Course summary

The information provided on this page was correct at the time of publication (November 2022). For complete and up-to-date information about this course, please visit the relevant University of Oxford course page via www.graduate.ox.ac.uk/ucas. This DPhil programme is for basic science graduates, clinical students and trainee clinicians who want to undertake advanced study in the field of cancer research. The programme provides a solid grounding in the study of oncology and cancer biology through the provision of advanced level seminars in the first year and subject specific training in your host department. This course is taking part in a continuing pilot programme to improve the selection procedure for graduate applications, in order to ensure that all candidates are evaluated fairly. For this course, the socio-economic data you provide in the application form will be used to contextualise the shortlisting and decision-making processes where it has been provided. As a doctoral student on the programme, you will carry out research in a single laboratory for three to four years on a full-time basis. There is no period of rotation between laboratories. All doctoral students develop their skills through a range of research training and skills development in their first year of full-time study, by attending compulsory and optional courses and lectures in laboratory techniques and generic skills, including scientific writing and statistics, while also carrying out your research project. You will be encouraged to attend lectures and seminars related to your programme of research and make the most of the doctoral training and research methods provision available across the University. The aim is to tailor this training to individual needs and bring all students up to an advanced level in background knowledge. Later training is focused on the skills required for a successful career in independent research and for clinicians, to successful re-integration into clinical training. This course has four different tracks and your application will be considered for the track that is most appropriate to your previous study and/or employment. Clinical trainees (track one) and medical undergraduates (track two) will enrol on a three-year programme. Non-clinical/fundamental scientists (track three and four) will enrol on a four-year programme. Students are admitted directly to work under the supervision of a Principal Investigator who is formally appointed as the DPhil supervisor. Students are based in a research group/laboratory to undertake one of the research projects advertised. This course provides an opportunity to join the Oxford Cancer community. DPhil students in the Cancer Science Programme at the University of Oxford are supported by a grant from Cancer Research UK, managed through the CRUK Oxford Centre. Supervision The allocation of graduate supervision is the responsibility of the Medical Sciences Doctoral Training Centre 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 Medical Sciences Doctoral Training Centre. Students on the DPhil in Cancer Science Programme are from a diverse range of backgrounds and specialisms, and study an assortment of subjects across many different departments and institutes. As such, every student-supervisor relationship is tailored to the specific needs of each. Students can expect to meet with their supervisors between every one to four weeks for input and guidance, although this may change throughout the programme as students accumulate more experience. Independent mentorship and supervision will be provided centrally form the programme and will meet one to two times per year.