DPhil in Anthropology

Anthropology - the study of humans - is a very diverse field and a wide range of research foci are reflected within the activities and structure of the school. DPhil students in the school research topics across this wide range of research foci, including migration and migrant populations, social and cultural influences on medical practice and health, material culture and its representation in museums, human cooperation and pro-social behaviour, the evolution of human behaviour, human adaptations and interactions with the environment and technology, and the huge range of topics that fall under the social anthropological concerns of learning about different populations’ versions of the world and relating them to each other.

The DPhil provides training and practice in developing research skills, especially through fieldwork with human subjects, though this is not compulsory. It also offers practice in analysing, interpreting and writing up research-related materials, and in presenting such materials in seminar-type formats. Upon successful completion of the course, you will have developed the skills and expertise that qualify you to work in academic research/teaching positions or beyond in a broad range of professions requiring social science skills and sensitivities.

Most applicants are admitted to the DPhil as Probationer Research Students (PRS). However, students who are studying an MPhil in Anthropology at Oxford may apply for admissions directly to DPhil status, but only where there is clear continuity between the topic of their MPhil thesis and that of their proposed DPhil.

Course outline

In the first year you will attend weekly PRS seminars which provide training in research skills and writing as well as research presentation and critique. During this period you will develop and begin work on your thesis topic. You will also take at least two ‘research methods modules’ courses chosen to complement your research interests from the wide range offered in the school. You will meet at least monthly with your supervisor, and use the many research training opportunities on offer in the Social Sciences Division and elsewhere in the University (eg the Language Centre, IT Learning Centre). These requirements are spread over the first two years in the case of part-time students. You will also have the opportunity to attend lectures, seminars and classes in your general topic area.

If studying full-time you will spend your second year, or if part-time you third and fourth years, gathering data as part of your original research. While fieldwork is not a formal requirement most students undertake fieldwork of some form. Its nature varies considerably depending upon the research area and topic focus, from traditional immersion in another population, to experimental work, to work with artefacts in museums or archives, for example. Its location will be dictated by the research focus and could be in Oxford or, in principle, anywhere in the world (subject to health and safety considerations).

Students maintain regular (at least monthly) contact with their supervisor while conducting their research. In your third year if studying full-time,  or your fifth and sixth years if studying part-time, you will write up your research thesis. You will be expected to attend weekly ‘work-in-progress’ seminars in which you will present your developing work to your peers and staff for feedback and provide feedback to your peers' work. You will continue to maintain at least monthly contact with your supervisor for guidance.

Throughout the course DPhil students are strongly encouraged to attend the many seminars, presentations and lectures on offer within the department and elsewhere in the University.

A programme of research seminars is available, some specifically for research students and others featuring talks by invited speakers, often from outside the university. The principal event in this programme is the departmental seminar, run weekly on Fridays during term time.

Attendance

The full-time programme is studied over three to four years. The part-time programme has the same requirements, but is studied over six to eight years.

The part-time DPhil is designed for block teaching within the terms rather than specific days of the week, spread throughout the year.

Part-time students will be required to attend supervision, study, research seminars and skills training, together with other obligations (for example, supervision meetings). Although there will be no requirement to live in Oxford, part-time research students must attend the University on a regular basis. You may be expected to be in Oxford on a number of days each week during term time in the first two years of the programme.

There will be limited flexibility in the dates of attendance, which will be determined by class schedule and term dates. It is therefore likely that part-time students are either already resident in Oxford or will live within commuting distance of the city. Although the school appreciates that part-time research students will have non-standard attendance and work patterns, they are required to attend for a minimum of 30 days during term time in each academic year.

During the later years of the programme, there will be flexibility in the dates of attendance, which will be determined by mutual agreement with your supervisor.

Resources to support your study

Workspaces are available in the school on a first-come, first-served basis. Laboratory and other dedicated workspaces and equipment for methods teaching will be provided where required. All students receive an email account.

The Pitt Rivers Museum has its own library, the Balfour Library. The Pitt Rivers Museum also has an online catalogue of its entire collections and a number of dedicated collections-based and research-related websites.

A student-run society, the Oxford University Anthropology Society, runs coffee mornings, talks and other social and academic events throughout the year. Seminars, especially those involving outside speakers, often proceed to local pubs or restaurants after the talk.

Supervision

You will receive all or most of your academic supervision in the School of Anthropology and Museum Ethnography. You will have a named supervisor, possibly two, who will have overall responsibility for the direction of your work from inception to submission.

For this course, the allocation of graduate supervision is the responsibility of the School of Anthropology and Museum Ethnography 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 or co-supervisor may be found outside the School of Anthropology and Museum Ethnography.

You will have the opportunity to meet with your supervisor(s) regularly (typically for one hour, two to three times per term) – ie at least once per month. In the case of part-time students this equates to at least once every two months, being at least twice between the start of one term and the beginning of the next. During fieldwork this contact may be written or in the form of an online meeting rather than in person, and is expected to occur twice as often where a student is conducting work in a Foreign and Commonwealth Office-flagged location.

Assessment

You will be admitted to the course as a Probationer Research Student (PRS), unless you are joining the programme directly from an Oxford MPhil in Anthropology and are continuing research in the area of your MPhil thesis.

You will be expected to apply for, and achieve, transfer of status from PRS to DPhil status within a maximum of four terms as a full-time PRS student or eight terms as a part-time PRS student. This application is normally made in the third term for full-time students and in the sixth term for part-time students.

If you are directly admitted as a full DPhil student (i.e. you hold an Oxford MPhil and are continuing research in the area of your MPhil thesis), in principle you are ready to embark on the programme of research as approved by your DPhil supervisor. However, in some cases, your supervisor may determine that you should complete a further programme of methodological training or other preparatory work necessary for your proposed programme of research.

If you have achieved DPhil status, you must apply for and gain confirmation of DPhil status, to show that your work continues to be on track. If you are admitted as a PRS, you will undertake research preparation for your fieldwork. 

Once you have attained the status of a full DPhil student in anthropology (usually by the end of the first year for full-time students or the end of the second year for part- time students), you will be eligible to embark on fieldwork or other research. Confirmation of DPhil status takes place once students are well advanced with their writing up. Both Transfer of Status and Confirmation of Status assessments involve submission of a piece of written work and an interview with two assessors (other than your supervisor) and therefore provide important experience for the final oral examination. Confirmation of Status needs to be achieved within nine terms for full-time students and eighteen terms for part-time students who were admitted with PRS status, or within six terms for full-time students and twelve terms for part-time students who were admitted directly with full DPhil status.

The course is ultimately examined by the submission of a thesis and oral examination, after three to four years of full-time study, or six to eight years of part-time study.

Graduate destinations

Many graduates from the course enter teaching and research. Others go on to work in government, policy-making, public bodies, larger private companies, development agencies, NGOs and other organisations.

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