Interdisciplinary Bioscience (BBSRC Doctoral Training Partnership)

University of Oxford

About the course

The Oxford Interdisciplinary Bioscience Doctoral Training Partnership (DTP) programme is a four-year DPhil/PhD programme supported by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) that provides innovative training for graduates from a life science, physical science or computational and mathematical science background who wish to conduct leading-edge bioscience research.

Research areas within the programme include integrative animal and plant biology, mechanistic molecular and cellular biology, and bioscience for food, industry and health (including crop science, animal health and welfare, synthetic biology, industrial biotechnology and the development of innovative approaches for drug discovery and pharmaceutical production). The majority of research projects undertaken by DTP students involve “transformative technologies”, which include advanced imaging and data analysis techniques, the development and application of new and emerging methods and technologies, mathematical modelling, ‘omic and systems biology approaches, and innovative approaches to address the three Rs. The programme also provides training for graduates working on specific projects, including projects funded through BBSRC Industrial CASE studentship awards and Collaborative Training Partnership awards.

Assessment

The programme has three milestones to assist you in your progress. You will be required to write a research proposal during the first year of your DPhil, in consultation with your supervisory team, which describes the background literature, aims and rationale for your project, along with a plan of work. This will be assessed by two researchers with relevant expertise to check the suitability and feasibility of the proposed project, along with your understanding of your project. This enables students to receive useful feedback on their proposed project at an early stage. The University has two formal milestones to measure your progress, the first being transfer of status, and the second is confirmation of status, which are typically undertaken in the second and third year of your degree respectively. The exact assessment format used will vary according to discipline and department, but each typically involves an assessment of your progress by two researchers with relevant expertise. The purpose of the transfer process is to review your project and your plans for future work, to check that you are making satisfactory progress in the development of your project, and to satisfy the assessors that your work is potentially of DPhil quality. The purpose of confirmation of status to provide an indication that if work on the thesis continues to develop satisfactorily, then consideration of submission of the thesis within four years would appear to be reasonable. It therefore provides a second stage of formal progress review. Both you and your supervisors will also be required to reflect and report on your progress at regular intervals using the University’s graduate supervision system (GSR).

Graduate destinations

The majority of bioscience graduates from the University of Oxford go into a bioscience-related position after graduation. Many stay in academic research, others work in government, for charities and within the commercial sector.

An increasing number of students are exploring and taking up opportunities for entrepreneurship, supported by the highly entrepreneurial environment within the University and across Oxfordshire as a whole.