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Postgraduate life

We aim for members of the Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences’ postgraduate community to become future leaders in their fields. Through our supportive environment, talented supervisors work to provide some of the best opportunities to help every student reach their potential and achieve their goals. Here you can get to know a few of our students and find out how they also make a difference to the world-class research and teaching in our department.

What is it actually like to complete your DPhil with us?

Find out from our students as they discuss studying in our department and what they hope to get out of an Oxford DPhil (filmed January 2020):

We also invite you to take a look at the list of research projects currently being explored by our existing postgraduate students and the supervisors that are supporting their studies:

Filmed January 2020.

Who are our students and what are their research projects?

Find out what our students have to say

Working with staff in the department has been really good...

...in terms of building a platform of the sort of research experience I need moving forward...I found that there are a lot of role models and a lot of people with experience in the type of work that I was interested in, who were able to give feedback and advice and support and do that in a helpful, supportive and kind way, and that’s really helped with my progression at this stage of my research. 

Nicholas Jones, DPhil Student
Heart failure

What I value the most about working in this department...

...is the diversity of the researchers spanning from clinicians to social scientists. I think it’s a department that really does well to bring everyone together.

Tonny Muthee, DPhil Student
Prevention and management of cardiovascular risk in Kenyan primary care settings


Georgia Richards © Nasir Hamid

This department has given me endless opportunities...

...the University of Oxford already provides you with an array of opportunities such as talks and seminars by influential people, a range of courses and extracurricular activities so you receive a broad experience rather than just doing research.

Georgia Richards, DPhil Student
Prescribing of opioid analgesics in primary care

What our supervisors say

As a DPhil student we offer you a supportive environment for research training and enhancement of your academic experience. We have supervisors who are world leaders in their disciplines, yet are prepared to be challenged by new ideas and thoughts. The DPhil student body is cohesive and welcoming and encourages both academic and social interaction. You will have many opportunities during your time in Oxford which will shape your future life and I am personally committed in helping you make the most of those opportunities.

DPhil students are the future generation of research leaders. The questions they’re asking will help generate tomorrow’s evidence base. They challenge traditional perspectives, question their supervisors’ assumptions and adapt tired methodologies creatively. Best of all, they get together and generate new interdisciplinary synergies. In doing so, they push us senior academics to acknowledge that the cutting-edge research we did a few years ago is now yesterday’s evidence. We all gain from their intellectual excitement and their future orientation.

For me, having DPhil students is very rewarding. They bring new ideas and enthusiasm to the department and make a huge contribution to the outputs of our the research group. I believe supervising DPhil students makes you a better academic and has benefited my own career progression.

Graduate students are a key part of our academic strategy of investing in the research capacity in academic primary care. Some of you will make use of your time with us to launch successful independent academic careers and we hope that the very best of you will want to compete in that career at Oxford. And, even if a glittering academic career is not your main aim in seeking to complete a DPhil with us, the opportunities for personal thinking and development through a graduate studentship are very worthwhile.

Training opportunities

Medical Sciences Division Training Sessions

Department training

The Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences is committed to providing a suite of training sessions during Michaelmas and Hilary terms to introduce our new students to some of the skills and areas that will be useful to them as they move through their DPhil. Existing students in the department are also more than welcome to attend.

Training calendar