You are viewing: 2024/25 version

Research Degrees in the Oxford School of Global and Area Studies

1. Governance

The DPhil in Area Studies shall be under the supervision of the Graduate Studies Committee of the Oxford School of Global and Area Studies.
2. Attendance requirements

The DPhil programme 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 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 Students unless individually dispensed by the Graduate Studies Committee.
3. Transfer to MLitt or DPhil status

Students will normally be admitted as Probationer Research Students. Applications for Transfer of Status should normally be submitted to the Graduate Studies Committee of the Oxford School of Global and Area Studies no later than the end of week four of the fourth term after admission (or the eight term after admission for part-time students). Any student who does not submit an application for Transfer of Status by the end of their fourth term (or eigth term if part-time) will be required to apply for deferral of Transfer of Status.
The student will be required to show that the research already accomplished shows promise of the ability to produce a satisfactory DPhil. For this purpose, applications will comprise the following:
- a) a transfer of status form, signed by the student’s supervisor and an appropriate officer of the candidate’s college;
  
  b) a paragraph summary of the research question, methodological and theoretical approaches;
  
  c) a research proposal of approximately 5,000 words consisting of (i) a short description of the project as a whole and a provisional list of chapter headings; (ii) a brief account of the relevant literature and how the research question and data analysis fit into it; (iii) the methodological approach, paying particular attention to practical and ethical issues relevant to the research; (iv) an account of how the proposed research and analysis bear on the questions posed, and (v) a tentative timetable for the research;
  
  d) a draft chapter of between 5,000 and 7,000 words;
  
  e) evidence of the seminar presentation given as part of the 1st Year DPhil Seminar Series;
  
  f) confirmation that the course(s) set out in the Training Needs Analysis plan agreed with the student’s supervisor have been satisfactorily completed.
The application will be considered by two assessors appointed by the Graduate Studies Committee of the Oxford School of Global and Area Studies. The panel will read the work, interview the student and make a recommendation to the committee in a written report.

The committee will decide in the light of the assessors’ report whether to approve Transfer of Status. A student whose first application for transfer is not approved (including whether the outcome is a recommendation to transfer to the MLitt) is permitted to make one further application and will be granted an extension of one term if necessary. If after a second unsuccessful attempt, the Committee can neither approve transfer to the DPhil or the MLitt, the student will be removed from the Register of Graduate Students.

4. Confirmation of status

Application for Confirmation of DPhil status should normally be made no later than the end of week four of the ninth term (or the eighteenth term for part-time students). Any student who does not submit an application for Confirmation of DPhil status by the end of their ninth term (or eighteenth term if part-time) will be required to apply for deferral of Confirmation of Status. No candidate may submit a thesis for the doctoral degree without having first obtained confirmed doctoral status.

The student will be required to show that the research already accomplished shows the required potential to produce a satisfactory DPhil. Applications should be submitted to the Graduate Studies Committee of the Oxford School of Global and Area Studies and will comprise the following:
- a) a confirmation of status application form signed by the student’s supervisor and an appropriate officer of the candidate’s college;
  
  b) an outline structure of the thesis, consisting of chapter headings, and a brief statement of the intended content;
  
  c) an outline timetable detailing what work has already been carried out and what activities are planned for the remaining stages;
  
  d) two completed draft chapters intended to form part of the final thesis;
  
  e) confirmation that required courses and seminars agreed with the student’s supervisor have been satisfactorily completed;
  
  f) confirmation that the student has presented part of their work at a seminar series, workshop or a conference in Oxford or elsewhere in the UK.
The application will be considered by two assessors appointed by the Graduate Studies Committee of the Oxford School of Global and Area Studies. The panel will read the work, interview the student and make a recommendation to the committee in a written report.

The Committee will decide in the light of the assessors’ report whether to approve Confirmation of Status. A student whose first application is not approved will be permitted to make one further application. If after a second attempt the Committee can neither approve Confirmation of Status nor transfer to the MLitt degree, the student will be removed from the Register of Graduate Students.

5. Thesis

The DPhil thesis must not exceed 100,000 words, the limit to include the abstract, all notes and appendices but not the bibliography.

MLitt theses should not exceed 50,000 words, the limit to include the abstract, all notes and appendices but not the bibliography.