification will be given

ADMISSION STATUS: PART TIME

Not yet open to applications - please check back regularly for updates

This course opened to applications after our standard application deadlines had passed. The 'Admissions status' (above) will provide notice of the deadline.

*This is a new course for entry in 2024-25

Further information and enquiries

This course is offered by the Department of Materials

• Funding at the department
• Academics and researchers staff
• Research in the department
• Mathematical, Physical and Life Sciences
• Residence requirements for full-time courses
• Postgraduate applicant privacy policy

Course-related enquiries

Advice about contacting the department can be found in the How to apply section of this page

✉ [email protected] ☎ +44 (0)1865 283714 or +44 (0)1865 273777

Application-process enquiries

See the application guide