This joint pathway offers the complementary research and supervisory strengths in Geography at Oxford and The Open University, and 1+3, 2+2, +3 and +4 doctoral training routes.
Oxford’s School of Geography and the Environment consists of three thriving research centres: the Environmental Change Institute, Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment and Transport Studies Unit. They form a vibrant research community for postgraduates.
The Open University’s Geography Department hosts the Open Space Research Centre, which fosters interdisciplinary research on geography and the environment, attracting academics from backgrounds in sciences, social sciences and humanities.
Students at both institutions can benefit from the interdisciplinary seminar series offered by these research centres. As an inherently interdisciplinary subject, the Geography pathway is uniquely placed to provide comprehensive social sciences research training.
The 1+3 route is based on four MSc courses at Oxford, followed by a 3-year doctorate (DPhil) at Oxford or PhD at OU:
The 2+2 route consists of an Oxford MPhil with the first year drawn from one of the four MSc courses:
The second year of the MPhil provides students with the experience of a more sustained piece of research, again followed by an Oxford DPhil or an The Open University PhD:
The +4 route is for students with Master’s degrees that do not fulfil the ESRC’s 2015 Training Guidelines, while the +3 route is for those with Master’s degrees that have provided comprehensive research training.
Oxford MSc teaching involves practitioners from government departments, charities, national and international organisations. This includes a policy and practitioners’ workshop, where local firms present their work.
DPhil students can also participate in research-based internships, undertaking their doctoral research as a placement with a firm or third sector organisation within or beyond Oxford. To date, ESRC scholars in Geography have interned with a Police and Crime Commissioner, NGOs in Oxford and India, the UK Parliament and a risk advisory firm in China.
The ECI’s specialised Internship Programme aims to introduce a group of graduates to opportunities for sustainability-oriented work in businesses, government and the third sector, and equip them for sustainability careers. Recently students have been placed in eight different countries in organisations including GlaxoSmithKline, Stockholm Environment Institute, the World Economic Forum, the United Nations Environment Programme, the Red Cross, and the Carbon Trust.
At OUG students have access to teaching opportunities with the Brilliant Club; and have access to funding from Santander bank for internships. Students are encouraged to form research partnerships with international NGOs and research collaborations with the universities overseas.
Doctoral students from Oxford and The Open University enter high-level careers in leading inter-governmental organisations and NGOs.
