phd theses oxford

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• Graduate school
• Information for postgraduate research students
• Submitting your thesis

This section contains essential information and guidance for the preparation and submission of your thesis.

Preparation and Submission of your Thesis

IMPORTANT - When preparing your thesis please ensure that you have taken into account any copyright or sensitive content issues, and dealt with them appropriately. 

COVID-19  Additional academic support – Supporting Students to Submission

Additional academic support is available for postgraduate research students impacted by the pandemic. If your research has been disrupted by COVID-19, it will now be possible to have this taken into account in viva examinations.

Tips on planning your thesis

At an early stage you should:

• Prepare a detailed work plan for your research in consultation with your supervisor.
• Build some flexibility into your plan. It is difficult to give general advice about the allocation of time on theory‑oriented projects, because the nature of these is so variable. In the case of experiment‑based research projects, you should normally allow up to six months to write a DPhil thesis, or three to four months for a corresponding MSc by Research thesis.
• Consider attending available skills training courses, for example  Thesis and Report Writing .

It is not advisable to leave all the writing to the end, for several reasons:

• You will need practice at writing over a period of time in order to develop a good style.
• There will inevitably be hold‑ups in experimental work and it is better to use that time to work on part of your thesis, rather than to waste it. If you do some writing earlier the final completion of your thesis will not seem such a daunting task.
• Approaching your submission date will become more stressful than necessary.

About your thesis

The best way to find out what is required for a successful thesis in your subject area is to look at some written in recent years. You should obviously look particularly closely at theses written by previous members of your own research group, which are available in the University library.

The formal requirements for obtaining your degree are set out in detail in the ‘ Examination Regulations ’. The standard required for success in the DPhil examination is defined as follows: that the student present a significant and substantial piece of research, of a kind which might reasonably be expected of a capable and diligent student after three or at most four years of full‑time study in the case of a full-time student, or eight years in the case of a part-time student. For the MSc by Research the standard required is that the candidate should have made a worthwhile contribution to knowledge or understanding of the relevant field of learning after a minimum of one year or two years of full-time study.

Thesis structure - Integrated Thesis

Subject to approval, students registered on research programmes (DPhil, MSc (Res) and CDTs) in the following departments may submit an integrated thesis rather than a conventional thesis: Biology, Chemistry, Earth Sciences, Engineering Science and Statistics. Where a student is admitted to an interdisciplinary doctoral training programme (CDT/DTP), the regulations for the department that the student is hosted in will therefore determine whether an integrated thesis may be applied for.

An integrated thesis may either be a hybrid of conventional chapters and high-quality scientific papers, or be fully paper-based. Regardless of the format, the content of the thesis should reflect the amount, originality and level of work expected for a conventional thesis. It should not be assumed that the act of publication (in whatever form) means the work is of suitable academic quality and content for inclusion in a thesis, and students should discuss all papers in detail with their supervisor before including. It would be anticipated that the candidate would be a lead contributor, rather than a minor author, on at least some of the papers in order to consider this format. There is no minimum, or maximum, number of papers a candidate is expected/allowed to include as part of such a thesis and it will remain a matter for the examiners to conclude whether the contributions are equivalent to that which would be expected of a standard DPhil.

Any papers utilised must concern a common subject, constitute a continuous theme and conform to the following guidelines:

 (i) If a candidate for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy wishes to be examined through an integrated thesis (in the departments listed above), they should apply for permission to be examined in this way when they apply for confirmation of status, as detailed in the relevant departmental handbook. A candidate for the Degree of Master of Science by Research should normally apply to the DGS for permission to be examined in this way six months before submitting their papers for examination. To revert to being examined by a conventional thesis rather than an integrated thesis, the candidate must inform their department of the change as detailed in the relevant departmental handbook.

(ii) Work can be included regardless of its acceptance status for publication but candidates may be questioned on the publication status of their work by the examiners.

(iii) Any submitted/published papers should relate directly to the candidate’s approved field of study, and should have been written whilst holding the status of PRS or a student for the MSc (by Research), or DPhil.

(iv) The collection of papers must include a separate introduction, a full literature review, discussion and a conclusion, so that the integrated thesis can be read as a single, coherent document.

(v) The candidate must ensure all matters of copyright are addressed before a paper’s inclusion. A pre-print version of any published papers should be included as standard.

(vi) Joint/multi-authored papers are common in science based subjects and thus acceptable if the candidate can both defend the paper in full and provide a written statement of authorship, agreed by all authors, that certifies the extent of the candidate’s own contribution. A standard template is available for this purpose.

• Download the Statement of Authorship template as a Word document
• View the Statement of Authorship template as a webpage  

The length and scope of theses, including word limits for each subject area in the Division are set out in Departmental guidelines.

In all departments, if some part of the thesis is not solely your work or has been carried out in collaboration with one or more persons, you should also submit a clear statement of the extent of your contribution.

• Download the guidance for submitting an Integrated Thesis as a Word document
• View the guidance for submitting an Integrated Thesis as a webpage

Thesis page and word limits

Several departments place a word limit or page limit on theses. Details can be found in the  Examination Regulations  or  GSO.20a Notes of Guidance for Research Examinations .

Permission to exceed the page and word limits

Should you need to exceed your word/page limit you must seek approval from the Director of Graduate Studies in your department. You and your supervisor must submit a letter/email requesting approval, giving reasons why it is necessary to exceed the limit. This must be sent to the MPLS Graduate Office ( [email protected] ).

Proof-reading

It is your responsibility to ensure your thesis has been adequately proof-read before it is submitted.  Your supervisor may alert you if they feel further proof-reading is needed, but it is not their job to do the proof-reading for you.  You should proof-read your own work, as this is an essential skill in the academic writing process. However, for longer pieces of work it is considered acceptable for students to seek the help of a third party for proof-reading. Such third parties can be professional proof-readers, fellow students, friends or family members (students should bear in mind the terms of any agreements with an outside body or sponsor governing supply of confidential material or the disclosure of research results described in the thesis).   Proof-reading assistance may also be provided as a reasonable adjustment for disability.    Your thesis may be rejected by the examiners if it has not been adequately proof-read.  

See the University’s Policy on the Use of Third Party Proof-readers . The MPLS Division offers training in proof-reading as part of its Scientific Writing training programmes.

Examiners and Submission Dates

You are strongly advised to apply for the appointment of examiners at least four to six weeks before you submit your thesis.

Appointing examiners for your thesis

Approval of the proposed names of examiners rests with the Director of Graduate Studies. Two examiners are normally appointed. It is usual for one of the examiners to be a senior member of Oxford University (the ‘internal examiner’) and the other to be from another research organisation (the ‘external examiner’). The divisional board will not normally appoint as examiners individuals previously closely associated with the candidate or their work, representatives of any organisation sponsoring the candidate’s research, or former colleagues of a candidate. Your supervisor will make suggestions regarding the names of possible examiners. Before doing so, your supervisor must consult with you, in order to find out if you have any special views on the appointment of particular examiners. Your supervisor is also allowed to consult informally with the potential examiners before making formal suggestions. Such informal consultation is usually desirable, and is intended to determine whether the people concerned are willing in principle to act, and if so, whether they could carry out the examination within a reasonable period of time. (For example, there may be constraints if you have to return to your home country, or take up employment on a specific date).

See information on examiner conflicts of interest , under section 7.3.3 Examiners.

What forms do I need to complete?

You will need to complete the online  GSO.3 form. Supervisors complete the section indicating names of the proposed examiners, and they should provide alternatives in case the preferred examiners decline to act.

Timing for appointment of examiners

You are advised to submit your appointment of examiners form in advance of submitting your thesis to avoid delays with your examination process. Ideally you should apply for the appointment of examiners at least 4-6 weeks before you expect to submit your thesis for examination.

There are currently no University regulations requiring examination to take place within a certain time limit after thesis submission. However, your examiners would normally be expected to hold your viva within 3 months. If you need to have your examination sooner than this, you may apply for an early viva , by completing the 'Application for a time specific examination' section on the appointment of examiners form, this section must be endorsed by your supervisor and DGS in addition to their approval in the main body of the form. The request must be made at the time of completing and submitting the appointment of examiners form, it cannot be done after this.

Please bear in mind that the examination date requested must not be earlier than one calendar month after the date on which the thesis has been received by the Research Degrees Team or after the date on which the examiners have formally agreed to act, whichever is the latest. The actual date of the examination will depend primarily on the availability of both examiners. In the Long Vacation, a longer time is normally required. It is therefore essential that you leave sufficient time for your forms to be formally approved, and for your examiners to be formally invited.  If sufficient time has not be given this could impact on your early examination request .

If, for any reason, examiners wish to hold a viva within four weeks of receiving their copy of the thesis, permission must be sought from the Director of Graduate Studies. The internal examiner will need to give details of the proposed arrangement and the reasons for the request. Under no circumstances will a viva be permitted to take place within 14 days of receipt of the thesis by the examiners.

Special considerations

Your supervisor is permitted to indicate to the Director of Graduate Studies if there are any special factors which should be taken into account in the conduct of your examination. For example, a scientific paper may have been produced by another researcher which affects the content of your thesis, but which was published too late for you to take into account. The Director of Graduate Studies will also need to be told of any special circumstances you may require or need to inform your examiners of which may affect your performance in an oral examination, or if any part of your work must be regarded as confidential. The Director of Graduate Studies will then forward (via the Graduate Office), any appropriate information that they think should be provided to the examiners. The Graduate Office will also seek approval from the Proctors Office if required.

Change of thesis title

If during your studies you want to change the title or subject of your thesis, you must obtain the approval of the Director of Graduate Studies using the online form GSO.6 . If you are requesting the change at the time of submitting your thesis, you may do this on the application for appointment of examiners form. A change of title is quite straightforward; it is common for students to begin with a very general title, and then to replace it with a more specific one shortly before submitting their thesis. Providing your supervisor certifies that the new title lies within the original topic, approval will be automatic. A change of the subject of your research requires more detailed consideration, because there may be doubt as to whether you can complete the new project within the original time‑scale.

If following your examination your examiners recommend that your thesis title be changed, you will need to complete a change of thesis title form to ensure that your record is updated accordingly.

From MT19 y ou must submit your digital examiners’ copy of your thesis online, via the Research Thesis Digital Submission (RTDS) portal, no later than the last day of the vacation immediately following the term in which your application for the appointment of examiners was made.   If you fail to submit by this date your application will be cancelled and you will have to reapply for appointment of examiners when you are ready to submit. Y our thesis should not be submitted until your application for confirmation of status has been approved (this applies to DPhil students only) . For MSc by Research students you should ensure that your transfer of status has been completed .

If you are funded on a research council studentship, you will have a recommended end-date before which your thesis must be submitted. If you do not know this date, please consult your supervisor.

Please note that you must not submit copies of your thesis directly to your examiners as this could result in your examinations being declared void and you could be referred to the University Proctors.

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Research examinations

• Before the Examination
• Writing and Submitting your Thesis
• The Viva Examination
• Outcomes and Referrals
• Deposit and Consultation of Thesis

The information provided below provides a summary of key regulations applicable to all examinations. It is your responsibility to read and adhere to the  Examination Regulations .

The procedures for the submission and examination of theses are detailed in the  Examination Regulations , as well as the  Notes of Guidance for the Examination of Research Degrees (GSO.20a) .

When to submit a thesis

Students must have the appropriate student status before they are permitted to submit a copy of their thesis: if you are a student for the MSc by Research, MLitt, or MPhil, this means having completed your transfer of status; if you are a student for the DPhil, this means having passed both your transfer and confirmation of status.

You can find the details of your final submission deadline on Student Self Service, at ‘My Student Record’ > ‘Academic Information’. This maximum submission date is different to the expected completion date found on your University Card and Enrolment Certificate, and is the date by which you must have submitted the examination copy of your thesis. If you will not be in a position to submit your thesis by this date you will need to consider submitting an application for an extension.

Appointment of examiners

You should liaise with your supervisor regarding the selection of your proposed examiners. It is usual for supervisors to informally invite the proposed examiners, and confirm their willingness to act, before the submission of the Appointment of Examiners form.

Once you have decided on an appropriate internal and external examiners with your supervisor, you should complete the  Application for Appointment of Examiners (GSO.3) form  in Student Self Service, and read the accompanying Notes of Guidance. Once you have completed and submitted your section, the application will be sent to your supervisor who will propose examiner names to the relevant board, together with details of any special considerations which either yourself or the supervisor wishes to make known about potential examiners.

If you wish to request an early  viva , you will be given the opportunity to do so in the GSO.3 form. This cannot be used to request that a viva happens ‘as soon as possible’, but only where there is a specific date by which the viva must have taken place. If the faculty board accepts your request, your examiners will be invited on the basis that they conduct before a date you specify. You should bear in mind when specifying this date that you should allow your examiners at least four weeks to examine your thesis before the date of the viva, and the submission dates of your application form and thesis should reflect this. 

It is strongly recommended that you submit your section of the GSO.3 form four to six weeks prior to submitting your thesis, since the names of your examiners have to be approved and their acceptance received before your thesis can be provided to them. If you submit your form and thesis together, your thesis will not be provided to the examiners until these preliminaries have been completed.

Detailed guidance on all sections of the Appointment of Examiners form can be found in the GSO.20a .

Maximum number of terms’ extension permitted

The maximum number of terms’ extension permitted for DPhil students is six terms. Applications for extensions within this limit should be made via Student Self Service . Applications for extensions which would take you beyond six terms of extension will not be granted without both the full support of your supervisor(s), college and department/faculty, and in addition, special dispensation from the Examination Regulations agreed by the University Education Committee. Such applications should be made through your  Graduate Studies Assistant .

The maximum number of terms’ extension permitted for Master of Letters and Master of Science by research students is three terms.

Submission of examiners’ copies of your thesis 

The examination copies of all research degrees must be digitally submitted via the Research Theses Digital Submission (RTDS) portal before 11:59pm on the student’s maximum submission date. Submissions made via any other method will not be accepted. Full guidance on the functionality and instructions on how to submit your thesis using RTDS can be found in the  Quick Reference Guide for Students .

You may submit the digital examiners’ copy of your thesis at the same time as applying for the appointment of examiners, but note that your examiners will not be sent a link to download the thesis, until your  Appointment of Examiners form  has been approved and your examiners have formally confirmed their appointment to the Research Degree Team at the Examination Schools.

Presentation of theses and abstracts - style and format

Information on special regulations for specific subject areas and divisional and faculty boards can be found in the relevant Examination Regulations ; you should check the specific requirements for your course of study in the relevant regulations. A set of general advice on the format of the thesis can also be found in the General Regulations Governing Research Degrees, and is replicated in the GSO.20a .

Plagiarism is presenting someone else’s work or ideas as your own, with or without their consent, by incorporating it into your work without full acknowledgement. All published and unpublished material, whether in manuscript, printed or electronic form, is covered under this definition. Plagiarism may be intentional or reckless, or unintentional. Under the regulations for examinations, intentional or reckless plagiarism is a  disciplinary offence  (sections 4 and 5).

There are different  types of plagiarism  and you should familiarise yourself with each of them. You may benefit from taking an  online course  which has been developed to provide a useful overview of the issues surrounding plagiarism and practical ways to avoid it.

If plagiarism is suspected in your thesis, the matter will be referred to the relevant Director of Graduate Studies (DGS). They will thoroughly investigate the claim and may call you for interview. As part of the investigation, text-matching software such as iThenticate or TurnItIn may be used to scan the thesis but the thesis will not be saved to any text-matching software databases. If at this point there is no evidence of a breach of the regulations, no further disciplinary action will be taken although you still may be required to make changes to your thesis. However, if it is concluded that a breach of the regulations may have occurred, the DGS will refer the matter to the Proctors.

Extenuating circumstances

If you have a disability that may affect your thesis, this needs to be considered at the time that you are writing your thesis. There are a number of measures that can be put in place to support you whilst writing your thesis and these can be discussed with the Disability Advisory Service and your department/college disability advisors. These measures could include extensions of time for milestones, assistive technology, use of a proof reader etc.

By the time you submit your thesis no further consideration of the disability for the written work is appropriate, as you will have been given sufficient support so that your thesis can be examined under the same academic criteria as those theses submitted by students without a disability.

The oral examination or viva

It is the responsibility of the internal examiner to make all the arrangements for the viva examination. Your internal examiner should normally contact you to arrange a date for your  viva  within a month of receiving your thesis. If you have not heard from your examiner within a month of your thesis being sent, please contact the Research Degrees Team, who will contact your examiners. You must not contact your examiners yourself, except when you have to agree a date for the viva.

If you wish to ask for an early viva (one to two months following submission), the application setting out the reasons for your request must be made using the ‘request for time specific viva’ section of the GSO.3 (Appointment of Examiners) form. You may not request an early viva to take place within a month of submitting your thesis.

Your thesis will only be available to the examiners once both the completed GSO.3 form and their formal acceptance to act as an examiner have been received. Delays often occur by the GSO.3 not arriving promptly with the Research Degrees Team or a failure to elicit a response from the examiners to their invitation.

The regulations stipulate that examiners must have the thesis a minimum of four weeks before the date of the viva. In exceptional circumstances the board may permit a viva to be held earlier but this is not guaranteed. Please  contact your Graduate Studies Assistant  if you wish to enquire about this.

You must present for a viva in academic dress;  sub fusc  and a gown. The gown should be that of your present status (i.e. Student for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy), the gown and hood of the degree held from your own university, or, if you are a University of Oxford graduate, the gown and hood of your University of Oxford degree. Special dispensation may be granted in certain circumstances, for example, health reasons, religious orders and members of the armed services. Please contact the Research Degrees Team for further information on how to apply.

Please do not forget to take a copy of your thesis with you to the viva.

Remote vivas

With the permission of the relevant board (given through the Director of Graduate Studies), vivas may be held with any or all of the candidate and examiners attending remotely via video call. A potential reason for this may be that an examiner or the candidate are based outside the UK, and would be travelling to the UK for the sole purpose of attending the viva. All parties must agree to the viva being held in this format, and further guidance can be found in Annex D of the Policy and Guidance on Research Degrees . Where permission is given for a viva to be held remotely, there is no requirement for the candidate or internal examiner to attend in academic dress.

Viva adjustments

If you wish to make the examiners aware of any illness, disability, or personal circumstance which may affect your performance in the viva, you can make an application for Adjustments to Assessment Arrangements using form  GSO.19 , outlining the requested adjustments and reasons. Adjustments can be requested at any point from offer of a place to submission, at the point of applying for Transfer of Status, at the point of applying for Confirmation of Status or at the point of applying for final viva/appointment of examiners.  The form and related guidance can be found here . Please contact your GSA or departmental graduate administrator if you require more information.

Minor corrections

Your examiners may recommend that you complete minor corrections before they recommend award of the degree. Your examiners will provide you with a list of the required corrections. If you have not received the list of corrections within two weeks of the viva, then you should contact the  Graduate Studies Assistant  for your subject area.

The University expects that these minor corrections will be completed to the satisfaction of your internal examiner within one month of being issued. If, for exceptional reasons, additional time is needed you may apply for an additional one month by submitting a copy of form  GSO.18 . Extension of Time for Completion of Minor or Major Corrections. If you fail to complete your corrections within the time allowed your name will be removed from the Graduate Register and a reinstatement application will be required.

Major corrections and referral 

A ‘major corrections’ option for DPhil examination outcomes give the examiners of research degrees an outcome option midway between minor corrections and referral. Corrections must be made and submitted within six months of the letter confirming the major corrections, although Examination Boards may grant an extension of up to three months on receipt of a GSO.18 form. Where a candidate is required to revise and re-submit their thesis, the revised thesis and, where required, a report indicating the specific changes made must also be submitted via the Research Thesis Digital Submission (RTDS) application.  It is not permitted for a thesis to be submitted directly to the examiners .

Candidates whose thesis is referred will be required to provide at resubmission a separate report indicating the specific changes made to the revised thesis. For students in the Humanities, Medical Sciences and Social Sciences Divisions and the Department for Continuing Education, the word limit for the accompanying report is 1000 words; for students in the Mathematical, Physical and Life Sciences Division, the word limit is 2000 words. The report will act as a guide to how the candidate has addressed examiners’ comments, and will direct examiners to the appropriate sections.

Correction timelines

The outcome types, time limits for changes and report lengths for each of the research degrees are summarised in the tables below.

Doctor of Philosophy

Master of Letters/Master of Science by Research

In all cases, the time limit applies from the date you receive the list of corrections/revisions required.

Examiners do not have the option of recommending an outcome of outright fail on the first attempt for MLitt/MSc(Res) examinations. Students not passing the examination at the first attempt will be entitled to a second attempt.

Re-submitting a thesis

If you are re-submitting your thesis, you are required to pay the re-submission fee (the current fee amounts can be found  here ) when you apply for the appointment of examiners. This fee does not apply to students submitting their thesis for the Review of Major Corrections. The re-submission fee should be paid via the Research Degrees section of the University's  online shop ; this will need to be received before the Research Degrees Team is able to officially log your submission and send your thesis to your examiners.

The revised thesis, and the required report indicating the specific changes made, must be submitted via the Research Thesis Digital Submission (RTDS) application. For students in the Humanities, Medical Sciences and Social Sciences Divisions and the Department for Continuing Education, the word limit for the accompanying report is 1000 words; for students in the Mathematical, Physical and Life Sciences Division, the word limit is 2000 words. The report will act as a guide to how the candidate has addressed examiners’ comments, and will direct examiners to the appropriate sections.

A fresh Appointment of Examiners form is also required for any resubmission. The report on the first examination will automatically be sent to the examiners of the re-submitted thesis. This is to ensure that the examiners are aware of the background to the revisions that you have made. If you wish to make a case for this not to happen, permission must be sought from the Proctors. You will need to apply in writing via your  Graduate Studies Assistant , stating your reasons, before or at the same time as re-applying for the appointment of examiners.

Deposit of a Library Copy of the Thesis

Students granted leave to supplicate will no longer need to submit a hardbound copy of their thesis to the Examination Schools in order to graduate. This includes any students granted leave to supplicate in previous academic years who have not yet submitted a hard copy of their thesis.

All candidates for the degrees of DPhil, MLitt, MSc by Research and DClinPsych must submit an electronic version of their finalised thesis, as approved by the examiners, to the Oxford University Research Archive (ORA)  following being granted to leave to supplicate. Students for theses degrees must do so a minimum of five working days prior to their graduation date, and will not be able to attend a degree ceremony (even in absentia) without doing so.

Information   regarding this process can be found on the  Oxford Research Archive website  and will be sent with your result letter. Deposit of a copy with the archive is optional for candidates for the degrees of MPhil, Master of Studies in Legal Research (MSt) or Bachelor of Philosophy (BPhil) in Philosophy.

If submissions remain outstanding, shortly before your degree ceremony you will receive emails reminding you to complete these submissions at least five days in advance of your ceremony. If these submissions are not completed by this time, your name may be removed from the ceremony list.

Dispensation from Consultation of Thesis

Where there are concerns about the thesis being made publicly available online, candidates can apply for dispensation from consultation for part or all of their thesis using form  GSO.3c . Information on this process, and on likely reasons for applying, can be found on the Bodleian website .

Candidates who are granted Dispensation from Consultation on the whole thesis, and on a permanent basis, should, in addition to the finalised copy of the thesis submitted to the Oxford Research Archive, submit a finalised hardbound copy of their thesis for deposit in the relevant university library. This applies to students who have already been granted Dispensation from Consultation, and who have not yet had the opportunity to submit a hard copy of their thesis.

Students whose thesis (or part of the thesis) is in a non-standard format which cannot be submitted electronically (e.g. a 3D artwork, or artefact) should also submit a physical copy for deposit.

Physical copies for those students granted Dispensation from Consultation on a permanent basis should be to submitted to the Bodleian at the North Proscholium, in the Bodleian Library, during library opening hours. More information on this process is available on the  Bodleian LibGuide .

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Further Honours School

All History finalists and some joint-schools students write a 12,000-word thesis on a topic of their own devising. Many undergraduates find this to be the most satisfying work they do in their History degree.

The thesis offers you the opportunity to engage in primary research on a subject of your own devising, and to work out arguments which are entirely your own, not a synthesis of the conclusions of others. It enables you to work as a historical scholar in your own right and to taste the kind of academic work undertaken professionally by your tutors. For those who continue as graduate historians, the thesis will represent a first opportunity to test their abilities as creative and independent researchers, able to define and explore a historical problem on a large scale. For others a successfully accomplished thesis is a clear indication to employers and the outside world that they possess a capacity for organization, selfdiscipline and the ability to structure a substantial and complex piece of research on their own initiative. Some undergraduate theses are so good that they are ready to be published as they stand. But almost all theses give their authors considerable personal satisfaction, and will be looked back on with pride long after the authors have left Oxford and the study of History behind.

Teaching: The Faculty provides an initial lecture on framing a topic in Hilary Term of the second year, and the Thesis Fair early in Trinity Term to help suggest sources from a wide range of fields. At total of five hours of advice from college tutors and a specialist supervisor are permitted across the second and third years.

• Completed DPhil Projects

The University’s legal research community includes more than 200 postgraduate students engaged in research degrees in the Law Faculty and its centres. It is one of the largest and most intellectually diverse research communities in the world. Many of our research degree alumni are now global leaders in the fields of academia, legal practice, the judiciary and public service. The following list gives details of completed DPhil theses since 2010, with many of these DPhils generating published work in articles and books at the cutting edge of legal scholarship. Many other master’s and doctoral research theses are held in the collection of the University’s Bodleian Law Library.

Administrative and Constitutional Law

Civil procedure and evidence, commercial law, comparative law, competition law, computers and law, conflict of laws, contract law, corporate insolvency law, corporate law, criminology and criminal law, environmental law, human rights law, intellectual property law, international trade law, jurisprudence, law and finance, law of obligations, legal history, medical law and ethics, principles of financial regulation, property law, completed dphils in public international law, socio-legal studies.

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Search the Library

On this page is information for anyone wanting to find theses written by other people and also information for PhD students about their online thesis.

Finding theses

Copyright and your online thesis.

This section is for researchers who would like to find and read theses from Oxford Brookes or other universities.

Oxford Brookes theses

A copy of every Oxford Brookes PhD and MPhil thesis is deposited with the Library in print format (also known as a 'hardcopy'), online format (also known as 'electronic' theses or eTheses), or in both print and online formats. Oxford Brookes theses submitted from 2021 onwards are only available from the Library in online (or 'electronic') format.

To find print and online Oxford Brookes theses you can search LibrarySearch  by author, title, keyword, while for only the online theses you can browse or search  our repository RADAR .

Locating theses from other institutions

• ProQuest Dissertations & Theses provides access to multi-disciplinary dissertations and theses from around the world, offering over 5 million citations and 3 million full-text works from thousands of universities.
• EBSCO Open Dissertations : enables you to search for thousands of open access dissertations
• British Library’s EThOS project : a theses digitisation project. You can search across 500,000+ theses for free and download / order full text where available. You will need to register and log in if you want to download a thesis or to order digitisation of a thesis.
• CORE : CORE (COnnecting REpositories) is an aggregation of open access content from UK and worldwide repositories and open access journals. It includes access to theses.
• DART-Europe : provides details of European theses with access to full text where available.
• National Library of Australia Trove Service : a free repository of Australian material, including almost a million Australian theses.
• Global Electronic Theses and Dissertation Search : a database of open-access electronic theses and dissertations worldwide from the Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations.

Academic Liaison Librarians

For help finding theses contact your Academic Liaison Librarian (select course resource area from list on page)

This section is for postgraduate researcher students who will be submitting an online PhD thesis as part of their doctorate degree.

What is 'third party content'?

Many theses will include text, images, or other materials that were originally created by other people - this is known as 'third party content'. Material that might be in your thesis and which could be considered third party content includes:

• Lengthy quotations and extracts from publications such as books or journals even if you have attributed them correctly.
• Patented material
• Models/diagrams copied as found from books, even if attributed correctly
• Maps, such as Ordinance Survey photocopies, or taken from books, even if attributed correctly
• Photocopies/scans of paintings and other artworks, or manuscripts and historical documents.

Sometimes students believe they can reproduce third party material in their thesis if they provide a reference to the original - but this is not the case. See the next section for more details.

Using third party content in your online thesis

Third part content is the intellectual property of other people, which means you may need the permission of the copyright holders before including the material in the version of your thesis that will be publicly available on the institutional repository of Oxford Brookes. Here are some conditions under which you can use third party content in your online thesis:

• The third party content has been given a licence (e.g. a Creative Commons licence) which allows you to use the material in your online thesis without contacting the copyright holder.
• A formal legal exception to copyright law means you can include the third party content in your online thesis without the permission of the copyright holder.
• The work is 'out of copyright', meaning that the duration of copyright protection has expired.

You have contacted the copyright owner of the third party material and they have given you permission to include the material in your online thesis. To request permission first establish who the copyright holders are (there may be more than one), try to contact them ( here is a template letter  that you can adapt), and keep records of all communications (separately from your Oxford Brookes email).

If none of the above conditions apply then you must remove the third party content from your the version of your thesis that will be publicly available before you upload it to RADAR. This can be done individually or in bulk:

• Individually: remove each item of third party content that you do not have permission to use in your online thesis but leave a similar amount of blank space so that the pagination is unchanged.
• In bulk: when writing your thesis put all the third party content that you do not have permission to use in the publicly available version of your thesis within a single section of your thesis (e.g. an appendix), then remove that particular section before uploading that version of the thesis to RADAR. For example, Thompson's thesis The furrowed face originally had an Illustrations section (see the Contents List) that is not actually included in this online version of the thesis (though the bibliographic details of the sources are included in the List of Illustrations).

Whichever way you remove the third party content, please remember these two key points:

• Remember to include the bibliographic details of all the third party content in the main body of the text and/or in a separate section so that the readers of your online thesis can easily find the original sources for themselves. Ideally this will also include an electronic hyperlink to each resource (preferably a persistent link, e.g. a DOI).
• For any third party content that you do have permission to use in your online thesis, ensure you state this clearly directly underneath the third party content (e.g. 'Used with permission of the author / publisher /photographer / author /creator' or 'Used under the terms of the licence...', etc.).

Sources of information relating to using third party content:

• General guidance on using third party content by the Intellectual Property Office of the UK Government
• Duration of copyright by Copyright User
• Quotation and copyright by Copyright User
• Using images by Oxford Brookes as part of a Moodle course called 'Copyright and Publication'
• Digital images, photographs, and the internet by the Intellectual Property Office of the UK Government
• Creative Commons licences are often used by publishers and authors to state how online materials can be reused by other people

Personal data and issues of confidentiality

Personal data and confidentiality are usually separate issues from copyright and third party content, but the involvement of human participants in your research (or the inclusion of material that identifies individuals in your thesis) also requires special consideration when submitting the electronic version of your thesis.

Sources of information on personal data:

• Data protection and privacy : considerations for research by Oxford Brookes
• Guidelines for informed consent by Oxford Brookes
• GDPR and Research – An Overview for Researchers (PDF) by UK Research and Innovation

[email protected]

For help with your online thesis contact the Scholarly Communications Team

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Finding UK theses

The Bodleian Libraries hold copies of some UK theses. These are listed on SOLO  and may be ordered for delivery to a reading room. 

These theses are not all catalogued in a uniform way. Adding the word 'thesis' as a keyword in SOLO may help, but this is unlikely to find all theses, and may find published works based upon theses as well as unpublished theses.

Card catalogue  

Some early theses accepted for higher degrees and published before 1973 are held in the Bodleian Libraries but are not yet catalogued on SOLO. These holdings can be found in the Foreign Dissertations Catalogue card index.

To request access to material in the catalogue, speak to library staff at the Main Enquiry Desk in the Lower Reading Room of the Old Bodleian Library, or contact us via  [email protected]  or phone (01865 277162). 

Other finding aids

Proquest dissertations & theses.

You can use ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global  to locate theses accepted for higher degrees at universities in the UK and Ireland since 1716. The service also provides abstracts of these theses.

Library Hub Discover

You can use Library Hub Discover to search the online catalogues of some of the UK’s largest university research libraries to see if a thesis is held by another UK library.

EThOS is the UK’s national thesis service, managed by the British Library. It aims to provide a national aggregated record of all doctoral theses awarded by UK higher education institutions, with free access to the full text of many theses. It has around 500,000 records for theses awarded by over 120 institutions.

UTREES - University Theses in Russian, Soviet, and East European Studies 1907–

UTREES is a bibliographical database of research in the British Isles. The database has been continuously extended from the printed volume, most recently with 202 recent theses added in 2021. The database lists details of over 6,000 doctoral and selected masters’ theses from British and Irish universities. It covers research relating to Eastern and Central Europe, Russia and the area of the former USSR, including Central Asia, the Caucasus and Siberia.

Individual universities

You can also go to individual UK universities' sites for their online theses repositories.

You can purchase copies of Cambridge University theses through the Cambridge University Library's online order form . There is a standard charge of £75 (plus VAT and postage). White Rose ETheses Online is an online repository of doctoral theses from the Universities of Leeds, Sheffield and York. It is part of a national and international network of open access online databases which promote access to research outputs. Many theses have been digitised by the British Library as part of the EThOS. However, there have been instances where theses are available via WhiteRose eTheses Online before they reach EThOS.  

Ordering UK theses

Many theses from other UK universities are available from the British Library's EThOS service.  Unfortunately, this service is currently unavailable due to a cyber attack on the British Library.  

You can also request theses from other UK universities as an inter-library request .

Please note that it may not be possible to obtain some theses due to restrictions on lending placed by the author of the thesis or the institution at which it is held.

MMC Lab Doctorl Thesis

Doctoral thesis (dphil/phd).

(11) Michele Tricarico, DPhil Thesis, University of Oxford (2023): "Nanomechanical Behaviour of the Monolithic Framework Solids: An Experimental and Modelling Study" [ PDF ]

(10)  Annika F. Möslein, DPhil Thesis, University of Oxford (2022): "Engineering Optoelectronics and Smart Sensors Leveraging Metal-Organic Framework Materials" [ PDF ]

(9) Yang Zhang, DPhil Thesis, University of Oxford (2022): " Luminescent Metal-Organic Framework and its Polymer Composites for Photonic Sensing Technology " [ PDF ]

(8)  Arun S. Babal, DPhil Thesis, University of Oxford (2021): "Metal-organic framework materials for low- k  dielectrics and selective sensing applications" [ PDF ]

(7) Barbara E. Souza, DPhil Thesis, University of Oxford (2020): "Novel nanocomposites integrating MOFs for biomedical engineering". [ PDF ]

(6) Kirill Titov, DPhil Thesis, University of Oxford (2019): "Towards practical metal-organic framework materials: Operando and in situ studies by leveraging synchrotron and neutron sources" [ PDF ]

(5) Zhixin Zeng, DPhil Thesis, University of Oxford (2018): "Quantitative studies of the nanoscale mechanical properties of metal-organic framework materials" [ PDF ]

(4) Siqi Ying (co-supervisor), DPhil Thesis, University of Oxford (2018): "On the mesoscale plasticity of nickel-based superalloy single crystals" [ PDF ]

(3)   Matthew R. Ryder, DPhil Thesis, University of Oxford (2017): “Physical phenomena in metal-organic frameworks: mechanical, vibrational, and dielectric response” [ PDF ]

(2) Abhijeet K. Chaudhari, DPhil Thesis, University of Oxford (2017): “Nanoscale engineering of guest@host metal-organic framework materials for optoelectronic properties” [ PDF ]

(1) Mahdi E. Mahmoud, DPhil Thesis, University of Oxford (2017): “Thermo-mechanical performance and novel applications of nanocomposites incorporating metal-organic frameworks” [ PDF ]

(0) Jin-Chong Tan, PhD Thesis, University of Cambridge (2005): "Thermo-electrical properties of metallic sandwich sheets and their resistance welding characteristics" [ PDF ]

• Oxford Thesis Collection
• CC0 version of this metadata

Entanglement between nodes of a quantum network

Quantum devices are rapidly gaining momentum as a technology that will induce a paradigm shift in computing, communication and cryptography. Trapped ion qubits are one of the leading candidates for implementing a quantum computer, having previously demonstrated all of the required criteria. Local gate fidelities between ions exceed those for all other platforms, but the total number of ions in a trap is limited by unavoidable issues – one possibility for scaling the ion trap quantum proce...

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• ljs_thesis_final.pdf (Dissemination version, pdf, 33.4MB)

Why is the content I wish to access not available via ORA?

Content may be unavailable for the following four reasons.

• Version unsuitable We have not obtained a suitable full-text for a given research output. See the versions advice for more information.
• Recently completed Sometimes content is held in ORA but is unavailable for a fixed period of time to comply with the policies and wishes of rights holders.
• Permissions All content made available in ORA should comply with relevant rights, such as copyright. See the copyright guide for more information.
• Clearance Some thesis volumes scanned as part of the digitisation scheme funded by Dr Leonard Polonsky are currently unavailable due to sensitive material or uncleared third-party copyright content. We are attempting to contact authors whose theses are affected.

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Particle theory

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Theses written by recent former students of the group, listed by main supervisor

Joseph Conlon Searches for Axion-Like Particles with X-ray astronomy Nicholas Jennings (2018) Astrophysical signatures of axion and axion-like particles Francesca Day (2017) Cosmology & Astrophysics of Dark Radiation Andrew Powell (2016) Phenomenology of Dark Radiation & String Compactifications Stephen Angus (2014)

Andre Lukas Aspects of string model-building and heterotic/F-theory duality Callum Brodie (2019) Calabi-Yau Manifolds, Discrete Symmetries & String Theory Challenger Mishra (2017) Heterotic string compactification & quiver gauge theory on toric geometry Chuang Sun (2016) Heterotic Compactification on Spaces of General 6-Structures Eirik Eik Svanes (2014) (with Prof Xenia de la Ossa Maths) Elementary Particle Physics from String Theory Compactifications, Michael Klaput (2014) Heterotic string models on smooth Calabi-Yau threefolds Andrei Constantin (2013)

John March Russell Radiation from Black Holes George Johnson (2020) Aspects of massive spin-2 effective field theories James Bonifacio (2017) (with Prof Pedro Ferreira Astro) Multimetric theories of gravity James Scargill (2016)  (with Prof Pedro Ferreira Astro) Searching for New Particles at the Large Hadron Collider: Theory and Methods for Extradimensional Supersymmetry James Scoville (2015)  (with Prof Alan Barr PP) New Phenomenology from Asymmetric Dark Matter Robert Lasenby (2015) Supersymmetry and Electroweak Fine Tuning Edward Hardy (2014) Aspects of Asymmetric Dark Matter James Unwin (2013) (with Prof Philip Candelas   Maths) The String Axiverse and Cosmology David Marsh (2012)

Gavin Salam Precision fits for the LHC and beyond Emma Slade (2020) (with Juan Rojo, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam) Precision Physics at the Large Hadron Collider Frederic Dreyer (2016) (with Matteo Cacciari, LPTHE, Paris Diderot University) Theoretical & experimental study of electroweak corrections for inclusive production of jets and development of methods for detecting extreme topologies Nicolas Meric (2013)  (with Philippe Schwemling, LPNHE, Paris Diderot University)

Subir Sarkar

On the impact of new, light states in some astrophysical and laboratory systems Giacomo Marocco (2022) (with John Wheater ) Investigating new physics with high power lasers  Konstantin Beyer (2021) (with Gianluca Gregori , ALP)

Inhomogeneities in Cosmology David Kraljic (2016) From the LHC to IceCube Jim Talbert (2016) (with Dr Guido Bell) The Standard Model to the Planck scale Kyle Allison (2015) (with Prof Graham Ross) Phenomenology of Asymmetric Dark Matter Felix Kahlhoefer (2014)

Andrei Starinets Holographic Approaches to Strongly-Interacting Systems Nikola Gushterov (2018)  (with  Dr Andrew O'Bannon Southampton) Applications of the gauge/gravity duality Jonas Probst (2017) Gauge/Gravity Duality & Non-Equilibrium Dynamics of Strongly Coupled Quantum Systems Philip Kleinert (2017) Hidden structures in scattering amplitudes & correlation functions in supersymmetric Yang-Mills theories Jakub Sikorowski (2015) (with Prof Luis Fernando Alday Maths) Hydrodynamics: from effective field theory to holography Saso Grozdanov (2014) Holographic quantum liquids Nikolaos Kaplis (2013) Excitations in holographic quantum liquids Richard Davison (2012)

John Wheater

On the impact of new, light states in some astrophysical and laboratory systems Giacomo Marocco (2022) (with Subir Sarkar )

Topics in quantum gravity and quantum field theory Dennis Praveen Xavier (2022) Spin systems and boundary conditions on random planar graphs Aravinth Kulanthaivelu (2020) Naturalness in beyond the standard model physics Isabel Garcia Garcia (2017) Random Matrices, Boundaries and Branes Benjamin Niedner (2015) Spectral dimension in graph models of causal quantum gravity Georgios Giasemidis (2013)

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Slavonic and East European Area Studies: Theses and Dissertations

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Introduction

Theses and dissertations are documents that present an author's research findings, which are submitted to the University in support of their academic degree. They are very useful to consult when carrying out your own research because they:

• provide a springboard to scope existing literature
• provide inspiration for the finished product
• show you the evolution of an author's ideas over time
• provide relevant and up-to-date research (for recent theses and dissertations)

On this page you will find guidance on how to search for and access theses and dissertations in the Bodleian Libraries and beyond.

Definitions

Terms you may encounter in your research.

Thesis: In the UK, a thesis is normally a document that presents an author's research findings as part of a doctoral or research programme.

Dissertation: In the UK, a dissertation is normally a document that presents an author's research findings as part of an undergraduate or master's programme.

DPhil: An abbreviation for Doctor of Philosophy, which is an advanced research qualification. You may also see it referred to as PhD.

ORA: The Oxford University Research Archive , an institutional repository for the University of Oxford's research output including digital theses.

Theses and dissertations

• Reading theses and dissertations in the Bodleian Libraries
• Theses and dissertations beyond Oxford

The Bodleian Libraries collection holds DPhil, MLitt and MPhil theses deposited at the University of Oxford, which you can consult. You may also be interested to read theses and dissertations beyond the University of Oxford, some of which can be read online, or you can request an inter-library loan.

Help with theses and dissertations

To find out more about how to find and access theses and dissertations in the Bodleian Libraries and beyond, we recommend the following:

• Bodleian Libraries theses and dissertations Links to information on accessing the Bodleian Libraries collections of Oxford, UK, US and other international theses.
• Oxford University Research Archive guide
• Help & guidance for digital theses Information on copyright, how to deposit your thesis in ORA and other important matters
• Guide to copyright The Bodleian Libraries' Quick guide to copyright and digital sources.

Anglophone theses can be found using the database, University Theses in Russian, Soviet, and East European Studies. You can find recent theses from the Moscow State University by checking the relevant subject dissertation council , which lists the theses defended over the past year.

Depositing your thesis

It is mandatory for students completing a research degree at the University of Oxford (registered to a programme of study on or after 1st October 2007) to deposit an electronic copy of their theses with the Oxford University Research Archive (ORA) in order to meet the requirements of their award. To find out more, visit the Oxford University Research Archive guide.

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• Last Updated: Apr 24, 2024 11:21 AM
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