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Introduction to DPIR Graduate Research Degrees

DPIR is the proud home of leading thinkers in the study of government and politics, international relations, and political theory and philosophy.

If you want to complete doctoral research in politics at Oxford, you can choose from two DPhil (PhD) courses: either Politics or International Relations. As an Oxford DPhil student you will be a member of a distinguished academic community renowned for its cutting-edge research and intensive and individualised teaching and supervision. It is a community from which you will draw support and guidance, but which will also learn from your contribution to its work.

This year, DPIR is joining the University of Oxford’s continuing pilot on selection procedures for graduate applications, in order to ensure that all candidates are evaluated fairly. For all DPIR graduate programmes, socio-economic data (where it has been provided in the application form) will be used to contextualise applications at the different stages of the selection process. For more information, see the initiatives to improve access to graduate study.

How DPhil degrees work

Both the Politics DPhil and International Relations DPhil are intended for three or four years of full-time doctoral study, or six to eight years of part-time study. You can read more about key milestones for DPhil students on the University's website.

In the following video our academics share their opinions about why students should apply to postgraduate study at DPIR.

Why study at DPIR?