DPhil in Clinical Neurosciences

About the course

The DPhil in Clinical Neurosciences offers excellent opportunities for high quality research training, for both clinical and non-clinical graduates, in wide-ranging leading areas of clinical neuroscience.

As a doctoral student in NDCN you will be a part of one of the leading and largest clinical neuroscience departments in Europe. The DPhil in Clinical Neurosciences will develop your skills through a range of research and practical training.

NDCN incorporates six divisions each of which hosts world-leading programmes in basic, translational and clinical research.

• Centre for Prevention of Stroke and Dementia
• Division of Clinical Neurology
• MRC Brain Network Dynamics Unit
• Nuffield Division of Anaesthetics
• Nuffield Laboratory of Ophthalmology
• Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging

You will be admitted directly to a particular research area and you will work alongside your supervisors to develop your programme of study which is normally part of a larger research group with shared interests. You will not normally do laboratory rotations.

Assessment

You will begin your course as a probationary research student (PRS) and you will be monitored and assessed regularly via completion of termly reports by you and your supervisors through the Graduate Supervision Reporting (GSR) system.

You will be expected to transfer your status from PRS to DPhil (PhD) before the end of your fourth term. For this, you will be required to submit a written report summarising your progress to date, which you will then discuss and defend in an oral examination (a transfer viva).

During your third year you will need to confirm your DPhil status through a formal assessment to ensure that you are on course to complete your studies within the three- to four-year time frame. You will be required to give a presentation and attend an interview.

Graduate destinations

According to the latest statistics available, 86% of DPhil in Clinical Neuroscience alumni are employed across a wide range of sectors with the remaining 14% going on to further study.

Past students from the Department of Clinical Neurosciences have gone on to careers based both in the UK and other countries in teaching and research in universities or back to clinical posts.

As a minimum, applicants should hold or be predicted to achieve the equivalent of the following UK qualifications: a first-class or strong upper second-class undergraduate degree with honours in a relevant discipline (eg neuroscience). However, entrance is very competitive and most successful applicants have a first-class degree or the equivalent. A master's degree is not a prerequisite for admission. For applicants with a degree from the USA, the minimum GPA sought is 3.5 out of 4.0.