Oxford Brookes University - Graduate Office - studying for a research degree

MPhil and PhD Programmes

The degree for which research students register depends on their academic qualifications and research experience. There are three possibilities:

MPhil
MPhil with transfer to PhD
PhD

Most of the University's research students take the second route of initially registering for an MPhil and transferring their registration to a PhD after 18 to 24 months without submitting for the MPhil.

Undertaking a PhD degree involves:

critically investigating and evaluating an approved topic, with the investigation resulting in an independent and original contribution to knowledge;
demonstrating an understanding of research methods appropriate to the chosen field;
presenting and defending a substantial thesis by oral examination to the satisfaction of the examiners.

The PhD thesis is a maximum of 100,000 words for a PhD in Arts, Social Sciences, Humanities and related subject areas or a maximum of 40,000 words for a PhD in Science, Engineering and related subject areas.

Undertaking an MPhil degree involves:

critically investigating and evaluating an approved topic;
demonstrating an understanding of research methods appropriate to the chosen field;
presenting and defending a substantial thesis by oral examination to the satisfaction of the examiners.

The MPhil thesis is a maximum of 50,000 words for an MPhil in Arts, Social Sciences, Humanities and related subject areas or a maximum of 20,000 words for an MPhil in Science, Engineering and related subject areas. Students may register for an MPhil with the intention of transferring to a PhD after 18 to 24 months, without submitting for the MPhil.

Mode of Study - Part-time or Full-time
Candidates may register for a research degree on a full-time or part-time basis. Full-time students are normally expected to complete an MPhil degree within two years or a PhD degree within three years, while part-time students may take up to four years to complete an MPhil and up to six years to complete a PhD.

Split PhD programmes
Students may register for a research degree on the basis that they will conduct part of their work somewhere other than in Oxford. Students who are registered on this non-resident basis must be able to visit Oxford on average for at least six weeks per year. An external supervisor of appropriate academic standing will need to be appointed in the student's home town in addition to the student's supervisor here. There are also opportunities for overseas students to undertake a split PhD programme offered by the University in collaboration with the student's home university. Further details of these programmes can be obtained from School Postgraduate Research Tutors.

Support for research students
The University recognises the need for research students to work in a stimulating and supportive environment. The integration of research students with members of staff working in established research groups, on the one hand, and with students on taught postgraduate courses, on the other hand, is intended to avoid the isolation which can often occur at research degree level and to broaden students' research experience. The Research Students' Committee provides a forum for the discussion of any matters relating to research students at Brookes and has student representation from each of the University's Schools. A range of academic and social events are organised to facilitate the networking of students across the University.

Supervision
Every research student is supervised by a team consisting of a Director of Studies and at least one other supervisor. The supervision team will have expertise in the relevant research area and experience of successfully supervising research degree candidates to completion of their degrees. The team can include an external supervisor in order to make use of expertise and facilities available in other educational establishments or in industrial, commercial, professional and research organisations. Such collaboration also serves to broaden the perspective of the research. We welcome applications from part-time students in employment who wish to undertake a research project which is connected with their work.

Research Training

All Schools run research methodology courses and seminar series, often in the evenings or at lunch-time to enable part-time students to participate. The University's Research Degrees Committee also organises a University-wide research training programme in general skills for research students, which covers topics such as:

time and project management;
the student/supervisor relationship;
written and oral presentation skills
intellectual property rights;
career development.

Entry requirements

The normal entry requirement for the degree of MPhil or MPhil with the intention of transferring to a PhD (the route which most of our doctoral candidates take) is a first-class or upper second-class UK honours degree or equivalent qualification. Applications are also welcomed from those holding qualifications other than the above and will be considered on their merits and in relation to the nature and scope of the work proposed. Applicants will be required to provide the names of two academic referees.

The normal entry requirement for the degree of PhD is a Masters degree in a discipline which is appropriate to the proposed research and which has included research training and a research project. In exceptional cases, applicants who have a good honours degree (or equivalent) may apply for direct registration to PhD if they have appropriate research or professional experience at postgraduate level which has resulted in published work, written reports or other appropriate evidence of accomplishment.

Application procedure

Applications for research degrees should be made to the relevant School Postgraduate Research Tutor and may be submitted at any time during the academic year. Applications may be made either in writing, giving details of the applicant's research interests and including a curriculum vitae, or on the University's Postgraduate Research Application Form. The form to be completed by referees can also be downloaded. Further details about the application procedure for each academic School can be obtained from the School Postgraduate Research Tutor.

Students are advised to contact the relevant School Postgraduate Research Tutor prior to submitting an application to discuss the research proposal informally and to ensure that the necessary facilities and supervisors are available for the study. Applicants who are unsure whom to approach, should contact the Graduate Office in the first instance (tel: +44 (0) 1865 484244).

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Last Modified: Tuesday, 05-Apr-05 13:19:40 BST