Admissions

Astrophysics

Research programmes

DPhil in Astrophysics

Course Code | 002300

Astrophysics Research at Oxford covers most current topics and exploits almost the full range of space- and ground-based facilities available. The main areas are listed here, and more details are available on the website:

Observational Cosmology and Galaxies
Galaxy and cosmological evolution
Galaxy Surveys
Active galaxies and their nuclear environments
Demographics of supermassive black holes in galaxy nuclei
Type Ia supernovae and Dark Energy
Studies of the microwave background

Theoretical Extragalactic Astrophysics & Cosmology
Dark Matter
Dark Energy
The cosmic microwave background
Galaxy Formation
Galaxy and cluster dynamics
The Milky Way Galaxy

Stellar Astrophysics
Supernovae
Observation and modelling of stellar atmospheres
Low mass stars, brown dwarfs and planetary mass objects
Microquasars and jets
The formation and evolution of X-ray binaries

The Interstellar Medium

Exoplanets

New Facilities and Instrumentation
Optical and infrared instrument developments
Radio and microwave instrument development
Extremely Large Telescope Science programmes and instrumentation
The Square Kilometre Array
New microwave telescopes: C-BASS, GUBBINS, QUIET

How to Apply

The deadlines for this course are 16 November 2012, 18 January 2013 and 8 March 2013. All studentship applications should be submitted by the January deadline.

If you are in any doubt about which sub-department to apply for then you are advised to contact the sub-departments concerned before applying

The standard set of materials you should send with any application to a research course comprises:

A research proposal,
CV/résumé,
Three (3) academic references, and
Official transcripts detailing your university-level qualifications and marks to date.

However, applicants to the DPhil in Astrophysics do not need to provide a detailed research proposal; you should only give a brief indication of the area in which you wish to carry out research. This may be quite specific, but need not be if you have not yet decided on your preferred topic or area.

Please follow the detailed instructions in the *Application Guide*** and the Physics website for additional guidance.**

Academic resources

Extensive network of MacIntosh and Linux computers
48-node Beowulf cluster
Online access to major journals
Radcliffe Science Library

Academic staff profiles

The Astrophysics Sub-department has more than 20 Faculty staff with a further four in Theoretical Physics. There are 40 post-docs and research fellows and a similar number of graduate students.

Further information on academic staff

Graduate destinations

Most of our graduate students go on to take up postdoctoral research posts after graduation. However, a very wide range of career paths is possible, with recent graduates taking up positions in numerical modelling, finance, industry, teaching, scientific publishing etc.

www2.physics.ox.ac.uk

Graduate Admissions Administrator
+44 (0) 1865 273303
sec@astro.ox.ac.uk

Main areas of research interests

Research interests on the Astrophysics website

Entry requirements

An upper second- or first-class undergraduate honours degree at the level of a four year MPhys degree or equivalent in a relevant subject, normally physics or mathematics

Selection criteria

Selection criteria on the Physics website

English language requirements

Standard level

Funding/awards

STFC quota studentships

Funding information on the Astrophysics website

Number of applicants

2012/13

Number of places available

2013/14

8-10

Statement of Provision

Physics - Research