Department of Economics
Oxford's Department of Economics is one of Europe's leading research departments and its members include some of the world's most distinguished academic economists.
Overview
The department offers its community of around 300 graduate students a rigorous and relevant training in economics, providing a setting in which debate and research can flourish.
Its graduate courses prepare students for a wide range of careers in academia, government and business.
The department is committed to excellence in teaching and the MPhil and DPhil in Economics are internationally recognised for the quality of the training provided. The University of Oxford was ranked second in Europe in the most recent Tilburg University ranking of Economics departments, based on research contribution for the period between 2016-2020. The department was also ranked second in the world in the 2025 Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings for Business & Economics, based on research quality, teaching, environment, international outlook, and industry engagement. Oxford's position is driven by world-leading research scores, reinforcing its role as a leader in economics.
In the 2021 Research Excellence Framework exercise, that evaluated research output of UK Universities, Oxford was first for overall research strength in Economics and Econometrics, with more research ranked as ‘world-leading’ than any other participating institution. In a submission of 84 FTE academics, which was the largest number of researchers submitted in the Economics and Econometrics Unit of Assessment, 94% of the department's research output was assessed as ‘internationally excellent’ or ‘world-leading’ (3* or 4*).
The scale and breadth of the department’s research is a product of a vibrant and well-connected community, with particular attention on supporting early career researchers. The department maintains exceptional expertise in the core discipline areas of microeconomics, macroeconomics and econometrics, while building clusters of research strength in more specialist subfields – notably applied microeconomics; behavioural economics and game theory; the economics of climate change and sustainability; machine learning; economic history; and development economics.
Oxford has one of the strongest, largest, and most varied groups of economists in the world. Its objective is to engage in innovative research that extends the frontiers of the discipline, deepening our understanding of the operation of modern economies.
Research activity is focused within smaller, specialised groups, with each group holding regular workshops at which research by faculty and graduate students is presented and discussed. Many distinguished researchers from outside Oxford also visit to present their work at seminars.
The department also hosts the Centre for the Study of African Economies (CSAE), which is internationally recognised as a hub for innovative research and outreach to the academic and policy-making communities world-wide through their seminars, workshops and annual conferences.
topCourses offered
The courses shown below are offered at postgraduate-level.
Social Science Division
The Social Sciences Division comprises the largest grouping of social sciences in the UK, home to fourteen outstanding departments, tackling some of the major challenges facing humanity in the 21st century.
Divisional overview
Oxford's Social Sciences departments are committed to research that develops a greater understanding of all aspects of our complex society, including cybercrime, economic and political turmoil, environmental change, inequality, legal systems, movement of people and social development.
This research is disseminated through a wide range of innovative graduate courses, many of which are recognised by the UK Research Councils and provide preparation for doctoral work, as well as being discrete programmes of advanced study in their own right; others provide a professional qualification.
The purpose-built Centre for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences, adjacent to the Faculty of Law houses the Department of Economics, the Department of Politics and International Relations and the Bodleian Social Science Library, providing exceptional facilities for master's and research students. All are rooted in research of international standing and students have access to a well-resourced, active research environment. The division also includes the Saïd Business School and the Blavatnik School of Government.
As one of the major providers of social science research in the UK, the University, in collaboration with Brunel University of London and The Open University, hosts the Grand Union Doctoral Training Partnership, one of fifteen Doctoral Training Partnerships accredited by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) as part of a Doctoral Training Network. ESRC DTP studentships are available in a wide variety of training pathways in the social sciences, for both DPhil and master's-to-DPhil programmes.