Population Health

You will be admitted to the status of Probationer Research Student (PRS) in the first instance and you will then seek transfer to DPhil status by the end of your fourth term after admission. Confirmation of status will usually be carried out in the eighth term after admission as a research student, and no later than the ninth term. Both transfer and confirmation of status will require an oral assessment. Having successfully confirmed your status you will then be able to apply for the appointment of examiners, submit your thesis and complete the viva voce examination.

A small number of part-time students may be admitted to the DPhil in Population Health. Candidates applying for admission to this part-time course are required to show that their DPhil research topic is suited to part-time study and the supervisors agree with the part-time schedule. The attendance requirement will be a minimum of 30 days University-based work per year. This will be spread across the academic year with a minimum of ten days based in the department each term. However, attendance is likely to be higher and will be determined by the demands of the individual DPhil research project.

Research training will primarily be through day-to-day involvement in a research project and working with a research team. Your supervisors will be the main source of your research training; you will also be encouraged to strengthen your research skills by taking relevant training courses. Research training will be within a multidisciplinary research environment which includes epidemiology, statistics, ethics, health economics, health promotion, health services research, law and big data.

You will be encouraged to make use of the range of skills training offered by the Medical Sciences Division throughout your study at the Nuffield Department of Population Health (NDPH). This training includes statistics, epidemiology, data management, research ethics, writing academic papers and presentation skills. You are also expected to identify additional relevant external courses that will support your research training.

The allocation of graduate supervision for this course is the responsibility of the Nuffield Department of Population Health and it is not always possible to accommodate the preferences of incoming graduate students to work with a particular member of staff. In some circumstances a supervisor may be found outside the Nuffield Department of Population Health. Each student will be supervised by at least two supervisors. If one supervisor is from outside the department, a second supervisor will be appointed from within the department.

Most DPhil alumni progress to academic posts, while a few join other health-related professions.

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

Applicants are strongly advised to visit the Medical Sciences Graduate School website to help them identify the most suitable course and supervisors.

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.

Courses suggested by the department

Primary Health Care DPhil
Clinical Medicine DPhil
Evidence-Based Health Care DPhil

All graduate courses offered by the Nuffield Department of Population Health

Clinical Trials MSc

Global Health Science and Epidemiology MSc

Population Health DPhil

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Entry requirements