Training Opportunities

Doctoral Studies

There are numerous doctoral training opportunities in Oxford. These lead to the DPhil degree (equivalent to PhD at other universities). There are a few specific programmes of doctoral training, but most students apply directly to departments or individual supervisors, either in response to an advertised studentship, or speculatively. All students will need to demonstrate both an excellent academic aptitude, and a means of financial support during their time in Oxford (all applicants are automatically considered for studentship funding that the University itself has control over). Most DPhils are intended to take 3 to 4 years to complete.

Examples of specific training programmes that either include or could include biomedical imaging as a project are:

• The Oxford MPLS Division Doctoral Training Centre
• The Medical Sciences Division Doctoral Training Centre
• Department of Oncology
• Department of Engineering Science
• Department of Biochemistry
• Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences (including the WIN/FMRIB)
• The Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine

In addition there are many other opportunities that are advertised on individual department web sites.

Applications

In the first instance it is important to contact the course organiser or a potential supervisor. You can use this web site to search for academics working in your chosen area. You will be required to meet the highest academic standards to be accepted to study at Oxford, and to have a coherent programme of proposed study or research. For the specific training programmes detailed above you should contact the course organiser. For other opportunities you should contact either the relevant department’s Academic Administrator or a potential academic supervisor. See a list of University departments. Graduate students must formally apply to the University, via the University Graduate Admissions web site. Applications are then considered by the proposed host department’s Graduate Studies Committee, by the proposed supervisor, and by a college. Note that all graduate students in Oxford must be attached to one of the University’s colleges, although it is not required to name a specific college when applying. See a list of colleges. The procedure for becoming accepted by a college takes place automatically in parallel with the application to the department.

Fees

To study at Oxford you must declare that you have sufficient funding for your University Fees, and your living costs. Many competitive studentships include all these costs, and there are also numerous scholarships and prizes that can be applied for. In some cases specific schemes exist for particular nationalities, such as the Rhodes Scholarships. If you are from outside the UK then you will be liable for overseas rates, although competitive schemes exist to reduce these fees to the Home/EU rate, or to fully fund them, such as the Clarendon Fund. For details on fees and living costs please consult the University Graduate Admissions web site, where you will also find a comprehensive list of sources of funding.