Course summary

The information provided on this page was correct at the time of publication (November 2025). 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. The DPhil in Earth Sciences is an advanced research degree that will take between three to four years to complete and includes an original research project, which develops research skills, knowledge and expertise in an area of cutting-edge science. The MSc by Research in Earth Sciences is a research-based course focused on independent study. Students undertake original research in areas such as geophysics, planetary evolution, palaeobiology, climate, and natural hazards. The Earth sciences focus upon the scientific understanding of this and other planets. It embraces a large range of fundamental topics including the evolution of life, how climate has changed in the past and will change in the future, the nature of planetary surfaces and interiors and the processes underlying natural hazards like earthquakes and volcanoes. The main aspect of the course is an original research project, which develops research skills, knowledge and expertise in an area of cutting-edge science. In many ways, the MSc by Research course is very similar to the DPhil in Earth Sciences, the key difference being that a DPhil project would normally take longer to complete and would be expected to make more significant advances in the field of research. The MSc by Research offers an alternative to a DPhil, for students wishing to undertake a shorter research degree. To learn more about the research topics you’ll have the opportunity to explore, please refer to the Research areas section on this page. You will typically join a research group and work alongside other research students, postdoctoral researchers and academics all of whom provide additional support and advice for the department's research students. We also strongly encourage collaborating and academic activity across research groups. While the focus of the DPhil/MSc by Research is on your development to conduct independent research, there are also a range of courses and other learning opportunities available both within the Department of Earth Sciences and other departments in the Maths, Physical and Life Sciences (MPLS) Division. These courses are organised through the MPLS Graduate Academic Programme and include generic skills such as advice on science writing, as well as subject specific specialist courses such as advanced computer skills. These courses allow your research programme to be tailored to your individual project needs. There may also be opportunities for you to gain teaching experience by demonstrating laboratory classes to undergraduates, assisting on undergraduate fieldtrips or in tutorial teaching, some of which may be remunerated. You will be expected to present your research at both national and international meetings and publish in internationally-recognised science journals. The department performs a large number of outreach activities, which you can choose to be a part of. These outreach events involve explaining (and demonstrating) the exciting science conducted in the department to schoolchildren and the general public. As a member of the department you will be part of a large and vibrant community of researchers working across the frontiers of the earth sciences.