DPhil in Sustainable Urban Development

About the course

The DPhil in Surgical Sciences is a full-time doctoral programme offering research training across a range of scientific areas for both clinical and non- clinical graduates within an academic surgery department.

Hosted by the Nuffield Department of Surgical Sciences, the DPhil in Surgical Sciences is three to four years in length.

Students are admitted directly onto a research project working with one of the department’s many principal investigators (PIs). Usually candidates agree upon a project with their supervisor, and in the first instance we strongly encourage you to visit the department’s website to identify your area of interest and contact a supervisor before applying. Research undertaken within the department covers many areas including fields such as cancer, immunology, and neurosciences, and specialities such as patient safety, transplantation, urology and vascular surgery

You will be integrated into your supervisor’s research group, and will have the opportunity to network with and present to the wider department through our Surgical Grand Round series and Research Away Day. Normally your supervisory team will consist of your main supervisor along with at least one additional co-supervisor (who may be based outside of the University), with support also available from the Graduate Studies team and college advisors. Typically, students should treat their studies as a full-time occupation of at least 40 hours per week, and should be available during core working hours.

Assessment

All students will be initially admitted to the status of Probationer Research Student (PRS). Within a maximum of four terms as a PRS student you will be expected to apply for transfer of status from Probationer Research Student to DPhil status.

Students who are successful at transfer will also be expected to apply for and gain confirmation of DPhil status within nine terms of admission, to show that your work continues to be on track.

Both milestones normally involve an interview with two assessors (other than your supervisor) and therefore provide important experience for the final oral examination.

Graduate destinations

After successfully completing a DPhil in Surgical Sciences, research students typically progress to either postdoctoral research positions pursuing an academic career or, for clinically qualified individuals, to further clinical training and/or clinician-scientist posts.

As a minimum, applicants should hold or be predicted to achieve the equivalent of the following UK qualifications: a master's degree with distinction overall, or a distinction grade on the dissertation as a minimum, in a discipline relevant to sustainable urban development; and a first-class or strong upper second-class undergraduate degree with honours in any discipline. For applicants with a degree from the USA, the minimum GPA normally sought is 3.7 out of 4.0.