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Part-time DPhil Structure

Diagram showing the structure of the part-time NDPH DPhil course

 

Our part-time doctoral programme offers a flexible way to complete the training in population health research. The programme may be undertaken in conjunction with, and contributing to, paid employment in the same research area, or alongside other work or responsibilities with the agreement of supervisors and programme staff that the research project is appropriate to part-time study.

Part-time study is expected to take place at 50% of the intensity of full-time study.

ATTENDANCE REQUIREMENTS

This is a six year (18 term) part-time research degree programme. Early submission is allowed from year five (term 13).

Part-time students are not required to live in Oxford but need to be able to make frequent short-to-medium term visits to the city. The attendance requirement is an absolute minimum of 10 days per term, and students are expected to attend for longer. 

Overseas part-time students should contact the University's student visa service for advice. The DPhil in Population Health is not a distance learning programme.

Part-time Milestones

All students begin their studies as probationer research students. During a research student’s career, they will undergo two milestone assessments before their final examination. These are designed to evaluate the student’s progress at two key points in their studies.

1. Transfer of Status takes place by the end of the eighth term of study. It consists of the submission of a written report and a verbal interview with two assessors. This provides a detailed check on a student’s progress, and their understanding of their DPhil research, and is an opportunity for students to receive independent feedback.

2. Confirmation of Status takes place by the end of the eighteenth term after admission. It consists of the submission of a thesis contents list and a timeline for completion of the thesis, and a verbal interview with two assessors. It offers a further opportunity for students to receive independent feedback as they begin or continue the process of writing up their findings and drawing conclusions for their thesis.

Examination

After a successful Confirmation of Status, students are expected to submit their thesis by the end of their 24th term. Theses are normally a maximum of 50,000 words in length.

Following thesis submission, a viva (oral examination) will be conducted by two examiners, one internal to the University and one external. This typically takes place within three months of the examiners being sent the completed thesis.

In this section

“I chose the course because it is in line with my previous background of medicine and epidemiology and because it has notable experts in my field of research interest.” 

Lhuri Rahmartani DPhil student.