Three students at Oxford Brookes University chatting and smiling while walking down the stairs in the new teaching building.

Social Work

MPhil, PhD

Pursue independent research in social work, developing specialist expertise and contributing to knowledge in your field.

Children and Families Research

How to apply Contact hlsapplications@brookes.ac.uk

Key facts

Duration: Full time: 2 - 3 years; Part time: 3 - 4 years
Starts: September 2027, January 2027
Level: PhDs and postgraduate research
Funding status: Self-funded
Location: Headington; Marston Road Site
School: School of Psychology, Social Work and Public Health
Application deadline: Please allow at least four months between submitting your application and your expected start date, especially if you are an international student arranging a visa.

Overview

Social Work at Oxford Brookes offers a supportive and collaborative research community, giving you the chance to develop your research skills together with knowledge of your chosen subject. We take a holistic approach to individual, family, community and societal well-being, and have strong partnerships with external research centres and practitioners.

You can undertake research degrees in areas such as:

children and families
drugs and alcohol
inter-professional education and collaborative practice.

You will be supported throughout your studies by a supervisory team who you will meet on a regular basis and have many additional opportunities to share your progress with other researchers and research students. There are opportunities to participate in the Faculty’s annual research conference and to attend research seminars, including research training seminars.

Research expertise

Our research covers a diverse range of fields, ensuring that we are delivering current, evidence-informed knowledge and skills for all levels of professionals. We also collaborate across the disciplines to ensure that we are at the forefront of informing and influencing current policy and practice.

Much of the research has an international impact. For example, findings from a recent large, systematic review of school-based alcohol prevention could result in reduced costs for health care and social services across the globe. Results from a substantial survey of factors that affect resilience in social work students could have a significant positive impact on the recruitment and long-term retention of social workers entering into the profession.

Institutes and Centres

Centre for Healthcare Research

Groups

Social Care

Entry requirements

Qualification	Typical offer
IELTS	IELTS 6.5 overall with 6.0 in all skills. For more information, please see our English language requirements.

All students must be able to meet the University’s requirements for a research degree, which is to be able to devote a minimum of 35 hours per week (full-time) or 15 hours per week (part-time) to the programme of research.

The minimum entry requirement for the degree of MPhil, or MPhil with transfer to PhD, is a first-class or upper second-class UK honours degree or equivalent qualification.

The normal entry requirement for a PhD is a Masters degree, or exceptionally a good honours degree/equivalent.

Degree routes

All students enrol as probationer research students. During the first year you will formally register your research proposal for one of the below routes.

If you undertake an MPhil you will:

critically investigate and evaluate an approved topic
demonstrate understanding of research methods - appropriate to the chosen field
Present and defend a substantial thesis by viva.

Length of study: Full-time: 2 years. Part-time: 3 years.

Entry requirement: The minimum entry requirement for an MPhil degree, or an MPhil with the intention of transferring to a PhD, 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. You will be required to provide the names of two academic referees.

A candidate registered initially for an MPhil may be able to transfer to a PhD, and has to complete a transfer process within the Faculty, once sufficient progress has been made on the work to provide on the evidence of the development to PhD.

This is normally after 18 months of full-time study or (24-26 months of part-time study). Transfer comprises three main elements:

a 1000 word transfer report which should be sent to the relevant Postgraduate Research Tutor and the supervisory team
an oral presentation and/or interview
an additional piece of work as indicated by the Faculty, Department/School or supervisory team.

Length of study: Full-time: 3 years. Part-time: 4 years.

If you undertake a PhD you will:

critically investigate and evaluate an approved topic, resulting in an independent and original contribution to the field
demonstrate understanding of research methods appropriate to the chosen field
present and defend a substantial thesis by viva.

Length of study: Full-time: 2 years. Part-time: 3 years.

Entry requirement: The normal entry requirement for the degree of PhD is a master’s 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.

Fees and funding

Fees

Fees quoted are for the first year only. If you are studying a course that lasts longer than one year, your fees will increase each year.

For International fees the following factors will be taken into account by the University when it is setting the annual fees: inflationary measures such as the retail price indices, projected increases in University costs, changes in the level of funding received from Government sources, admissions statistics and access considerations including the availability of student support.

Home fees are set by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and are released approximately five months before the start of each academic year.

If you have any questions about fees, get in touch with the Research Degrees Team at (rdt-researchdegrees@brookes.ac.uk)[mailto:rdt-researchdegrees@brookes.ac.uk].

How and when to pay

Tuition fee instalments for the semester are due by the Monday of week 1 of each semester. Students are not liable for full fees for that semester if they leave before week 4. If the leaving date is after week 4, full fees for the semester are payable.

-For information on payment methods please see our (Make a Payment page)[https://www.brookes.ac.uk/study/fees/make-a-payment].

For information about refunds please visit our (Refund policy)[https://www.brookes.ac.uk/study/fees/refund-policy] page

Tuition fees
Fee types	2026/27
Home full-time	£5,338
Home part-time	£2,669
International full-time	£18,300

How and when to pay

For information on payment methods please see our Make a Payment page.
For information about refunds please visit our Refund policy page.

Questions about fees?

Contact Student Finance on:

+44 (0)1865 534400

financefees@brookes.ac.uk (opens in a new tab)

Additional Costs

Please be aware that some courses will involve some additional costs that are not covered by your fees. Specific additional costs for this course are detailed below.

Compulsory additional costs
Compulsory	Amount
Continuation fee The continuation fee, where it is payable is compulsory, but not applicable to Masters by research or PhD by Published Work, detailed as follows: • All MPhil/PhD full-time students are required to pay the full-time fee for three complete academic years before they are eligible to pay the continuation fee; • All MPhil/PhD part-time students are required to pay the part-time fee for six complete academic years before they are eligible to pay the continuation fee. • All PhD Direct full-time students are required to pay the full-time fee for two complete academic years before they are eligible to pay the continuation fee; • All PhD Direct part-time students are required to pay the part-time fee for three complete academic years before they are eligible to pay the continuation fee.	£1,455

Optional additional costs
Optional	Amount
It’s your responsibility to cover print / binding costs where coursework submission is required. Please note that a lot of the coursework is now submitted online.	From £30
You may choose to purchase books to support your studies. Many books on our reading lists are available via the Library, or can be purchased secondhand.	£20 - £60 per book
Accommodation fees in Brookes Letting (most do not include bills)	£107 - £301 per week
Accommodation fees in university halls (bills included, excluding laundry costs)	£139 - £248 per week
Fines are payable on items returned late although we will give you 5 days to return an item before fines are payable. Find out more about how to borrow and return items.	£1 per book
Students are responsible for their own travel to and from university for classes with single bus fares in the UK currently capped at £3. Oxford Brookes has committed to offering heavily discounted bus travel for students for at least three years from July 2026 with further information on our Travel webpages.	From £3
Graduation costs include tickets, gowning and photography. Gowns are not compulsory but typically students do hire robes, starting at £41.	Typically £0 - £200
Bench fees for full-time study will be calculated on an individual basis and the amount will depend on the subject and project. In some cases no bench fee will be charged.	£1,000 - £6,000
Bench fees for full-time study will be calculated on an individual basis and the amount will depend on the subject and project. In some cases no bench fee will be charged.	£500 - £3,000
Resubmission fees If following viva, examiners recommend that a student is required to revise and resubmit their thesis for re-examination, they must pay the resubmission fee for the duration of that period.	£1,455

How to apply

We welcome initial enquiries. Please contact the Research Administrator (hlsapplications@brookes.ac.uk) and/or the relevant Postgraduate Tutor or Supervisor.

If you have a research proposal in mind, explore our research groups and supervisory staff webpages, to identify the relevant research group/s for your research.
Check the fees information on the university website. Oxford Brookes Alumni may be entitled to a discount on course fees.
Email your CV and an outline of your area of interest to hlsapplications@brookes.ac.uk. Give a brief explanation of how your studies will be funded.
Once we have the initial information we will liaise with you as necessary and pass the information to the relevant Postgraduate Tutor/s, who will advise whether an application can be progressed. If this is possible we will invite you to submit an application through the university system.

Children and Families Research How to apply Contact hlsapplications@brookes.ac.uk

Our courses are reviewed regularly as part of our quality assurance framework, so module availability and course structures may vary from what is listed here. On rare occasions, we may also need to make updates to our course programmes after publication; for full details, please visit our changes to programmes page (opens in a new tab)

Social Work

Key facts

Overview

Research expertise

Entry requirements

Entry requirements

Entry requirements

Degree routes

MPhil

MPhil (with possibility of transfer to PhD)

PhD Direct

Fees and funding

Fees

Fees

How and when to pay

Questions about fees?

Funding and scholarships

Additional Costs

How to apply