Criminology

As a first-year full-time student, or in your first two years as a part-time student, you will be admitted in the first instance to Probationer Research Student (PRS) status and will follow courses of instruction in criminological research methods to develop your skills whilst working under the guidance of at least one supervisor who will be an acknowledged authority on their chosen topic.

In your third term (sixth term for the part-time pathway), you will normally apply for transfer from PRS status to full DPhil status by submitting a research outline and a substantial piece of written work. These are assessed by two members of the Centre for Criminology, who will also interview you about your work. A similar exercise then takes place in your sixth term (twelfth term for the part-time pathway) when you will apply for Confirmation of DPhil status.

After three or at most four years (no later than eight years for the part-time pathway) you are expected to submit your final thesis. Your thesis will be read by two examiners who conduct an in-depth oral examination with the student, known as a viva voce. On the basis of their report, you will either be awarded the DPhil or referred back to make revisions to the thesis.

Skills training sessions are offered by the Centre for Criminology, Faculty of Law and Social Sciences Division as appropriate to different stages of the graduate career. There are also opportunities to access advanced and specialist research training provided elsewhere in the division and University.

The areas in which members of the Centre for Criminology are able to offer supervision include:

• policing and security
• sentencing
• crime, risk and justice
• human rights and criminal justice
• victims
• procedural justice and legitimacy
• prisons
• sociology of punishment
• restorative justice
• the death penalty
• border control and the criminalisation of migration
• public attitude and responses to crime
• the politics of crime and justice
• crime and the family
• race and gender
• miscarriages of justice
• crime, criminology and social/political theory
• youth justice

Research seminars bring you and other students together with academic and other research staff in the department to hear about ongoing research and provide an opportunity for networking and socialising.

You will be encouraged to attend the Oxford criminology and informal research seminars organised by the centre. You will also have the opportunity to discuss your research plan at the criminology discussion group and at the criminological research workshops, held in Trinity term.

The allocation of graduate supervision for this course is the responsibility of the Centre for Criminology 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 Centre for Criminology.

Recent graduates of the DPhil Criminology have pursued careers in the following areas:

• professional careers in criminal justice agencies and the law
• university research and teaching in academic criminology and law schools
• research careers
• government departments
• voluntary organisations in the crime and justice field

Changes to this course and your supervision

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. 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 sabbatical leave, parental leave or change in employment.

For further information, please see our page on changes to courses.

Other courses you may wish to consider

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.

All graduate courses offered by the Centre for Criminology

Criminology DPhil

Criminology and Criminal Justice MSc

All graduate courses offered by the Faculty of Law

Bachelor of Civil Law BCL

Criminology DPhil

Criminology and Criminal Justice MSc

Intellectual Property Law and Practice PGDip

Law DPhil

Law MPhil

Law and Finance MSc

Magister Juris MJur

Socio-Legal Research MPhil

Socio-Legal Studies DPhil

Taxation MSc

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Entry requirements