Geography and the Environment

The Doctor of Philosophy (DPhil) in Geography and the Environment is the department's premier research degree, awarded to candidates who have successfully completed a major piece of original research. The course provides support and an intellectual environment to pursue your own independent research.

Many graduates are commanding influential positions in multinational corporations, in national, state and international government, in non-governmental organisations, and by continuing with further research.

The DPhil in Geography and the Environment is offered as either a full-time three- to four-year degree, or a part-time six- to eight-year degree. Currently the expected contact time for the part-time arrangement is thirty days at Oxford per year; the majority of this will take place across the three eight-week terms and will include supervision meetings and core research training.

The DPhil is an advanced research degree which is awarded on the basis of a thesis and oral examination (assessment of other work is not taken into consideration). The thesis should represent a significant and substantial piece of research which is conveyed in a lucid and scholarly manner which shows that you have a good general knowledge of the field of your thesis. You are required to work independently, to take the initiative in exploring a line of research and to acquire new skills in order to carry out your research. You will be allocated a supervisor who will meet with you at specifically agreed times and will agree with you a research plan and programme of work and to establish clear academic expectations and milestones.

If you are intending to read for the DPhil you are normally admitted to the status of Probationer Research Student (PRS) initially. During the first year (or the second year for the part-time pathway), you must apply for a transfer of status from probationer research student to DPhil student. This requires successful completion of a Qualifying Test. This involves the submission of a piece of written work which is examined by two assessors (neither of whom will be supervisors). This process is to ensure that your work is of potential DPhil quality and that the methodology of the research is appropriate and practicable.

Upon successful completion of the transfer of status, you will also be required to undertake the confirmation of DPhil status by the end of your third year (or the end of the sixth year for the part-time pathway). This will also involve the submission of a piece of written work which is assessed by two assessors (neither of whom are supervisors). The confirmation assessment is different to the transfer assessment as the assessors will be focusing on how the research is progressing, the quality of the draft chapters/papers, and on the plan for completion. The assessors will be looking to ensure that you are making the appropriate amount of progress in the development of your thesis, so that your submission will be achieved within the three/four year time limit (or within the sixth/eight year time limit for the part-time pathway).

Applicants are normally expected to be predicted or have achieved a first-class or strong upper second-class undergraduate degree with honours (or equivalent international qualifications), as a minimum, in any discipline.

For applicants with a degree from the USA, the minimum GPA sought is 3.7 out of 4.0.

You are also required to have achieved or be expected to achieve a master's degree in geography or a related environmental field, with either a distinction grade overall or a distinction grade on the dissertation as a minimum.

If you hold non-UK qualifications and wish to check how your qualifications match these requirements, you can contact the National Recognition Information Centre for the United Kingdom (UK NARIC).

No Graduate Record Examination (GRE) or GMAT scores are sought.

• Official transcript(s)
• CV/résumé
• Research proposal: Around 2,500 words
• Written work:One essay of 2,000 words
• References/letters of recommendation:Three overall, generally academic

ENGLISH LANGUAGE REQUIREMENTS

Higher level

• Global Education
• Hill Foundation Scholarships
• A number of Research Council awards are available each year from the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), and Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC).