Research Degrees in Economics

1. Governance

The DPhil in Economics shall be under the supervision of the Graduate Studies Committee of the Department of Economics.

2. Attendance requirements

The DPhil in Economics shall be offered on a full-time and part-time basis. Full-time students are required to meet the residence requirements set out in §6 of the General Regulations for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Part-time students are required to meet the following attendance requirements for their period of part-time study: attendance for a minimum of 30 days of university-based work each year (or 60 days in the first year of registration where a first year M.Phil. Economics papersubject is required as part of the Qualifying Examination), normally coinciding with the full terms of the academic year, to be arranged with the agreement of their supervisor, for the period that their names remain on the Register of Graduate Students unless individually dispensed by the Graduate Studies Committee. During a student's probationary period the attendance arrangements must take account of relevant induction and training events scheduled by the department.

3. Qualifying Examination

Probationer Research Students in Economics are required to take a Qualifying Examination, unless exempted from all or part of the examination by the Graduate Studies Committee, on the grounds of an appropriate previous graduate degree or substantial professional experience since graduation. The examination shall consist of either one first year MPhil Economics papersubject and three second year paperssubjects, or five second year papers.
Probationer Research Students are required to achieve a mark of 64 on each of the papers they sit in order to pass the Qualifying Examination. In exceptional circumstances the Graduate Studies Committee may exempt a student from having to pass the examination if he/she receives marks of 50 or above on each paper. All requests for exemption will require the strong support of the supervisorsubjects.

(i)  Full-time students

Full-time students will attend teaching for the Qualifying Examination during their first year of registration and will be assessed for each papersubject in Trinity Term of their first year. A student who does not achieve the required mark on a papersubject is automatically granted a two term deferral of Transfer of Status and is allowed to re-sit that papersubject once more when next offered, unless a special dispensation is obtained from the Graduate Studies Committee. If a student fails any papersubject on the second attempt they will be withdrawn from the Register of Graduate Students.

(ii) Part-time students

Part-time students will attend teaching for the Qualifying Examination during their first two to three years of registration, and will be assessed on each papersubject in the Trinity Term following completion of the teaching for that papersubject. A student who does not achieve the required mark is allowed to re-sit that papersubject once more when next offered, unless a special dispensation is obtained from the Graduate Studies Committee. Where a student fails a papersubject in Trinity Term of their third year, they will automatically be granted a three term deferral of Transfer of Status to permit time to take the re-sit. If a student fails any papersubject on the second attempt they will be withdrawn from the Register of Graduate Students.

4. Transfer to MLitt (or MSc by Research) or DPhil status

Candidates will normally be expected to achieve Transfer of Status in their third or fourth term after admission (or in their ninth term after admission for part-time students). Applications should be submitted to the Graduate Studies Coordinator and will comprise the following:

1. (a) a completed Transfer of Status application form and appointment of assessors form; and

2. (b) a provisional thesis title and a short outline statement of the proposed research topic, which should include sources and methods to be used; and

3. (c) a piece of written work relevant to the thesis of between 5,000 and 7,000 words.

To successfully achieve Transfer of Status, students must also have satisfactorily passed the Qualifying Examination. In cases where a student is required to re-sit a papersubject, a deferral of Transfer of Status will granted automatically as set out in section 23 above.

The Graduate Studies Committee will appoint two assessors who will read the work, interview the student and submit a recommendation to the committee in a written report. The committee will then decide whether Transfer of Status will be approved.

A student whose first application for Transfer of Status is not approved (including where the outcome is a recommendation to transfer to the MLitt or the MSc by Research) is permitted to make one further application and will be granted an extension of one term (or two terms for part-time students) to Probationer Research Student status if necessary. If after a second attempt, the Graduate Studies Committee can neither approve transfer to the DPhil or to the MLitt, the student will be removed from the Register of Graduate Students.

5. Confirmation of DPhil status

Students who were initially admitted to the status of a Probationer Research Student must achieve Confirmation of Status not later than their ninth term or normally earlier than their sixth term (or not later than the eighteenth term or normally earlier than the twelfth term for part-time students). Students admitted directly to DPhil status having completed the full-time MPhil in Economics must achieve Confirmation of Status by the end of their eleventh term (sixteenth term for part-time students) as a graduate student, inclusive of the time spent on the MPhil in Economics.
Applications should be submitted to the Graduate Studies Coordinator and will comprise the following:

1. (a) a completed Confirmation of Status application form and appointment of assessor form; and

2. (b) a comprehensive outline of the treatment of the thesis topic including details of progress made and an indication of the anticipated timetable for submission; and

3. (c) two draft chapters intended to form part of the final thesis.

Candidates applying for Confirmation of Status shall also present their preliminary results of their research at a departmental seminar or workshop as part of the confirmation process, under arrangements to be approved by the Director of Graduate Studies.

The Graduate Studies Committee will appoint an assessor who will read the work, interview the student, and submit a written report to the committee. The committee will then decide whether Confirmation of Status will be approved.

A student whose first application for Confirmation of Status is not approved is permitted to make one further application, normally within one term (two terms for part-time students) of the original application, and will granted an extension of one term (two terms for part-time students) if necessary. For the second attempt, the Graduate Studies Committee will appoint two assessors who will read the work, interview the student, and submit a written report to the committee. If after the second attempt the Graduate Studies Committee can neither approve the application nor approve transfer to the MLitt or MSc by Research, the student will be removed from the Register of Graduate Students.

6. Theses

DPhil theses which exceed 100,000 words, MLitt theses which exceed 50,000 words and MSc by Research theses which exceed 25,000 words (each excluding the bibliography) are liable to be rejected unless students have, with the support of their supervisors, been granted permission to exceed the word limit by the Graduate Studies Committee. These figures are maxima and students are advised that many successful theses have been significantly shorter.

Integrated thesis format

A DPhil thesis may be accepted for examination if it consists of a minimum of three papers of publishable quality, framed by an introduction, a literature survey (either written as a stand-alone chapter or divided among the constituent chapters), and a conclusion. Such a body of work shall be deemed acceptable provided it represents a coherent and focused body of work. A minimum of one paper must be authored solely by the candidate. Any co-authored papers must include a statement indicating the candidate’s contribution to the paper. Where the co-author is another student at the University who also intends to include the paper in their thesis, permission to include the paper must be sought from the Director of Graduate Studies prior to applying for appointment of examiners. Current word limits and conditions remain in place.