DPhil in International Relations
University of Oxford
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2 options available
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Qualification

PhD/DPhil - Doctor of Philosophy

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Location

University of Oxford

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Study mode

Full Time

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Start date

OCT-25

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Duration

3 years

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Qualification

PhD/DPhil - Doctor of Philosophy

Location

University of Oxford

Study mode

Full Time

Start date

OCT-25

Duration

3 years

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Qualification

PhD/DPhil - Doctor of Philosophy

Location

University of Oxford

Study mode

Part Time

Start date

OCT-25

Duration

6 years

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Politics
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Course info

About the courseThe DPhil programme is a full-time programme of doctoral research in the academic study of International Relations with an expected length of three to four years of full-time study or six to eight years of part-time study. Note that the part-time option is not a distance-learning programme; part-time students are required to attend face-to-face teaching in Oxford on up to three separate days each week during term.As a DPhil student you will be a member of a distinguished ...Read more

About the course

The DPhil programme is a full-time programme of doctoral research in the academic study of International Relations with an expected length of three to four years of full-time study or six to eight years of part-time study. Note that the part-time option is not a distance-learning programme; part-time students are required to attend face-to-face teaching in Oxford on up to three separate days each week during term.

As a DPhil student you will be a member of a distinguished academic community that is renowned for its cutting-edge research and its intensive and individualised teaching and supervision. The programme has received the highest level of recognition in UK national and global assessment exercises. It is a community from which you will draw support and guidance but which will also learn from your own contribution to its work.

You will have rich opportunities for connecting with fellow-students, postdoctoral fellows, and temporary and permanent academic staff involved in disciplinary and cross-disciplinary research programmes. The department attracts many of the world’s leading figures in International Relations (IR) - as visiting scholars, speakers in the regular IR Colloquium, and participants in research conferences and workshops.

Doctoral students spend the first year of full-time study, or the first two years of part-time study, in the development of, and early work on, the thesis topic; in improving knowledge of quantitative and qualitative research methods; in attendance at relevant lectures, seminars and classes; and in preparing to transfer from Probationary Research Student (PRS - the status at which you will normally be admitted - see Assessment) to full DPhil status.

An academic supervisor will advise and guide you as you progress through the different stages of your doctoral research. In addition to work for your supervisor, you will be required to take a range of coursework. In the first term this includes: Research Design and Methods (RDM) in IR, Research Design, and introductory or intermediate statistics, as well as attendance at the regular IR DPhil Research Seminar which runs through the year and at which doctoral students present their work. In the second term students continue with RDM in IR and take one course in Formal Analysis, Causal Inference or Qualitative Methods. In the third term, there are a series of short, specialised methods courses. For part-time students, these coursework obligations are distributed across six terms.

Exemptions from particular elements of the coursework can be sought on the basis of previous training. Subsequent years are largely devoted to the development of the thesis project.Doctoral theses will normally require substantial original research, often involving archives, fieldwork, interviewing or other forms of data generation and collection. For the doctoral degree the most crucial requirement is that the thesis makes a ‘significant and substantial contribution to the field of knowledge within which it falls’. There are many ways of achieving this.

As a part-time student you will be required to attend classes, seminars, supervision meetings and other obligations in Oxford for a minimum of thirty days each year.

Key stats

CUG Subject Ranking
CUG Subject Ranking
Source: Complete University Guide 2025
3rd
CUG Ranking
CUG Ranking
Source: Complete University Guide 2025
2nd
What students say
AP
Alejandro Posada
03 Feb 22

Fantastic university that provides a wonderful student experience and outstanding career..Read more

S
Salma
03 Feb 22

Great institution, long standing tradition of..Read more

Entry requirements

As a minimum, applicants should hold or be predicted to achieve the equivalent of the following UK qualifications or their equivalent: a master’s degree at distinction level in international relations, or in a closely related discipline that has prepared you to undertake advanced graduate research on your chosen thesis topic; and a first-class or strong upper second-class undergraduate degree with honours in politics or international relations, or in a related discipline such as economics, history, philosophy, sociology or law. Entrance is very competitive and most successful applicants have a record of academic performance at first-class and/or distinction level. Applicants without a master’s qualification will not normally be admitted for doctoral study. Each application will be assessed upon its own merits, and candidates with a degree in an unrelated discipline should demonstrate the relevance of their academic background to their proposed subject or topic of study. For applicants with a degree from the USA, the minimum GPA sought is 3.7 out of 4.0.

Tuition fees

Students living in

Domestic

£16,330 per year

This information is updated by IDP Connect, or in some cases the institution directly.
Please note: The fees might vary so please make sure you contact the institution for up to date information.

Students from Domestic

This is the fee you pay if the University is in the same country that you live in (England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland)

This is the fee you pay if the University is in the same country that you live in (England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland)

£31,090 per year

This information is updated by IDP Connect, or in some cases the institution directly.
Please note: The fees might vary so please make sure you contact the institution for up to date information.

Students from EU

The amount you'll pay if you come to study here from somewhere in the EU.

The amount you'll pay if you come to study here from somewhere in the EU.

£31,090 per year

This information is updated by IDP Connect, or in some cases the institution directly.
Please note: The fees might vary so please make sure you contact the institution for up to date information.

Students from International

The amount you'll pay if you come to study here from a country outside the EU.

The amount you'll pay if you come to study here from a country outside the EU.

IDP Connect

Latest reviews

Latest International Relations reviews

International Relations
International Relations
AP
Alejandro Posada
03 Feb 22
MPhil in International Relations
Fantastic university that provides a wonderful student experience and outstanding career...
Read more
S
Salma
03 Feb 22
DPhil in International Relations
Great institution, long standing tradition of...
Read more
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Uni info

University of Oxford
University Offices Wellington Square Oxford Oxfordshire OX1 2JD United Kingdom
Nearest train station: Oxford  0.2 miles away

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