Economics (Research)

The information provided on this page was correct at the time of publication (November 2025). For complete and up-to-date information about this course, please visit the relevant University of Oxford course page via www.graduate.ox.ac.uk/ucas.

The DPhil in Economics is a research-based doctoral degree during which you will explore topics like econometrics, development economics, economic history, and modelling. It begins with coursework and transitions into original research.

Oxford has a thriving group of research students studying for the DPhil in Economics. The DPhil, which is the equivalent to a PhD at most other institutions, is similar in structure to a PhD at leading economics graduate schools worldwide.

The majority of students on the DPhil at Oxford have first completed the two-year Oxford MPhil in Economics. You can also apply for the DPhil if you hold, or will hold a master’s degree or equivalent in Economics from another institution.

All students starting the DPhil are admitted with Probationer Research Student status (PRS) in the first instance. You will take additional courses from the MPhil menu to deepen and broaden your economic training, while starting to work on your first research project. The PRS status allows for a smooth transition from learning about economic research to producing new economic insights yourself. If you haven’t completed the MPhil in Economics at Oxford, you will usually be required to take a year of coursework taking papers from either the first and/or second year of the MPhil course. Students progressing from the MPhil in Economics at Oxford will usually complete their coursework by taking additional advanced courses from the MPhil.

You will join one or more of the department's research groups, becoming part of a vibrant educational research community with a large number of doctoral student-led events, seminars and conferences.

The department’s specialised research groups play a key role in bringing together faculty and graduate students working in particular sub-fields, supporting and mentoring doctoral students and postdoctoral research fellows, and promoting research of the highest international standard.

The research groups provide an important interface between the research centres and the department, for example, econometrics and the INET programme on Economic Modelling (EMOD), development economics and CSAE. Other research groups facilitate collaboration across departments, as in the case of the economic history group and economic historians in the Faculty of History. Each research group runs a regular seminar series with external presenters, plus a more informal workshop in which members, including DPhil students, present their research in progress. In recent years the department has organised a very successful week-long research jamboree, to share ideas and promote across-field and interdisciplinary research, which features different forms of interaction and incorporates time for discussion and engagement. You will thus have opportunities to present your work at a variety of seminars and sessions in the department.

Students can access a range of internship programmes through the University Careers Office as well as the RCUK Policy Internship scheme for ESRC-funded students. In addition, the Bank of England and other institutions will often provide a short summer internship for a doctoral student specialising in macroeconomics or finance and the Department of Economics is accredited by the Asian Development Bank to nominate candidates for their internship programme. In recent cohorts, students have benefited from an internship with organisations including the EBRD, European Central Bank, UK Home Office, as well as those identified above.