Doctoral training program oxford

Learn More. The National Institutes of Health NIH Oxford-Cambridge Scholars Program is a highly individualized and accelerated doctoral training program for outstanding students committed to biomedical research careers. Since the program is based on the British system, OxCam Scholars perform doctoral research without required formal courses other than those students choose to take in relationship to their own scientific interests. As a result, OxCam students are able to complete the doctoral degree in approximately four years.

Students are expected to divide the time evenly between the two laboratories, with two years in the NIH laboratory and two years in the UK laboratory. Applicants must be a U. Now in its 20th year, the NIH Oxford-Cambridge OxCam Scholars Program has grown from the first class of two students to a population of well over aspiring young scientists whose interests find them involved in some of the most cutting edge biomedical research endeavors being conducted in the world.

Outlines for the expectations of each year and basic timelines will help guide you through your four years with us; From tips and tricks for selecting a mentor, to guidelines for writing your research proposal and yearly progress reports, to timelines for research and thesis writing, we want to ensure that you have a place to get the information that you need.

We offer a structured professional and personal development programme to support your future career. Extensive industrial placements and internships are available, and many students undertake their projects in collaboration with industry. Skip to main content. Oxford has new strengths in cryosphere and Arctic research and our researchers are established in the areas of effects of anthropogenic climate change on the physical climate system and biogeochemical processes, and lead the way in innovative citizen science, from climateprediction.

The DTP is developing new approaches in the field of climate adaptation, and the management of climate-related risks to infrastructure, and redefining relationships between Earth surface processes and climate in desert and wider dryland regions. Oxford researchers continue to develop and apply new ways to investigate deep Earth and Earth-surface processes from the formation of the Earth to human history through experiment, analysis and theory.

You will either be recruited to a research stream or to a pre-determined project, but in either case you will begin your course based with the DTP. During the first two terms, you will undergo an intensive training programme during which you will have the opportunity develop your research skills and acquire an understanding of how researchers in other disciplines operate before writing your own research proposal in collaboration with your supervisor and in most cases an external partner.

You will be trained in 'hard' skills such as mathematics, programming and scientific computing, as well as being offered a broad-brush understanding of the Earth system across all disciplines of the DTP. There will also be course modules in softer transferable skills such as project design, proposal writing, communication and problem solving to underpin the exploration of research methodologies.

Elective training will continue throughout the degree and you will be able to select from a portfolio of advanced training courses to create your own tailored training programme. Later in the course, modules will include thesis writing and paper writing. You will hence remain a member of the DTP even after transferring out to a department.

The allocation of graduate supervision for this course is the responsibility of the Doctoral Training Partnership 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 Doctoral Training Partnership.

The DTP strongly advises students to have at least two supervisors to ensure a good level of support both pastorally and academically. For some projects it may be beneficial to seek supervision across two or more departments to support different aspects of the project. Departments have differing guidelines on how often students meet with their supervisors this will probably vary through the project, and may also depend on the area of research , and we recommend that students establish a routine at an early stage in their project development.

Your work will be informally assessed on the training modules throughout your degree and you will need to attain a certain number of attendance and submission credits before you begin your research project, and each year thereafter. You will carry out your DPhil project in one of our departments and will gain your DPhil from the department in which you carry out your research project.

You will follow the same milestones and assessments as a standard DPhil, so you will have Probationer Research Student PRS status until you confirm your status as a DPhil student by term six. By term nine you will confirm status and you will submit your thesis for assessment by the end of term The nine departments of the DTP are as follows:.

You should be equipped with a wide range of skills that you will need whether you wish to pursue a career in research, government or the private sector. 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 in circumstances of a pandemic including Covid , epidemic or local health emergency. 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. If you're thinking about applying for this course, you may also wish to consider the courses listed below. These courses may have been suggested due to their similarity with this course, or because they are offered by the same department or faculty. As a minimum, applicants should hold or be predicted to achieve the equivalent of the following UK qualifications:.

This course requires proficiency in English at the University's higher level. If your first language is not English, you may need to provide evidence that you meet this requirement. The minimum scores required to meet the University's higher level are detailed in the table below. Your test must have been taken no more than two years before the start date of your course. Our Application Guide provides further information about the English language test requirement.

You will be required to supply supporting documents with your application, including references and an official transcript. See 'How to apply' for instructions on the documents you will need and how these will be assessed. Interviews are normally conducted in person in Oxford unless you are abroad, in which case remote interviews can be arranged. The Covid pandemic may necessitate that interviews are carried out remotely as standard, and we will update our course pages accordingly.

The DTP are able to interview a maximum of three candidates per place, and candidates are short-listed as follows: each application is assessed by three separate assessors, scored against agreed criteria, and then banded. Factors such as socio-economic data are taken into account when banding applications. The top banded applications are compiled into a short-list by the DTP management committee. Interviews are normally held one month after the final application deadline.

Your application will be assessed purely on academic merit and potential, according to the published entry requirements for the course. The After you apply section of this website provides further information about the academic assessment of your application , including the potential outcomes.

Please note that any offer of a place may be subject to academic conditions, such as achieving a specific final grade in your current degree course. These conditions may vary depending upon your individual academic circumstances.

Students are considered for shortlisting and selected for admission without regard to age, disability, gender reassignment, marital or civil partnership status, pregnancy and maternity, race including colour, nationality and ethnic or national origins , religion or belief including lack of belief , sex, sexual orientation, as well as other relevant circumstances including parental or caring responsibilities or social background.

However, please note the following:. Further information about processing special category data for the purposes of positive action and information about using your data to assess your eligibility for funding , can be found in our Postgraduate Applicant Privacy Policy. This programme is participating in the Academic Futures programme , including the Black Academic Futures programme , to address the under-representation of candidates who are members of certain groups in postgraduate study. It is also participating in a continuing pilot to improve the selection procedure for graduate applications , in order to ensure that all candidates are evaluated fairly.

Therefore, information on socio-economic background may be used in the selection of candidates for shortlisting or admission, and information on race and ethnic origin may be used at shortlisting where candidates have met academic criteria. Whether you have secured funding will not be taken into consideration when your application is assessed. Applicants who meet eligibility criteria will subsequently be considered for funding through the Academic Futures programme or other University scholarships in addition to studentship funding available through the programme.

Our Vision We aspire to be a world-leading partnership that inspires, enables and supports both staff and students to achieve their full potential in order to enrich scientific knowledge, tackle global and industrial challenges, and benefit the wider community.

We are distinctive for our world-class research and facilities and our collaborative, interdisciplinary training approach. Our values We aim to create a community that is innovative, inclusive and collaborative, in which everyone feels valued, respected, and supported.