Research Degrees in the Department for Continuing Education

Differences from 2015/16 to 2019/20

  • [Students are advised to look at the most recent edition of the Examination Regulations for information on current requirements.]

  • 1. For the purposes of this section the word ‘board’ shall include any body that has been authorised by the Continuing Education Board with power to act on its behalf to admit students to read for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy; and to assess students with PRS or D.Phil. status.

  • 2. Admission

    • (a) Students arewill normally be admitted to study on part-time basis only.

    • (b) Students are admitted either

      • (i) as Probationer Research Students, or

      • (ii) as a D.Phil. studentstudents. Students may, at the discretion of the Continuing Education Board, be admitted to one of the subjects listed in the Schedule for D.Phil. statusbelow or, exceptionally, under theCouncil provisionsRegulations 15 of Sect2002 (see 7. 15, para. 2, cl. 1(ibelow).  Students who have successfully completed the M.Sc. in Advanced Cognitive Therapy, the M.Sc. in Applied Landscape Archaeology, the M.Sc. in English Local History, the M.Sc. in Evidence-Based Health Care, the M.St. in Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy, the M.Sc. in Professional Archaeology, the M.Sc. in Sustainable Urban Development, or any other relevant Oxford Masters degree deemed an acceptable prerequisite by the board, may beare admitted under these provisions.

    • (c) In assessing applications from candidates seeking to undertake a research degree through part-time study, the board shall have regard to evidence that:

      • (i) the candidates can meet the attendance requirements relating to part-time study;

      • (ii) the candidates are well-fitted to undertake research at doctoral level;

      • (iii) the candidate's personal and professional circumstances are such that it is both practicable for them to fulfil the requirements of the course, and necessary for them to study on a part-time basis; only.

      • (iv) if appropriate, the candidates have the written support of their present employer for their proposed course of study and its obligations;

      • (v) the proposed field of research can be appropriately supervised under the auspices of the Continuing Education Board.

  • 32. Attendance requirementsRequirements

    Students are required to attend for a minimum of thirty days of university-based work each year, to be arranged with the agreement of their supervisor, for the period that their names remain on the Register of Graduate Studies unless individually dispensed by the Continuing Education Board.

  • 43. Probationer Research Student

    A research student in Archaeology or Architectural History or Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy or English Local History or Evidence-Based Health Care or Sustainable Urban Development admitted to Probationer Research Student status shall normally be required to:

    • (i) attend such lectures, seminars, and classes as his or her supervisor shall determine, and provide evidence of his or her attendance; and

    • (ii) present one seminar paper which shall be assessed by one or two assessors. Such assessors should not normally include the candidate's supervisor; and

    • (iii) submit an essay of between 3,000 and 5,000 words, being either a section of the candidate's proposed thesis or an essay on a relevant topic, and a brief statement limited to 500 words, of the subject of the thesis and the manner in which the candidate proposes to treat it.

  • 5. Admission/transferTransfer to D.Phil. statusStatus

    • (a) ApplicantsCandidates are required to undergo a transfer process before they are admitted to D.Phil. status. The purpose and process are laid out in the General Regulations for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy, section 3.

      (b) Applications for transfer must be accompanied by such material as is detailed in the conventions for each programme.

      (c) The Board may give leave to the assessors to request additional evidence.

  • 4.  Confirmation of Status

    • (a)  Candidates are required to undergo a confirmation of status process to demonstrate that they are capable of producing research work ofon thetheir requisitethesis standardis andprogressing presenting the findings clearly;satisfactorily and that theirthe plannedproposed programmetimetable leading to submission is achievable. The process is laid out in the General Regulations for the Degree of researchDoctor of Philosophy, section 4.

      (b)  Applications for confirmation must be accompanied by such material as is onedetailed thatin the conventions for each programme.

      (c) The Board may begive profitablyleave undertakento atthe Oxford;assessors andto thatrequest theyadditional haveevidence.

  • 5.  The Continuing Education Board may approve a goodtransfer knowledgeto andthe understandingstatus of Student for the workDegree thatof isMaster likelyof Science by Research or of Master of Letters, as appropriate, to bethose neededcandidates who:

    • (a) Have been unsuccesful in their application to embarktransfer onor theconfirm programme.status or;

    • (b) StudentsRequest whoto havetransfer successfullystatus completedfrom the M.Sc in Advanced Cognitive Therapy, M.Sc. in Applied Landscape Archaeology, the M.St. or M.Sc. in English Local History, the M.Sc. in Evidence-Based Health Care, the M.St. in Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy, the M.St. or M.Sc. in Professional Archaeology, the M.Sc. in Sustainable Urban Development, or any other relevant Oxford Masters degree deemed an acceptable prerequisite by the board, shall normally apply for admissionPRS to D.Phil., status up to the twelfth term after their initial admission as a graduate student.or;

    • (c) StudentsFail whoto holdsatisfy the statusexaminers ofin Probationarythe Research Student, shall normally applyexamination for admission toa D.Phil., statusbut aftersatisfy athe minimumexaminers ofin sixthe termsrequirements andfor nothe longerlesser than eight termsaward.

    (d) A student may be permitted to hold the status of Probationary Research Student for up to a further four terms subject to the provisions of Chapter 12, Section 4 cl.7.

  • (e) Admission to D.Phil. status may be made conditional on such requirements as the board may impose.

  • (f) Applicants should specify the date by which they undertake to make available two (or in exceptional cases, three) copies of the written work in support of the application. Applicants should do so not later than four weeks before the start of the full term in which they wish to be assessed. Application for transfer should be sent to the Registry, Department for Continuing Education, 1 Wellington Square.

  • (g) Applications for transfer to D.Phil. status shall be accompanied by:

  • (1)6. a brief statement, limited to 500 words, of the subject of theThesis

    Maximum thesis and the manner in which the candidate proposes to treat it.

  • (2) a report from the supervisor, which should be sent by the supervisor direct to the Registry of the Departmentlengths for Continuing Education.

  • (3)either, for research students in Archaeology, Architectural History, Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy, English Local History and Evidence-Based Health Care:

  • a piece of written work, normally 3,000 to 5,000 words long, being either (a) a section of the proposed thesis, or (b) an essay on a relevant topic, or (c) an augmented version of the statement under (1) above;

  • [Candidates should note that if they adopt alternative (c) above they must also submit the required 500 word statement.]

  • or, for research students in Sustainable Urban Development:

    • (a) a proposal of not more than 7,500 words, which includes: thesis title; outline of research plans; preliminary review of the literature; preliminary review of methodology; progress to date; timetable to completion; fieldwork design; bibliography; and

    • (b) a presentation (of 15 minutes duration, plus 10 minutes for questions) outlining the aims and objectives of the research, the literature used, the proposed methodologies, and the progress to date.

  • The Registry shall send the written work and the supervisor’s report to the assessors appointed by the board.

  • (h) Candidates should also note that while as precise a definition of the subject should be given as is possible at this stage of their work, they are not bound to follow the statement precisely, but may reformulate their plan in the light of further study. If reformulation goes so far as to require alteration of the title of the thesis as approved, however, they should seek permission of the relevant board to alter it.

  • (i) Candidates shall be assessed by two assessors appointed by the board, neither of whom will normally be the student's supervisor. The assessors shall certify that they have considered the written work submitted by the applicant and interviewed the applicant. The assessors should also provide a written report of the application to the board for approval of their recommendation. In cases where the assessors decide that the application is not of the required standard to transfer to D.Phil. statusand their written report should outline the areas in which the application is judged to fall short of the required standard.

  • MLitt/MSc(jRes) A candidate who is unsuccessful may be given one further opportunity to apply for transfer (within the limit of eight terms). A candidate whose second application for transfer is unsuccessful shall cease to hold the status of a Probationary Research Student.

  • 6. Confirmation of D.Phil. status

    • (a) Assessors are appointed by the board to assess whether a candidate's work on their thesis is developing satisfactorily and that they may be considered ready to be examined within three further terms. D.Phil. status must be confirmed before a candidate may submit their thesis for examination for the degree of D.Phil.

    • (b) Application for confirmation of D.Phil. status, with statements of support from the candidate's society and supervisor, shall normally be presented to the Registry of the Department for Continuing Education not earlier than four weeks before the end of the twelfth term, and at the latest by four weeks before the end of the eighteenth term, after admission to the status of Probationer Research Student or to status of student for another higher degree of the University.

    • (c) Application for confirmation of D.Phil. status shall normally be accompanied by:

      • (1) a report from the supervisor which should be sent directly to the Registry of the Department for Continuing Education.

      • (2)either, for research students in Archaeology, Architectural History, Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy, English Local History, and Evidence-Based Health Care:

        • (a) a statement of the title of the thesis and of the manner in which the candidate proposes to treat it. This should include a proposed chapter structure; and

        • (b) a specimen chapter or part of a chapter not longer than 10,000 wordsdetailed in the caseSchedule of Archaeology , and Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy and Evidence-Based Health Care or 6,000 words in the case of Architectural History and English Local History;

      • or, for research students in Sustainable Urban Development:

        • (a) a report of not more than 3,000 words that includes: the thesis title; a thesis outline (including contents page and a brief summary of the content of individual chapters); the aims and methods of the thesis; a timetable for completion; and

        • (b) two substantive chapters, each of no more than 10,000 words, based on the research findings.

      • The Registry should send the written work and the supervisor’s report to the interviewer appointed by the board.

    • (d) Candidates shall be assessed by two assessors appointed by the board, at least one of whom will not be the student's supervisorbelow. The assessment shall include an oral examination. The assessors shall also provide a written report of the application to the board for approval of their recommendation. In cases where the assessors decide that the application is not of the required standard to warrant confirmation of D.Phil. status, their written report should outline the areas in which the application is judged to fall short of the required standard.

    • (e) A student who is unsuccessful may be given one further opportunity to apply for confirmation (within the statutory limit).

  • 7. Theses

    Theses submitted for the degree of D.Phil. in Archaeology should not normally exceed 80,000 words, excluding bibliography and descriptive catalogue or similar factual matter.

    Theses submitted for the degree of D.Phil. in Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy shall not exceed 80,000 words. This shall include all notes, appendices, any source material being edited, and all other parts of the thesis whatsoever excluding only the bibliography.

    Theses submitted for the degree of D.Phil. in Architectural History and in English Local History and Evidence-Based Health Care and Sustainable Urban Development shall not exceed 100,000 words. This shall include all notes, appendices, any source material being edited, and all other parts of the thesis whatsoever excluding only the bibliography.

    Any thesis exceeding thesethe limitsword count as defined in the conventions for the subject is liable to be rejected on that ground. ItIn isexceptional recognisedcases thatthe inBoard specialmay circumstances it will be necessary forgive leave to be granted to exceed thisthe limit by a stated amount. In particular it is recognised that the inclusion of essential edited source material, whether as an appendix or as a main part of the thesis, presents special problems in regard to length; and the board will be prepared to consider applications for edited material to be excluded from the word limit otherwise placed on the thesis. Leave to exceed these limits for other reasons will be given only in the most special cases and on the recommendation of the supervisor. Any application for permission to exceed the limit should be submitted with a detailed explanation and statement of the amount of excess length requested, and with a covering letter from the supervisor. Applications should be made as soon as possible and may not be later than the last day of the fifth week of the term before that in which applications made for appointment of examiners.

    Theses submitted for the degree of D.Phil. in Archaeology, Architectural History, Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy,English Local History, Evidence Based Health Care and Sustainable Urban Development must be accompanied with two printed or typewritten copies of an abstract of the thesis, which shall not normally exceed 2,500 words for the D.Phil., prepared by the student. One copy of the abstract shall be bound into the copy of the thesis which shall be deposited in the Bodleian Library. (This is in addition to the requirement to submit an abstract of not more than 300 words in length required by the Education Committee's Regulations.)

  • 87.  Candidates admitted exceptionally under Council Regulations 15 of 2002 shall normally be subject to the provisions of (21.)– - (76.) above. ThesesMaterial submittedrequired will be as for the degree of D.Phil. in Sustainable Urban Development unless otherwise notified by students admitted under this provision shall not normally exceed 100,000 words inclusive of all notes, appendices, any source material being edited, and all other parts of the thesis whatsoever excluding only the bibliography. The Continuing Education Board may, in individual cases, determine that alternative provisions shall apply, and in such cases shall notify the candidate on admission.

    • Schedule

    D.Phil.

    The Continuing Education Board may admit students to read for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the following subjects

    Archaeology (thesis up to 80,000 words)

    Architectural History (thesis up to 100,000 words)

    Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (thesis up to 50,000 words)

    English Local History (thesis up to 100,000 words)

    Evidence-Based Health Care (thesis up to 50,000 words)

    Literature and Arts (thesis up to 100,000 words)

    Sustainable Urban Development (thesis up to 100,000 words)

    MLitt

    The Continuing Education Board may award the degree of Master of Letters in the following subjects

    Archaeology (thesis up to 40,000 words)

    Architectural History (thesis up to 50,000 words)

    English Local History (thesis up to 50,000 words)

    Literature and Arts (thesis up to 50,000 words)

    Sustainable Urban Development (thesis up to 50,000 words)

    MSc(Res)

    The Continuing Education Board may award the degree of Master of Science by Research in the following subjects

    Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (thesis up to 30,000 words)

    Evidence-Based Health Care (thesis up to 30,000 words)