Course summary

The information provided on this page was correct at the time of publication (November 2024). 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 Migration Studies, offered by the School of Anthropology and Museum Ethnography (SAME) and the Oxford Department of International Development (ODID), presents the unrivalled opportunity to undertake an interdisciplinary, in- depth project focused on a specific and contemporary challenge facing the world by drawing on world-class research departments, centres and scholars. As a DPhil student you will undertake your own original research project under the guidance of your supervisor. Academics from SAME and ODID can offer supervision in a wide range of subjects. Examples include migrant integration, identity formation, transnationalism, urban change, diasporas, humanitarianism, asylum and refugees, citizenship, health and wellbeing. You will also benefit from long established research and teaching programmes on migration, each with particular focus on collaborating with non-academics and generating research ‘impact’. The DPhil programme offers the opportunity to link research training to research practice at the two research centres: The Centre on Migration Policy and Society (COMPAS) and the Refugee Studies Centre (RSC). Course structure In the first year you will attend weekly PRS seminars which provide training in research skills and writing as well as research presentation and critique. You will also attend the weekly ‘work-in-progress’ seminar at COMPAS and present your research in each. During this period, you will develop and begin work on your thesis topic. You will also take at least two ‘research methods modules’ courses chosen to complement your research interests from the wide range offered in the school. You will meet at least monthly with your supervisor, and can use the many research training opportunities on offer in the Social Sciences Division and elsewhere in the University (eg the Language Centre, IT Learning Centre). These requirements are spread over the first two years in the case of part-time students. You will also have the opportunity to attend lectures, seminars and classes in your general topic area. You are likely to have already completed appropriate research training at master’s degree level, either within Oxford or another university. There is a joint Quantitative Research Methods for Migration Studies course for master's-level students on the MSc in Migration Studies and MSc in Refugee and Forced Migration Studies, and separate courses in qualitative methods. Graduates who have followed this route will therefore have completed the necessary training. Students new to Oxford can attend these research method courses if necessary. Supervisors will conduct a Training Needs Analysis to discuss the required skills and identify any gaps. If studying full-time you will spend your second year, or if part-time, your third and fourth years, gathering data as part of your original research. While fieldwork is not a formal requirement most students undertake fieldwork of some form. Its nature varies considerably depending upon the research area and topic focus, from living with another population, to data gathering and analysis, for example. In your third year if full-time, or fifth and sixth years if part-time, you will write your research thesis, and will be encouraged to regularly attend weekly ‘work-in-progress’ seminars in which you present your developing work to your peers and staff for feedback. Throughout the course DPhil students are strongly encouraged to attend the many research seminars, presentations and lectures on offer within the department and elsewhere in the University. For the full description, please visit the relevant University of Oxford course page via www.graduate.ox.ac.uk/ucas