oxford msd dphil thesis guidelines

Annex B: Integrated theses: guidance for divisional boards

Guidelines for integrated theses.

In the past an Oxford DPhil thesis has been submitted in monograph format, as a series of chapters presented in the style of a book.

It is increasingly common, however, for theses to include published papers, or papers written intended for future publication, within the main body of the text; this type of work is known as an ‘integrated thesis’. An integrated thesis may either be a hybrid of conventional chapters and papers, or be fully article-based. Regardless of the format, the content of the thesis should reflect the amount, originality and level of work expected for a conventional thesis.

Where a divisional board wishes to permit submission of an integrated thesis, this must be governed by Special Regulations.

Format of an integrated theses

To ensure the format of the thesis constitutes a thematically coherent whole, an integrated thesis must include an introduction, a literature survey, and a conclusion. There should also be clarity about how the chapters are integrated as a complete text.

Any included papers should relate directly to the candidate’s approved field of study, and should have been written whilst holding the status of PRS or a student for the MSc (by Research), MLitt or DPhil.

Number of papers

As noted above, an integrated thesis will include a minimum of one or more papers which have been written for publication, submitted for publication and/or published. Special regulations may specify a required minimum (or maximum) number of papers written for publication, submitted for publication or published. Care should be taken when considering whether or not to specify any minimum, however, as if the student cannot meet this requirement, they would need to revert to a conventional style thesis and they would not be permitted to include any papers in the main body of the thesis (although these could be included as an appendix).

Permission to submit an integrated theses

The special regulations should specify the stage by which a student must apply to submit an integrated thesis; for example, this might be during Transfer or Confirmation of Status [1] . The special regulations should also define the process for a student to apply to revert to a conventional thesis. Where integrated theses are permitted, boards should also consider whether the requirements for milestone assessments need to be amended.

Joint authorship

When submitting a conventional thesis, students are required to confirm that the thesis is wholly their own work, or to acknowledge any parts of the thesis which are not their own work.

For an integrated thesis where candidates may wish to include papers written in collaboration, which is more common in some subject areas, boards should consider the extent to which this may be permitted. It would normally be considered that papers written in collaboration should not be included unless the greater part of the work is directly attributed to the candidate themselves, and the supervisor so certifies. Should a board permit papers with multiple authorship to be included, it must be made clear within special regulations the level of contribution required by the student. It is important that the extent of the student’s contribution to the collaborative work is clear and all co-authors should certify in writing to the responsible body what part of the work represents that of the candidate. Additionally, the student must be able to defend all papers written in collaboration in their entirety. If the responsible body is not satisfied that the greater part of the work included in the thesis is the student’s own, it should not proceed to appoint examiners. If relevant it may be acceptable to include in an appendix paper(s) written in collaboration where the greater part has not been undertaken by the candidate, but the paper(s) should not contribute to any specified minimum or maximum number of papers required.

Presentation

When writing an integrated thesis, candidate should ensure that the papers are incorporated in accordance with the general regulations for the “Preparation and submission of theses for the Degrees of M.Litt., M.Sc. by Research, and D.Phil.” available on the Examination Regulations website . Special regulations might specify that the published version of any papers should also be included as an appendix to the thesis (i.e. the typeset version prepared by the journal) in addition to either the verbatim copy or the more substantive working of the paper within the main body of the thesis. This would be subject to resolution of any issues of copyright (if necessary, the student might need to apply for dispensation from consultation of the relevant appendix of the hard copy/electronic copy of the thesis).

Candidates should be made aware that the inclusion of one or more papers which have been accepted for publication or published, does not in itself constitute proof that the work is of sufficient quality or significance to merit the award of the degree concerned. This remains a judgement of the relevant board on the recommendation of its examiners.

Boards should also ensure that guidance is provided to examiners to assist with the examining of theses of this type. This should include direction as to the types of corrections an examiner may recommend, particularly in relation to included papers that have been submitted for publication or published. Boards should also ensure that consideration is given to potential conflicts of interest whereby an appointed examiner may have reviewed the papers submitted within the thesis prior to their publication.

Regulations

Departments and faculties wishing to introduce special regulations to permit the submission of an integrated thesis should seek approval from the relevant divisional board.

Special regulations should include information on the structure of the integrated thesis, ensuring that candidates are aware that the thesis needs to form a coherent whole with any papers embedded within the text, whether there is any variance from the normal word limits for the thesis, whether there is a minimum or maximum number of papers required (and whether there are any prerequisites e.g. whether submitted for publication or published), any requirements regarding co-authorship and collaborative arrangements, and the procedures for seeking approval to submit an integrated thesis.

[1] The timing for permission might also vary where boards admit students direct to DPhil status having completed an MPhil at Oxford, and the DPhil thesis is in the same subject area.

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• Graduate school
• Information and resources for supervisors

Writing up, Submission and the Viva

This section provides information about Writing up, Submission and the Viva, including links to relevant regulations and useful information and resources.

Contents of this section (please scroll down to see each):

INTRODUCTION AND KEY STAGES OF COMPLETION

KEY UNIVERSITY DOCUMENTS AND REGULATIONS

DIVISIONAL REGULATIONS, GUIDANCE AND FORMS

OTHER USEFUL RESOURCES

introduction and key stages of completion

DPhil students are usually expected to submit their thesis within three or four years (12 terms) of being admitted as Probationer Researcher Student (PRS). Part time DPhil students are usually expected to submit their thesis within eight years (24 terms).

MSc by Research (MSc(R)) students are usually expected to submit their thesis within two or three years of being admitted as Probationer Research Student (PRS), although some may complete within one year.

The expected completion date for both full time and part time students is six months after the submission date; this is to allow for the Viva examination to take place, and for the student to complete any minor corrections and re-submit the thesis. NB these extra six months should not be used to complete any research, as the maximum submission date remains the same . 

Extensions:  Should circumstances arise where your student may need to apply for an extension, you can find information on what they should do on the page on Extensions and Suspensions .

Thesis Standard:  DPhil - The standard required for success in the DPhil examination is defined as follows: that the student present a significant and substantial piece of research, of a kind which might reasonably be expected of a capable and diligent student after three or at most four years of full time study in the case of a full-time student, or eight years in the case of a part-time student.  MSc (R):  The standard required for success in the MSc (R) examination is defined as follows: that the candidate should have made a worthwhile contribution to knowledge or understanding of the relevant field of learning after a minimum of one year or two years of full-time study.

It is important to note that at Oxford the examination assessment is completely independent of the student’s supervisor. While of course the supervisor offers support and advice, the outcome will rest on the recommendations of the examiners, and final approval by the relevant board. You should familiarise yourself with Section 7 of the University’s Policy on Research Degrees , which deals with examination.

Your department’s Director of Graduate Studies (DGS) will be able to advise you on the examination process and procedures, including guidance on examination criteria. 

As supervisor you may advise the Director of Graduate Studies if there are any special factors which should be taken into account in the conduct of your student’s examination. For example, a scientific paper may have been produced by another researcher which affects the content of the thesis, but which was published too late for it to be taken into account. You should also advise the Director of Graduate Studies if the student has any special needs that might affect their performance in the oral examination, or if any part of their work must be regarded as confidential. The Director of Graduate Studies will forward, via the Graduate Office, any appropriate information that they think should be provided to the examiners. The Graduate Office will then seek approval from the Proctors Office if required.

Form GSO.20a  provides notes and guidance for the student on the whole submission process.

Download an overview of the examination process (PDF)  from the University of Oxford website.

The key stages of completion are:

Writing the Thesis

In the MPLS Division some departments permit students to submit their thesis as an integrated thesis

You / your student should also check the examination regulations for any word or page limits.

You should work with your student to create a plan for writing up, and encourage them to start writing up early so that any hold ups or unexpected events can be absorbed more easily. 

Appointment of Examiners

It is your responsibility as the supervisor to identify and propose appropriate examiners for your student. There are normally two, one internal and one external. The internal examiner is usually a senior member of Oxford University; the external examiner usually from another research organisation. Section 7 of the University’s Policy on Research Degrees provides further information on the appointment of examiners, particularly on who may act and what might be considered as a conflict of interest.

The application for the appointment of examiners should be made no earlier than the term before, and ideally no later than 4-6 weeks before the intended submission.

You should consult with your student before making final decisions about proposed examiners, and you are encouraged to contact potential examiners informally to determine whether they are willing in principle to act and, if so, whether they are able to carry out the examination within a reasonable period of time. The process is:

• Student completes their sections of the GSO.3 , Application for the Appointment of Examiners (via My student record in student self service)
• Supervisor completes their section indicating names of the proposed examiners, and they should provide alternatives in case the preferred examiners decline to act.
• Supervisor choice of examiners is approved by the Director of Graduate Studies. (The University Regulations make reference to department, faculty or divisional board as being the decision making body in relation to examiner appointments. In MPLS this authority is delegated to the Director of Graduate Studies)
• The completed GSO.3 form is processed by the MPLS Divisional Graduate Office.
• The Exam Schools issue the formal invitations to the examiners.

submitting the thesis

Students are only permitted to submit their thesis when they have successfully completed the Transfer and Confirmation of Status milestones (Confirmation of Status is only required for DPhil Students, not for M.Sc(R) students.)

The final decision on when to submit is the student’s, noting that those funded by a research council may have a specified date by which they are expected to submit. It is of course in their interest to involve the supervisor at all stages, and to make the final version of the thesis available to you for your final comments in good time before they submit.

You should encourage your student to ensure that their standard of English is sufficient for the presentation of the thesis, and to pay particular attention to the final proof–reading. Read more information about layout and presentation of the thesis . It is the student’s responsibility to ensure their thesis has been adequately proof-read before it is submitted.   As the student’s supervisor, you should tell the student if you notice that further proof-reading is required when reading a final draft.  However, it is not your responsibility to proof-read the student’s work.  Neither is proof-reading the job of the examiners: the student should not submit a thesis which requires further proof-reading, and should employ a professional proof-reader for this purpose if necessary.

Theses should be submitted via the   Research Thesis Digital Submission   (RTDS) portal. The University’s deadline for submission is no later than the last day of the vacation immediately following the term in which the students application for the appointment of examiners was made.

Copies of the thesis should NOT be given direct to the examiners as this could result in the examination being declared void and the student could be referred to the University Proctors.

It is normally expected that the Viva examination should take place within three months of thesis submission, although there are no regulations requiring it to happen within a defined period of time. The actual date of the exam will depend primarily on the availability of both examiners; it is worth noting that more time is usually needed to arrange the date during the Long Vacation. The internal examiner is responsible for arranging the date; they will contact the student once a date has been arranged.

If your student needs to have their viva sooner than three months after submitting the thesis, they may apply for an early viva when completing the application for appointment of examiners form. The examination date requested must not be earlier than one calendar month after the date on which the thesis has been received by the Research Degrees Team  or  after the date on which the examiners have formally agreed to act, whichever is the latest. The actual date of the examination will depend primarily on the availability of both examiners. In the Long Vacation, a longer time is normally required.  It is important that your student allows sufficient time for forms to be approved and examiners to be formally invited. If sufficient time has not be given this could impact on the early examination request.

If, for any reason, examiners wish to hold a viva within four weeks of receiving their copy of the thesis, permission must be sought from the Director of Graduate Studies. The internal examiner will need to give details of the proposed arrangement and the reasons for the request. Under no circumstances will a viva normally be permitted to take place within 14 days of receipt of the thesis by the examiners.

Students and supervisors should not contact examiners themselves except to agree the date for the viva; if examiners have not been in touch within a month of receiving the thesis, the Research Degrees team  will contact them.

Your student should wear appropriate academic dress and take a copy of their thesis to the viva.

Examiners will be provided with the Memorandum for Examiners for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy ( GS0.5 ), or Memorandum of Guidance for M.Sc Examiners ( GSO.7a ), which give information about the purpose and formal requirements of the viva, the practical arrangements, the conduct of the exam and the requirements of the examiners’ report.  They will also be sent a copy of the MPLS Division's additional notes of guidance for examiners .

For more information about regulations and the purpose of the viva,  see section 7, about examination, of the University’s Policy on Research Degrees about the viva.

DPhil (first) Examination:  Examiners must choose one of the following outcomes: 

1. Award of the DPhil (possibly with minor corrections)

2. Major corrections to the thesis

3. Reference back (for revision) for DPhil or award of the M.Sc (as the thesis stands or subject to minor corrections) as the student may choose

 4. Reference back (for revision) for the DPhil or (for revision) for the M.Sc as the student may choose

 If the student chooses to revise and resubmit for the DPhil the following options will also be available to the examiners on the next examination: 

5. Reference back (for revision) for the M.Sc only

6. Award of the M.Sc

7. Outright failure

M.Sc (R) (first) Examination : examiners must choose one of the following outcomes: 

1. Award of the M.Sc (possibly with minor corrections)

2. Reference back (for revision) for the M.Sc

If the student chooses to revise and resubmit for the M.Sc the following option will also be available to the examiners on the next examination:

3. Outright failure

Full guidance on these is set out in the University's Memorandum of Guidance for DPhil Examiners ( GS0.5 ) and Memorandum of Guidance for M.Sc Examiners ( GSO.7a ).

Deposit of hard copy thesis to the bodleian and e-theses to ora

If your student is granted leave to supplicate they are no longer required to submit a hard-bound copy of their thesis to the Examination Schools in order to graduate. This includes any students who were unable to submit a hardbound copy due to COVID-19 social distancing measures in the 2019/20 & 2020/21 academic year.

However, all candidates do need to submit an electronic copy (incorporating any amendments required by the examiners) to the Oxford University Research Archive (ORA) a minimum of five working days prior to their graduation date. Students will not be able to attend a degree ceremony (even in absentia) without doing so.

key university documents and regulations

The University’s Policy on Research Degrees

Section 7 of the University’s Policy on Research Degrees, which covers examination : 

Examination Regulations – General Regulations Governing Research Degrees

Examinations Regulations – General Regulations for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy

Examinations Regulations – General Regulations for the Degree of Master of Science by Research

divisional regulations, guidance and forms

Examination regulations for Research Degrees in the MPLS Division

Subject Specific Examination Regulations:

• Biological Sciences (Biology)
• Mathematical Sciences (Computer Science, Mathematics & Statistics)
• Physical Sciences (Chemistry, Earth Sciences, Engineering Science, Materials & Physics)

MPLS Additional Notes of Guidance for Examiners  

MPLS student webpages on submitting your thesis and examination .

other useful resources

Some departments organise briefing and discussion sessions for their supervisors, which are useful opportunities to update yourself on regulations and processes, and to share practice and discuss experiences. Please contact your Director of Graduate Studies to find out if your department is planning such a session. 

MPLS Divisional training courses for DPhil students

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• Accessibility
• Skills Training
• Skills Training Calendar

Writing a thesis

Communication Skills Research Skills

Monday, 14 December 2020 to Friday, 01 August 2025, 9am - 9am

Click for more information.

This course complements 'Viva preparation' and is designed for those in the final or second to last year of their DPhil/MSc by Research who are preparing to write their theses. The course us available on Canvas and you can self-enrol using this  link .

The course consists of short pre-recorded videos supported by examples and suggested exercises, drawing on your research thus far.

Please allow around 3 hours to watch the videos and at least another 3 hours to complete the exercises. Depending on how far along you are in your DPhil journey, you may wish to dedicate much more time than this, to use the prompts and exercises to fully develop your thesis outline and writing plan. 

Module 1: Planning the thesis

• Defining the aim of thesis, versus other things you have written before
• Figuring out your overall message
• Possible thesis structures
• Plotting your chapters to support your message
• Gathering the information you need before you start writing
• Communicating with your supervisor about how and when to request feedback

Module 2: Writing the thesis

• Creating a writing timetable
• Strategies for writing and overcoming pain points
• Tips for specific chapters and their sections
• Suggested IT training to help with writing a thesis

Module 3: Polishing the thesis

• Editing your work from rough draft to simple, clear, and complete final thesis
• Strategies for requesting, coping with, and incorporating feedback

COURSE OBJECTIVES

By the end of the course, you will:

• Have developed an initial detailed outline of your thesis for discussion with your supervisor
• Have planned a writing schedule that considers your writing speed and style
• Feel ready to write a rough draft of your thesis
• Be confident in revising your own writing for clarity, simplicity, and completeness and in applying feedback.

Booking Instructions

Step-by-step guidelines on how to book a Skills Training course.

Terms & Conditions

These terms and conditions apply to all MSD Skills training courses attendees.

Events from across the University

RSL will be hosting a series of workshops exploring different hardware and apps to help with academic reading, writing, and the responsible use of AI technology in academic work. More information can be found here .

Supervising DPhil and Masters dissertations

Guidance on making contingency plans for if research is disrupted during the pandemic.

Supervising postgraduate research students often requires flexibility as their research changes direction or they identify new questions to consider, for example. The current situation presents unique challenges that have seen research students being unable to gather data if laboratories, archives, or fieldwork sites have been closed. This highlights the importance of making individual contingency plans. Even as laboratories and archives reopen, supervisors and students need to be ready, should changes in access arise.

Pedagogical guidance

Technical guidance, useful links, related oxford examples.

The greatest challenge comes during the research process and it would be advisable to have a conversation with your students about challenges they might face in the coming months and years. It remains particularly important to clearly communicate expectations about work set, working practices, and deadlines or doctoral milestones, for example, and to assess how the pandemic might affect your students’ abilities to meet them.  

If research and data collection has been suspended due to the pandemic but students are wanting to continue to work, focused tasks can help develop analytical and writing skills that the student can apply once they can resume their research. For example, you might want to present them with a set of data closely related to their own with questions for them to tackle, ask them to work on a particular section of their draft or a particular aspect of their writing, or, if they are at the beginning of their research, you might encourage them to develop other academic skills such as writing book reviews or synthesising conclusions from a collection of articles.

Research students often complain they feel isolated even in more normal times. Feelings of isolation may escalate other hurdles such as limited progress so try to maintain regular contact and encourage them to meet with other students and academics, even if only via video conferencing. With many students facing similar situations, a face to face or online gathering of a group of research students can be an effective way to problem-solve and can help to create support networks for students. You might want to set up a journal club to bring postdocs and research students together or schedule sessions for students to share their work in progress.

Platforms such as Teams make shifting from face to face to remote teaching fairly straightforward, but it is worth bearing in mind that staff and student feedback from Trinity term 2020 has noted that remote teaching is more tiring and that shorter sessions are more effective.

Microsoft Teams (often referred to as MS Teams or simply Teams ) allows you to schedule live meetings with video and screensharing.  

Teams also provides functionality for sharing documents, as it is part of Nexus Office365. These documents can be collaborated on by multiple people simultaneously. It can be effective to work collaboratively on a single document during a Teams meeting.

The chat functionality in Teams also provides a useful, less formal way of interacting with participants. The chat thread is automatically saved for later reference via the Teams chat channel.

• You might find Scenario 2  ‘Inclusive and flexible tutorials’  helpful.  
• The CTL’s DPhil Supervision in Humanities and Social Sciences and DPhil Supervision in Sciences - further guidance on supervising doctoral students  
• Getting started with Microsoft Teams
• Nexus 365: face-to-face course (IT Learning Centre)
• Microsoft Teams help and learning portal
• CATME smarter teamwork - a tool kit which helps you prepare students to function effectively in teams and supports academics as they manage their students’ team experiences
• Molteno, O. (2017) How to build an engaged online learning community [Blog], GetSmarter Research Hub, 6 March 2017
• Microsoft Teams
• Postgraduate

SEE ALL RESOURCES FOR FLEXIBLE AND INCLUSIVE TEACHING

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Resources for flexible and inclusive teaching

Writing your research proposal

The purpose of the research proposal is to demonstrate that the research you wish to undertake is significant, necessary and feasible, that you will be able to make an original contribution to the field, and that the project can be completed within the normal time period. Some general guidelines and advice on structuring your proposal are provided below. Research proposals should be between 1,000 and 3,000 words depending on the programme (excluding the reference list/bibliography).

Title sheet

Topic statement, research aims, review of the literature, study design / theoretical orientation, research methods, tentative chapter outline, references/bibliography.

Applying for a research degree

Oxford theses

The Bodleian Libraries’ thesis collection holds every DPhil thesis deposited at the University of Oxford since the degree began in its present form in 1917. Our oldest theses date from the early 1920s. We also have substantial holdings of MLitt theses, for which deposit became compulsory in 1953, and MPhil theses.

Since 2007 it has been a mandatory requirement for students to deposit an electronic copy of their DPhil thesis in the Oxford University Research Archive (ORA) , in addition to the deposit of a paper copy – the copy of record. Since the COVID pandemic, the requirement of a paper copy has been removed and the ORA copy has become the copy of record. Hardcopy theses are now only deposited under exceptional circumstances. 

ORA provides full-text PDF copies of most recent DPhil theses, and some earlier BLitt/MLitt theses. Find out more about Oxford Digital Theses, and depositing with ORA .

Finding Oxford theses

The following theses are catalogued on SOLO (the University libraries’ resource discovery tool) :

• DPhil and BLitt and MLitt theses
• BPhil and MPhil theses 
• Science theses

SOLO collates search results from several sources.

How to search for Oxford theses on SOLO

To search for theses in the Oxford collections on SOLO :

• navigate to the SOLO homepage
• click on the 'Advanced Search' button
• click the 'Material Type' menu and choose the 'Dissertations' option
• type in the title or author of the thesis you are looking for and click the 'Search' button.

Also try an “Any field” search for “Thesis Oxford” along with the author’s name under “creator” and any further “Any field” keywords such as department or subject. 

Searching by shelfmarks

If you are searching using the shelfmark, please make sure you include the dots in your search (e.g. D.Phil.). Records will not be returned if they are left out.

Oxford University Research Archive (ORA)

ORA was established in 2007 as a permanent and secure online archive of research produced by members of the University of Oxford. It is now mandatory for students completing a research degree at the University to deposit an electronic copy of their thesis in this archive. 

Authors can select immediate release on ORA, or apply a 1-year or 3-year embargo period. The embargo period would enable them to publish all or part of their research elsewhere if they wish. 

Theses held in ORA are searchable via  SOLO , as well as external services such as EThOS and Google Scholar. For more information, visit the Oxford digital theses guide , and see below for guidance on searching in ORA.

Search for Oxford theses on ORA

Type your keywords (title, name) into the main search box, and use quotes (“) to search for an exact phrase.

Refine your search results using the drop-downs on the left-hand side. These include:

• item type (thesis, journal article, book section, etc.)
• thesis type (DPhil, MSc, MLitt, etc.)
• subject area (History, Economics, Biochemistry, etc.)
• item date (as a range)
• file availability (whether a full text is available to download or not)

You can also increase the number of search results shown per page, and sort by relevance, date and file availability. You can select and export records to csv or email. 

Select hyperlinked text within the record details, such as “More by this author”, to run a secondary search on an author’s name. You can also select a hyperlinked keyword or subject. 

Other catalogues

Card catalogue  .

The Rare Books department of the Weston Library keeps an author card index of Oxford theses. This includes all non-scientific theses deposited between 1922 and 2016. Please ask Weston Library staff for assistance.

ProQuest Dissertations & Theses

You can use ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global  to find bibliographic details of Oxford theses not listed on SOLO. Ask staff in the Weston Library’s Charles Wendall David Reading Room for help finding these theses. 

Search for Oxford theses on ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global

Basic search.

The default Basic search page allows for general keyword searches across all indexes using "and", "and not", "and or" to link the keywords as appropriate. Click on the More Search Options tab for specific title, author, subject and institution (school) searches, and to browse indexes of authors, institutions and subjects. These indexes allow you to add the word or phrase recognised by the database to your search (ie University of Oxford (United Kingdom), not Oxford University).

Advanced search

The Advanced search tab (at the top of the page) enables keyword searching in specific indexes, including author, title, institution, department, adviser and language. If you are unsure of the exact details of thesis, you can use the search boxes on this page to find it by combining the key information you do have.

Search tools

In both the Basic and Advanced search pages you can also limit the search by date by using the boxes at the bottom. Use the Search Tools advice in both the Basic and Advanced pages to undertake more complex and specific searches. Within the list of results, once you have found the record that you are interested in, you can click on the link to obtain a full citation and abstract. You can use the back button on your browser to return to your list of citations.

The Browse search tab allows you to search by subject or by location (ie institution). These are given in an alphabetical list. You can click on a top-level subject to show subdivisions of the subject. You can click on a country location to show lists of institutions in that country. At each level, you can click on View Documents to show lists of individual theses for that subject division or from that location.

In Browse search, locations and subject divisions are automatically added to a basic search at the bottom of the page. You can search within a subject or location by title, author, institution, subject, date etc, by clicking on Refine Search at the top of the page or More Search Options at the bottom of the page.

Where are physical Oxford theses held?

The Bodleian Libraries hold all doctoral theses and most postgraduate (non-doctoral) theses for which a deposit requirement is stipulated by the University:

• DPhil (doctoral) theses (1922 – 2021)
• Bachelor of Divinity (BD) theses
• BLitt/MLitt theses (Michaelmas Term 1953 – 2021)
• BPhil and MPhil theses (Michaelmas Term 1977 – 2021)

Most Oxford theses are held in Bodleian Offsite Storage. Some theses are available in the libraries; these are listed below.

Law Library

Theses submitted to the Faculty of Law are held at the Bodleian Law Library .

Vere Harmsworth Library

Theses on the United States are held at the Vere Harmsworth Library .

Social Science Library

The Social Science Library holds dissertations and theses selected by the departments it supports. 

The list of departments and further information are available in the Dissertations and Theses section of the SSL webpages. 

Locations for Anthropology and Archaeology theses

The Balfour Library holds theses for the MPhil in Material and Visual Anthropology and some older theses in Prehistoric Archaeology.

The Art, Archaeology and Ancient World Library holds theses for MPhil in Classical Archaeology and MPhil in European Archaeology.

Ordering Oxford theses

Theses held in Bodleian Offsite Storage are consulted in the Weston Library. The preferred location is the Charles Wendell David Reading Room ; they can also be ordered to the Sir Charles Mackerras Reading Room .

Find out more about requesting a digitised copy, copyright restrictions and copying from Oxford theses .

DPhil and postgraduate open access portal

Welcome to the open access portal page for DPhils at Oxford, where we have compiled links and information specific to your work.

On this page

What applies to you, responsibilities and options, training for dphils, how to make your research open, tools and resources to help, oxford university open access publications policy.

The University’s 2018 Open Access policy applies to research students and asks them to deposit journal articles and other research outputs, including research data, into ORA.

Depositing your thesis

DPhils at Oxford will need to deposit their thesis into the Oxford University Research Archive. Learn more on the Bodleian Libraries guide to ORA.

Funded DPhil?

If your DPhil is funded your outputs (including your thesis) may be subject to your funder's open access requirements.

Back to top

UKRI-funded DPhils at Oxford

What is covered.

If you are a DPhil student who is funded by UKRI for the entirety of your DPhil, then the UKRI open access policy applies to:

• your thesis 
• publications based on your DPhil funded research during your DPhil
• publications based on your DPhil funded research after you have finished your DPhil (see below on re-use of data).

Note: After 1st January 2024, this will include monographs and book chapters.

If you are funded for a specific piece of work during your DPhil, then the UKRI open access policy applies to that specific piece of work.

Learn about UKRI’s open access policy

Official wording

The  UKRI Terms and conditions for training funding  state in section 11 Exploitation and Impact that:

11.4 Students supported by the Training Grant shall, subject to the procedures laid down by the Research Organisation, publish the results of their research, excluding theses (see TGC 11.5), funded by the Training Grant, in accordance with normal academic practice and  Our policy on open access . Publications and other forms of media communication, including media appearances, press releases and conferences,  must acknowledge the support received  from Us, quoting the Training Grant reference number if appropriate.  Please see details on how to acknowledge funding from UKRI.

Go to our templates page to find official acknowledgement wording

Grants awarded before the policy start date, and closed grants

The policy applies to a publication arising from pre-existing and closed awards if it is an in-scope research article submitted for publication on or after 1 April 2022, or an in-scope monograph, book chapter or edited collection published on or after 1 January 2024.

Thesis deposit and embargoes

You will need to deposit a copy of your thesis into the Oxford University Research Archive.

UKRI have several requirements for this that are outlined on the thesis LibGuide. 

Go to the University of Oxford thesis LibGuide

Training for Oxford DPhils depositing their thesis

Journal articles and conference papers

• have published a journal article or conference paper
• and this is during your DPhil (or after – see below about the re-use of data)
• and it acknowledges the funding from your DPhil

then the UKRI open access policy applies to this work and you may apply for funds from our Oxford-held block grant to assist with compliance. (Please note the criteria for payment and funder requirements.)

Apply to the Oxford University UKRI APC block grant

Book chapters

• have published a book chapter
• and publication is after 1st January 2024

then the post-1st January 2024 policy on book chapters will apply.

Monographs based on your thesis

There are special exemptions to the 1st January 2024 open access monograph policy for "UKRI issued training grant" students who are publishing a monograph based on their thesis.

You do not need to follow the open access monograph section of the policy . However, you are allowed to apply for open access funding from the monograph fund hosted by UKRI either through your new institution or as a solo researcher. This would allow you to benefit from an open access monograph.

Publishing works unrelated to your UKRI DPhil funding

If, for example, you publish an article that is a re-written version of your masters dissertation and UKRI did not fund this masters, then UKRI will not be acknowledged on that paper and therefore you do not need to follow the policy.

You can, of course deposit the article into ORA for ‘green’ open access or make use of publisher deals to publish ‘gold’ open access if you wish.

If you feel you need to acknowledge your research funding, then the policy will need to be followed for applicable outputs.

Publishing outputs based on UKRI-funded DPhil data

If an output is a result or adaptation of research that you undertook while having UKRI funding, then that output needs to comply with UKRI open access policy.

Any subsequent work created by building on data collected during a DPhil is considered a secondary project and would not need to comply.

For example, if a UKRI-funded DPhil

• writes a thesis based on research they carried out while they were UKRI funded
• makes their thesis open access in accordance with the rules of their training grant
• goes on to do additional post-doc research funded from another source, though building on the data collected during their DPhil

then they wouldn’t be subject to the UKRI policy, because the second research project, even though it draws on existing data, is a separate exercise.

However, if they

• adapt the thesis into a journal article using content which is broadly the same as the thesis
• acknowledge funding received during their doctorate
• are using data collected during the DPhil which has not yet been used for their thesis or any published work

then they ought to comply and acknowledge UKRI.

Funding for publication

If you are publishing articles and conference papers that are in scope of the UKRI open access policy (see above) you may apply for funds from the block grant.

Note payment exemptions and fund status.

If you are publishing in a journal covered by an Oxford-signed publisher deal during the duration of your DPhil, you should submit using your @ox.ac.uk email address and make use of the deal.

Note: many deals will not be available to you after you have left the University.

If you are publishing a monograph based on your thesis you may apply for open access publication funding from the UKRI managed monograph fund.

Note: there is no guarantee of funding as this output is ‘out of scope’ for the policy.

The REF and DPhils

DPhil students may publish outputs that are later submitted to the REF, but those produced while they were a student are exempt because they were not employed by a UK higher education institution at the time of submission for publication.

Unfunded Dphils

DPhils who are not in receipt of funds for open access payments can achieve open access through other routes.

Learn more about unfunded routes to open access

Faculty of Linguistics, Philology and Phonetics

University of oxford, search form.

Clarendon Institute © David Allen

• DPhil Theses

Below is a list of approved DPhil theses in the Faculty. 

Titles in blue are available online in the Oxford University Research Archive .

• Completed DPhil Projects

The University’s legal research community includes more than 200 postgraduate students engaged in research degrees in the Law Faculty and its centres. It is one of the largest and most intellectually diverse research communities in the world. Many of our research degree alumni are now global leaders in the fields of academia, legal practice, the judiciary and public service. The following list gives details of completed DPhil theses since 2010, with many of these DPhils generating published work in articles and books at the cutting edge of legal scholarship. Many other master’s and doctoral research theses are held in the collection of the University’s Bodleian Law Library.

Administrative and Constitutional Law

Civil procedure and evidence, commercial law, comparative law, competition law, computers and law, conflict of laws, contract law, corporate insolvency law, corporate law, criminology and criminal law, environmental law, human rights law, intellectual property law, international trade law, jurisprudence, law and finance, law of obligations, legal history, medical law and ethics, principles of financial regulation, property law, completed dphils in public international law, socio-legal studies.

• Research Groups
• Research Programmes
• Postdoctoral Research Fellowships
• Research Overview
• Graduate Discussion Groups