Graduate Life

Our graduate students are the lifeblood of our research groups, providing ideas, manpower and enthusiasm. Graduate projects frequently result in publications, often first-author papers in prestigious journals. Graduates are encouraged to expand their academic networks by attending departmental seminars, group talks, and brown bag lunches, by collaborating with other departments in the University, and by attending international meetings and conferences.

Offices

Graduates share offices in the Department, usually with students from different research groups, at different stages of their DPhil, allowing for cross-pollination of ideas and ensuring that the whole graduate community is cohesive and close-knit.

Social Events

Our first year graduates run the weekly Happy Hour bar, and are responsible for departmental events such as the Christmas Party which all staff and students attend. Staff and students also meet at 11am every morning for coffee in the common room.

Support

Graduates benefit from close contact with their project supervisor(s) and it is expected that you will have at least two substantial supervision sessions each term. They also choose a mentor who can provide additional support. The Academic Administration Team provides support for the key milestones during the DPhil, and some research groups also have access to an administrator to assist with things like travel arrangements for fieldwork and conferences. Within the Department, graduate students are eligible to apply to the Burdett-Coutts Fund, which supports fieldwork and conference travel.

Work and Volunteering

Group photo of demonstrators on the Assynt field course. They are wearing outdoor gear and are smiling at the camera with their arms wrapped around each other.

Employment can be found within theDepartment by tutoring undergraduates or working in practicals as demonstrators. Demonstrators are also required for undergraduate field teaching, including trips to Scotland, Wales, Spain, Greece, and Bermuda. There are also plenty of volunteering opportunities within the Department’s outreach programme, either by going out to local schools, providing demonstrations for groups visiting the Department or collaborating at the Museum of Natural History.

Graduate Handbook

 

Photograph of a DPhil student presenting their work at the graduate conference. They are gesturing at a large screen behind them displaying a map of the South Atlantic Ocean.

Milestones

Research students are registered as Probationary Research Students (PRS) for the first year of study, after which they must apply to transfer their status to either Doctor of Philosophy (DPhil) or Master of Sciences by Research (MSc(R)). In most cases students will apply for Transfer of Status during the fourth term of study (usually Michaelmas Term of the second year), and will then give an oral presentation and attend an interview with a departmental panel.

Following the interviews students will receive feedback from their assessors to give an indication of areas for possible further study and development.

All DPhil students must apply for Confirmation of Status before they submit their thesis for examination. Confirmation of Status is intended to provide a check that their work on the thesis continues to develop and progress satisfactorily. In most cases students will apply for Confirmation of Status during the seventh term of study (usually Michaelmas Term of the third year). Each student will give an oral presentation about their research. An interview based on a progress report and the oral presentation also forms part of the Confirmation process.

Following the interviews students will again receive feedback from their assessors.

After a thesis has been submitted, there will be an oral examination (viva voce) that typically lasts between 2-4 hours. Students are typically examined by one internal and one external examiner. After the viva, the examiners will submit a report and make a recommendation on the outcome of the examination which is considered by the Board. The examiners have a choice of several predetermined outcomes that can include corrections being required before leave to supplicate is recommended and granted.

Student Training and Development

There is a range of training provision offered by the Department and wider University which covers research, academic and transferable (career) skills. The information below summarises the main courses and providers which students are likely to find useful.

Students are expected to take responsibility for shaping their own training, supported by their supervisor. However, please note:

  • It is recommended that students undertake approximately 100 hours of ‘broadening’ training: courses which are designed to broaden the student’s knowledge and understanding of Earth Sciences in particular.
  • Many important skills can be developed through teaching, and each graduate student is generally expected to participate in teaching. The department runs a Training in Teaching Programme to support students in developing these skills.

All DPhil students are required to undertake ‘broadening’ training (note: DTP/CDT students should see their own course pages for details of their training programmes). Courses should be designed to broaden your knowledge and understanding of Earth Sciences as a whole. They should, by definition, not be directly related to the topic of your thesis. It is recommended that you undertake broadening courses for 100 hours during your DPhil studies. They should amount to the equivalent of 5 standard 16-hour lecture courses, which may be selected from the following:

  • Lectures as listed in the undergraduate timetable
  • Courses offered by other departments, for example through the Division’s Researcher Training Programme
  • Summer Schools, Graduate Modelling Camps and similar, with the number of hours of lectures defining the amount of training
  • Other courses with approval from the DGS

The remainder of the 100 hours can be made up via attendance at seminars and conferences. All doctoral students should be attending seminars, workshops and conferences regularly, even if not in their specialist area. Students will be required to provide a list of such events attended, together with extended abstracts (one or two pages) of some of them.

You will be required to have taken a minimum of 2, and may take 3, broadening courses before you transfer your status. Part of the transfer process will be a check that you have done this satisfactorily, and copies of the work submitted for assessment must be handed in with the transfer dissertation. By confirmation of status you should have completed the full 100 hours. The assessors for transfer or confirmation of status may ask you questions (at a fairly general level) about the topics they have covered in their broadening training.

These are skills needed to actually carry out research, for example safety, equipment use, programming; you should undertake to learn these skills throughout your programme.

These are core to every student’s development and are genuinely transferable, although they may have a subject nuance.

The phases are for guidance rather than rigid timescales:

 Foundation Phase
(0-12 months)		  Intensive Research Phase
(12-30 months)		 Completion Phase
(24+ months)

Training in Teaching Stage 1

Appropriate departmental seminars

Appropriate IT Services courses

Appropriate MPLS training courses

Appropriate LinkedIn Learning courses

Training in Teaching Stage 2

Appropriate departmental seminars

Appropriate IT Services courses

Appropriate MPLS training courses

Appropriate LinkedIn Learning courses

Careers Service training and events

Appropriate departmental seminars

Appropriate IT Services courses

Appropriate MPLS training courses

Appropriate LinkedIn Learning courses

The Department strongly encourages graduate students to become involved in demonstrating. At the start of Michaelmas Term, the Department runs an initial training session in teaching and demonstrating. It then provides opportunities for graduates to act as demonstrators in undergraduate practicals and field courses. Attendance at the initial training session together with two satisfactory reports (across two terms) on class teaching lead to a pass at Stage 1 of the available training. Those who pass Stage 1 will be added to the departmental teaching register which is available for college tutors to consult. Stage 1 constitutes Preparation for Learning and Teaching (PLTO) in the University’s terminology.

Stage 2 is called Developing Learning and Teaching (DLT) and training consists of background reading, attendance at training seminars, some practical experience of teaching and reflective evaluation of the teaching. The programme is accredited by the Staff and Educational Development Association (SEDA). Successful completion of the DLT programme will lead to a SEDA “Supporting Learning” award. This award is aligned with the more widely known Associate Fellowship of the HEA (Descriptor 1 of the UK Professional Standards Framework).

For details of Stage 1 (PLTO) and Stage 2 (DLT) see the Centre for Teaching and Learning webpages and the MPLS training webpages. 

Graduates who wish to demonstrate on the undergraduate programme should contact the Academic Administration Team at enquiries@earth.ox.ac.uk.

Those who wish to pursue an academic career might like to consider the advice offered in the Notices of the AMS to jobseekers, as well as an analysis of the way teaching is evaluated by hiring committees. Although these are specifically about US practice, a lot of what is said is of value generally.

Information on the MPLS Divisional training programme for graduate students is found on the MPLS website.  To browse the full range of courses provided by departments in MPLS, see the MPLS webpages.

Some projects may require students to attend additional training on high performance computing; ARCHER2 (UK National Supercomputing Service) offer a variety of courses that may be appropriate for such projects.

The health and welfare of our students is important to us and there are various workshops available to help students look after themselves and others; information about these workshops can be found on the Student Health and Welfare pages of the University website.