A collection of classical literature including Thucydides Historiae.
Books of Classical literature
(Image Credit: Bodleian Library)

DPhil in Ancient History

About the course

The DPhil programme is a research degree intended to make it possible for the successful candidate to aspire to a career in research and teaching at university level anywhere in the world where the Classical subjects are studied.

The DPhil takes the form of the composition of a substantial dissertation of up to 100,000 words, based on new research on a subject of your choice. 

The best dissertations are published, many in the Oxford University Press series of Classical Monographs which exists for this purpose. 

The vision of the DPhil as a necessary stage of an academic career, following on from master's-level education and preparing for postdoctoral work and beyond, is reflected in five other ways:

  1. Doctoral students are required to set the topics of their individual specialisation in a larger understanding of developments in the field across the world.
  2. They are encouraged to pursue a diversity of scholarly interests on the side of working on their doctoral dissertation, so as to start building a larger portfolio of specialities. They may produce articles or review books in areas somewhat different from that of their dissertation, and towards the end of their doctoral work may begin to contemplate a postdoctoral project.
  3. The Classics Faculty assists doctoral students in continuing to develop necessary research skills, and acquiring or improving knowledge of relevant ancient and modern languages. Competence in Latin and/or Ancient Greek is an admission requirement.
  4. Doctoral students can be trained and given experience (with mentoring) in undergraduate teaching of several different kinds, eg class, lecture, tutorial.
  5. There are other structures, within the Classics Faculty, the Humanities Division and the wider University, to help with career-development and with academic placement.

It is fully recognised that some students will choose not to pursue a professional career in Classics, and the structures mentioned in the points above are tailored to their needs too. The experience of the Classics DPhil programmes is intended to be personally fulfilling and intellectually enriching in itself, and the cognitive skills required are highly transferable to other walks of life.

You will have the opportunity to attend seminar talks by visiting speakers as well as attend the many other academic activities that take place in the Ioannou Centre for Classical and Byzantine Studies.

Examples of recent DPhil thesis titles

  • Challenging Mithraism: a revisionist account (Supervisor: Professor J Elsner)
  • Timor et Luctus: The Mechanics of the Roman Republican Army in Battle (Supervisor: Professor J Prag)
  • The historical development of the Greek city in the Roman period in regards to ideology and identity formation (Supervisor: Dr C Kuhn)
  • Representing the Dynasty in Flavian Rome: The Case of Josephus' Jewish War (Supervisor: Professor M Goodman)
  • Greek Religious Life In Roman Asia Minor (Supervisor: Professor P Thonemann)
  • Language, Nomos, and Narrative in Greek Historiography (Supervisor: Professor R Thomas)
  • Athenian Power in the Fifth Century BC (Supervisor: Professor P Thonemann)
  • Music, Spectacle And Society In Ancient Rome, 167 BC - c. 138 AD (Supervisor: Professor N Purcell)
  • Structures, Conceptualisation, And Response: Differentiating The Interactions Of Non-Italian Peoples Of The West With Rome, ca. 265-130 BC (Supervisor: Professor J Prag)
  • Beauty and the Gods in Archaic Greece (Supervisors: Professor J Elsner/Dr C Metcalf)
  • Athenians abroad in the sixth and fifth centuries BC (Supervisor: Professor R Thomas)
  • Breaking Boundaries: A Study of Socio-cultural Identities in Archaic and Classical Western Sicily (Supervisors: Professor J Prag/Professor J Quinn)
  • Hope, Fear, and Conceptions of the Future in the Early Principate (Supervisors: Professor K Clarke/Dr A Clark)
  • The relationship between territory, governance &agency in the Roman world: a cognitive study of 'res publica' & its reception in political thought (Supervisor: Dr A Clark)
  • Aiolian Ethnogenesis (Supervisor: Professor R Thomas)
  • Religious Life of Classical and Hellenistic Rhodes (Supervisor: Professor R Parker)
  • The Socio-Ecosystem of South-Western Asia Minor in the Roman Period (Supervisor: Professor P Thonemann)

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.

Part-time students are fully integrated into the research culture of the Classics Faculty and afforded all the same opportunities and support as full-time students.

As a part-time student you will be required to attend supervision meetings, seminars and other obligations in Oxford for a minimum of one day per week during Weeks 0 to 9 of each term, for a total of 30 days each year. Attendance outside of term time will be determined by mutual agreement with your supervisor. There will be limited flexibility in the dates and pattern of attendance.

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.

Oxford has academic resources which are among the most extensive in the world for classical languages and literature. The Ioannou Centre for Classical and Byzantine Studies offers various facilities for graduate students including a common room and a graduate study area. It is also the base for the many research projects based in the faculty.

The faculty is fortunate in having two world-class research libraries close at hand, the Bodleian and the Bodleian Art, Archaeology and Ancient World Library. The Bodleian Art, Archaeology and Ancient World Library is an open-shelf lending library indispensable to anyone studying ancient history, archaeology and art; it is also extremely useful for those studying literature or philology.

Supervision

For this course, the allocation of graduate supervision is the responsibility of the Faculty of Classics 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 Faculty of Classics.

You will be appointed a supervisor or supervisors with relevant expertise, who will support you throughout your doctoral work, beginning with the formulation of the topic and ending with the final examination. Most students have the opportunity to meet their supervisor twice a term, although more frequent meetings can be arranged as needed.

Assessment

All students will be initially admitted as a Probationary Research Student (PRS). Within a maximum of six terms as a full-time PRS student or twelve terms as a part-time PRS student, you will be expected to apply for transfer of status from Probationer Research Student to DPhil status. Transfer of status is assessed by two examiners on the basis of a sample of written work, a statement of your proposed research and a viva.

Students who are successful at transfer will also be expected to apply for and gain confirmation of DPhil status to show that your work continues to be on track. This will need to be done within nine terms of admission for full-time students and eighteen terms of admissions for admission of part-time students.

The degree is awarded on the basis of a thesis of up to 100,000 words based on original research after three or, at most, four years from the date of admission. If you are studying part-time, you will be required to submit your thesis after six or, at most, eight years from the date of admission. To be successfully awarded a DPhil in Ancient History you are required to defend your thesis orally (viva voce) with two examiners, normally one internal, one external.

Graduate destinations

When details were last collected on graduate destinations, the faculty found that an unusually high percentage of their successful DPhil students (56%) were in university teaching or research posts five years after finishing their doctorates. Others go into a variety of occupations, including teaching, publishing, administration, business and other professions.

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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