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Social Policy Doctoral study

DSPI doctoral students in a lecture room

We welcome graduate students from across the world to apply for our unique DPhil in Social Policy. Doctoral research students are an important part of our academic community, and you will be fully involved and immersed in the life of one of the top-ranked Social Policy departments in the UK and across the world.

We are keen to hear from DPhil candidates who are interested in a wide range of areas of social policy research. These include: 

  • Family and family policies 
  • Theorisation and measurement of poverty 
  • Educational inequalities 
  • The role of policy, economic and social inequalities 
  • Health and social care 
  • Gender inequality 
  • Social mobility and inequality of opportunity 
  • Labour market institutions and policies 
  • Retirement and pension reforms 
  • Politics of welfare state reform 
  • The role of organised interest groups in social policy 
  • Social policy as a vehicle of development 
  • Public attitudes towards social policy issues

Your work using a range of methodologies and approaches is welcome. Comparative approaches are also welcome, including work comparing welfare systems in advanced economies in Europe and OECD countries, and study of social policy in other parts of the world. 

Application deadlines: 

There are two deadlines for this course. 

  • Tuesday 27 January 2026, 12:00 midday UK time. This is the latest deadline for most Oxford scholarships.
  • Tuesday 3 March 2026, 12:00 midday UK time. This is the final application deadline for entry in 2026-27.

The varied research portfolio of staff is organised within the Oxford Institute of Social Policy and its research groups.  

The DPhil programme in Social Policy is available on a full-time or part-time basis. The part-time version of the degree has the same high standards and requirements as the full-time degree, but is spread over 6-8 years. If you are seeking flexibility, this degree is particularly suited to you. It also provides an excellent opportunity if you are a professional looking to undertake rigorous long-term research that may be relevant to your working life. For more information, please contact admissions@spi.ox.ac.uk.

Our approach to graduate study focuses on your ability to work independently to explore and develop your research under an academic supervisor (or two co-supervisors). Each member of academic staff has expertise in a particular area of social policy. Therefore, you can only be accepted for a DPhil if there is an appropriate supervisor available. 

Woman with long blond hair, wearing dark rimmed glasses and black polo neck

Professor Erzsébet Bukodi

Professor of Sociology and Social Policy
Woman with light brown hair who is smiling and wearing an orange shawl

Dr Rossella Ciccia

Associate Professor of Social Policy
Mark Fransham is wearing a plaid shirt, with short blonde hair, a short bear and mostashe and smiling gentle at the camera.

Dr Mark Fransham

Senior Academic Fellow
Jane Gingrich's headshot shows her with her hair tied up, smiling at the camera.

Professor Jane Gingrich

Professor of Social Policy
Man with short brown hair who is smiling and wearing dark rimmed glasses

Dr Marek Naczyk

Associate Professor in Comparative Social Policy
Kenneth Nelson is wearing glasses and a blue shirt looking directly at the camera.

Professor Kenneth Nelson

Barnett Professor of Social Policy
Zach Parolin has short brown hair. He is wearing a blue shirt and dark blazer, standing against a dark background. He is facing the camera and smiling.

Professor Zachary Parolin

Professor of Social Policy, Inequality & Opportunity
Rebecca Surender has long black hair and is wearing a brown jacket with white and brown scarf.

Professor Rebecca Surender

Senior Research Fellow
Man with light brown hair and gold rimmed glasses, wearing a white shirt and dark suit

Professor Tim Vlandas

Professor of Comparative Political Economy and Social Policy

DPhil students are also members of a college which provides opportunities for exchange with other students and fellows across disciplines. Oxford colleges offer a unique academic community. Student college membership ranges across the University as the Department has an association with a large number of colleges.

Enrico is standing in front of a wall looking at the camera. He has fair hair and is wearing a light shirt

Enrico Benassi

DPhil Student
Smiling woman with short blond hair and dark rimmed glasses, wearing a black jumper

Martina Beretta

DPhil Student
Paloma has long dark hair, is smiling at the camera and wearing a black top with navy blue jacket.

Paloma Diaz Topete

DPhil Student
Woman who is smiling with brown hair tied back off her face and is wearing a black jacket

Anusha Fraikin

DPhil Student
Yaxin has long dark hair. She is standing in front of a window and smiling.

Yaxin Guo

DPhil Student
Ye Eun Ha has long dark hair and is wearing a black top and grey jacket. She's standing in front of a tree

Ye Eun Ha

DPhil Student
Solhee Han has long dark hair and is looking directly at the camera. She is wearing a white top and black jacket.

Solhee Han

DPhil Student
Sara Hueber has bobbed ginger hair and is wearing a white top. She is in front of a brown background, smiling. Credit: Tom Weller Photography, 2025

Sara Hueber

DPhil student
Adrienne has long blonde hair and is smiling at the camera. She's wearing a top with small white, orange and brown patterns.

Adrienne McManus

DPhil Student
Ertugrul has short brown hair, a brown beard and glasses. He's wearing a pale blue shirt

Ertuğrul Polat

DPhil Student
katariina has long blonde hair tied back in a ponytail. She's wearing a buttoned-up navy blue cardigan

Katariina Rantanen

DPhil Student
steffen has short black hair, black beard and metal-rimmed glasses. He's wearing a black jumper

Steffen Redeker

DPhil Student
Cyrette Saunier wears a grey blazer and is smiling in front of a wood-panelled wall.

Cyrette Saunier

DPhil Student in Social Policy
Julia has shoulder length ginger brown hair, with a dark top smiling at the camera.

Julia Schaub

DPhil Student
Roland has brown hair and beard, and is wearing a white checked shirt

Roland Tusz

DPhil Student
A smiling Marianne stands in a narrow street wearing a black graduation gown.

Marianne Joy Vital

DPhil Student
Seonwoo, with shoulder-length black hair, wearing a white shirt, stands on college grounds in front of a building, smiling at the camera.

Seonwoo Yoon

DPhil Student

Many graduates of the DPhil programme in social policy go on to pursue academic careers in world-leading research universities, while other alumni hold influential positions in government, non-governmental and international organisations such as the World Bank, the World Health Organisation, and the UN. 

The department, colleges and the University provide several scholarships for DPhil students. You can find out more about this on our Funding and Scholarships page.

You can find full details about how to apply to the full-time and part-time courses on the DPhil in Social Policy University admissions page.