Statistics DPhil

<strong>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.</strong> <br/><br/>The Department of Statistics in the University of Oxford is a world leader in research in probability, bioinformatics, mathematical genetics and statistical methodology, including computational statistics, machine learning and data science. Oxford’s Mathematical Sciences submission came first in the UK on all criteria in the 2021 Research Excellence Framework (REF) and in 2016 the department moved to a newly-refurbished building in the centre of Oxford.<br/><br/>Much of the department’s research is either explicitly interdisciplinary or draws its motivation from a range of application areas. <br/><br/>Graduate training is an important part of the departments research mission. As well as the graduate lectures previously mentioned, formal lecture courses are also available, for example from the MSc in Statistical Science, from the fourth-year undergraduate courses in mathematics and statistics, and from the Centres for Doctoral Training. The MPLS Graduate School offers an extensive range of courses for graduate research students throughout the academic year, including academic subjects and skills; research skills and techniques; ethics and intellectual property; transferable, professional and personal effectiveness skills; and communication, interpersonal and teaching skills.<br/><br/>Departmental seminars and colloquia bring research students, together with academic and other research staff, to hear about on-going research, and provide an opportunity for networking and socialising. You will also be encouraged to participate in social events and to take part in public engagement. The department also offers career development events.<br/><br/><strong>MSc by Research</strong><br/>The research project is designed to take less time than a doctorate degree (normally two years, though it is possible to complete the requirements in a single year). It is not intended as a first step towards a DPhil, but rather as an alternative to a DPhil.<br/><br/>As part of your training you will acquire transferable skills and prepare a research poster or give a research presentation each year in the department. The department runs seminar series in statistics and probability. There is also a graduate lecture series, involving snapshots of the research interests of the department. Several journal-clubs run each term, reading and discussing new research papers as they emerge.<br/><br/><strong>DPhil</strong><br/>In addition to undertaking a substantial piece of research, you will be expected to acquire transferable skills as part of your training, and to undertake broadening training outside your specialist area. Part of that broadening training is obtained through APTS, the Academy for PhD Training in Statistics; this is a joint venture with a group of leading university statistics departments which runs four weeks of appropriate courses a year. You will give a research presentation or prepare a research poster each year in the department. There may also be opportunities to undertake industrial internships as appropriate.<br/><br/>You will be expected to teach approximately 12 contact hours per year in undergraduate and graduate courses in the department. This is mentored teaching, beginning with simple marking, to reach a point where individual students are leading whole classes of 10 to 12 undergraduate students.<br/><br/>The department runs seminar series in statistics and probability. There is also a graduate lecture series, involving snapshots of the research interests of the department. Several journal-clubs run each term, reading and discussing new research papers as they emerge.<br/><br/><strong>For the full descriptions, please visit the relevant University of Oxford course page via www.graduate.ox.ac.uk/ucas</strong>