The building that's home to the Psychiatry Department
The University's Department of Psychiatry

DPhil in Psychiatry

About the course

The DPhil in Psychiatry offers you the opportunity to gain a wide range of transferable research skills alongside in-depth knowledge and expertise in one of an extensive range of research fields ranging from molecular biology to brain imaging and from behavioural research to epidemiology.

The DPhil in Psychiatry is designed to allow you to develop the skills required to become an independent researcher, as well as acquiring expertise within a particular research area. You will have a supervisor from within the department and may have a co-supervisor/advisor from within the department or from elsewhere, such as the Departments of Experimental Psychology, Clinical Neuroscience and Pharmacology and/or the Centre for Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging of the Brain (fMRIB).

Working on a project of your own under the guidance of a supervisor provides you with a primary learning experience. You are encouraged to take advantage of the comprehensive, flexible training programme offered by the Medical Sciences Graduate School which includes general and specific research skills and more advanced academic courses, ie statistics raining.

You may also be required to undertake one or more training courses related to your area of research. In addition to this, the department organises opportunities for students to meet together and to present their research to their peers, enabling you to benefit from feedback and to begin networking with students in other research areas.

The range of research topics available to you is extensive and includes core areas of neurobiology, psychological treatments, developmental psychiatry and social psychiatry. You will be based in Oxford for the three to four years of your DPhil but you can be based elsewhere in the world during the data collection phase of your research for a maximum of one year.

Attendance

The course can be studied full-time or part-time with both modes requiring attendance in Oxford. Full-time students are subject to the University's Residence requirements. Part-time students are required to attend course-related activities in Oxford for a minimum of 30 days each year.

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

If you are studying part-time, you will be required to attend seminars/supervision meetings/research meetings and other obligations in Oxford as much as possible during both term-time and outside of term-time. There will be limited flexibility in the dates and pattern of attendance, which will be determined by mutual agreement with your supervisor. You will have the opportunity to tailor your part-time study/skills training in liaison with your supervisor and agree your pattern of attendance.

Provision exists for students on some courses to undertake their research in a ‘well-founded laboratory’ outside of the University. This may require travel to and attendance at a site that is not located in Oxford. Where known, existing collaborations will be outlined on this page. Please read the course information carefully, including the additional information about course fees and costs.

Resources to support your study

As a graduate student, you will have access to the University's wide range of world-class resources including libraries, museums, galleries, digital resources and IT services.

The Bodleian Libraries is the largest library system in the UK. It includes the main Bodleian Library and libraries across Oxford, including major research libraries and faculty, department and institute libraries. Together, the Libraries hold more than 13 million printed items, provide access to e-journals, and contain outstanding special collections including rare books and manuscripts, classical papyri, maps, music, art and printed ephemera.

The University's IT Services is available to all students to support with core university IT systems and tools, as well as many other services and facilities. IT Services also offers a range of IT learning courses for students, to support with learning and research.

There is a common room in the department with a small kitchen where students and staff can have lunch and hold informal meetings. There are also a number of conference rooms and a seminar room equipped with internet access for presentations, Teams calls etc.

The department has links with the Cairns Library at the John Radcliffe Hospital whose staff provide an introduction and some further training sessions for all members of the department during the academic year. The librarians are able to give individual help. You will need to register with the Cairns Library (laboratories, testing rooms and scanning facilities).

Supervision

The allocation of graduate supervision for this course is the responsibility of the Department of Psychiatry 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 may be found outside the Department of Psychiatry.

You can typically expect to have contact with your supervisor(s) around once a fortnight at mutually agreed times, and whenever necessary as agreed between you and the supervisor(s).

In addition to academic supervision, the graduate studies team within the department provide support and advice to students at all stages of their study. This includes holding meetings to provide a forum for students to discuss their research and identify those working in related areas with whom they can share ideas.

Assessment

Examination of a DPhil involves submission of a thesis which is examined by viva. In addition to this, there are two interim assessments of progress that you must pass. The first, transfer of status (after four terms of study for full-time students, and eight terms for part-time students), involves the submission of a short report of progress to date and future plans for the research which is examined by viva. For the second, confirmation of status (between the seventh and ninth terms for study for full-time students, and fourteenth and eighteenth terms for part-time students), you are required to make a brief presentation of your work including a timetable for completion of your thesis.

Graduate destinations

The destinations of students completing a DPhil in the department are very varied and dependent on the research area covered by the research degree. For example, some continue in academic research in postdoctoral positions, others go on to start or complete training to be psychiatrists or clinical psychologists while others go into employment.

Changes to this course and your supervision

The University will seek to deliver this course in accordance with the description set out in this course page. However, there may be situations in which it is desirable or necessary for the University to make changes in course provision, either before or after registration. The safety of students, staff and visitors is paramount and major changes to delivery or services may have to be made if a pandemic, epidemic or local health emergency occurs. In addition, in certain circumstances, for example due to visa difficulties or because the health needs of students cannot be met, it may be necessary to make adjustments to course requirements for international study.

Where possible your academic supervisor will not change for the duration of your course. However, it may be necessary to assign a new academic supervisor during the course of study or before registration for reasons which might include illness, sabbatical leave, parental leave or change in employment.

For further information please see our page on changes to courses and the provisions of the student contract regarding changes to courses.

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