Public Policy DPhil

University of Oxford

The DPhil in Public Policy provides academically outstanding students who are committed to public service an unrivalled opportunity to study for a rigorous research degree that prepares them to have substantial impact on future policymaking processes.

The course can be taken full time in three years or part time over six to eight years. Part-time students are required to spend a minimum of 30 days on study-related business in Oxford each year and to commit approximately 20 hours per week to their studies. Part-time students are also expected to be in Oxford for the first few weeks of the first term so that they can fully participate in induction activities which are held at the beginning of Michaelmas term (October). Part time DPhils are expected to be active members of the Blavatnik School of Government Research Community even when not in Oxford.

The DPhil specialises in discipline-based, policy-driven research, applying rigorous social science to analysing policy issues with the explicit goal of prescribing solutions for policymakers. You will concentrate on research that answers policy questions with rigorous conceptual design, theoretical insight, and empirical methods. As well as honing your research skills and developing your interdisciplinary understanding of policy challenges, you will also enhance your ability to communicate your research findings to the policy community in a way that ensures real-world impact. You will join a school which conducts groundbreaking academic research where international leaders will engage with you and your scholarly community on the most pressing issues of our time.

The DPhil in Public Policy is one of Oxford's most selective degree courses and recruits those who are highly academically and professionally capable. Your peer group will include economists, lawyers, political scientists, behavioural scientists, and philosophers with professional backgrounds at international organisations such as the World Bank and the World Economic Forum and senior levels of government.

You will be expected to focus your research on practical challenges facing a range of different governments and publicly-oriented agencies. As well as developing your academic expertise, you will learn how to communicate your findings and analysis effectively so as to have real impact on government and public policy development throughout the world.

You will benefit from the DPhil Research Development seminar series and will be given ample opportunities to present your work in the department, and develop your research ideas and proposals with the advice and support of your peers.