DPhil in Biomedical and Clinical Sciences (Oxford-GSK)
About the course
The DPhil in Biomedical and Clinical Sciences (Oxford-GSK) aims to address an unmet need among clinicians for training in data science and translational medicine. The course provides a unique opportunity for clinical academics to gain early-career experience in an industry-sponsored translational medicine programme.
This course is also known as the Oxford-GSK Doctoral Training Fellowship and is funded by GSK (GlaxoSmithKline Plc). It is aimed at fully-qualified medical doctors who are, or are eligible to be, registered clinical practitioners with the UK General Medical Council (GMC).
To apply to this course you must be medically-qualified and eligible to undertake clinical practice in the UK (having General Medical Council registration or proven eligibility for registration). You should have clinical experience at ST4+ level or equivalent, typically having obtained MRCP or equivalent, but not CCT or consultant status (see Entry requirements for further details).
Course structure
The therapeutic areas focused on will be:
- neurodegeneration
- liver fibrosis
- respiratory medicine.
Targeted Development of Data Science Capabilities
You will receive dedicated training in data science via the Oxford Biomedical Data Science Training Programme (OBDS). Specific data science skills will be determined by individual projects, but it is expected that on graduation you will:
- be proficient in a programming language (eg R or Python)
- understand the coding of healthcare records and approaches to access/analyses of the data
- can select the appropriate biostatistical techniques for the analysis of real-world data and multi-omic big data
- understand the design of machine learning approaches.
Project Parameters
It is expected that the focus of projects will be the collection, analysis and interpretation of multi-omic data, with the leveraging of existing departmental infrastructure and personnel to support any laboratory work.
Projects will focus on a patient-centric approach to understanding disease endotypes and mechanisms of disease, thus enhancing future patient stratification and precision medicine strategies in drug development.
High level examples of potential projects can be found on the Medical Sciences Doctoral Training website.
Student and employment contracts
Students will have a salaried employment contract with the University of Oxford for the three-year duration of the course. This means that students will have two contracts, both lasting three years:
- an employment contract with the University (the terms of which will be set out at the point of their offer letter); and
- a student contract (details of which can be found in our contract information for new students).
Each of the two contracts is conditional upon the other – if one ends for any reason then the other will normally end too. So, for example, if the student contract terminates before the scheduled expiry of the three years (eg because the student has failed to pass a required academic assessment/exam or as a result of a finding that the student has committed a serious breach of the Student Disciplinary Code) the employment contract will normally terminate, and vice versa. (In some cases, if a student is close to submission of final assessments but three years have elapsed, the student contract may be extended to enable them to finish, though the employment contract would not normally be extended in these circumstances.)
Successful applicants will be offered a salary for three years at band E63/E64 (details of the current salary scales can be found on the Finance Division website). The salary offered will reflect the applicant’s existing seniority, with consideration of the BMA’s published salary scales for resident doctors in the NHS (and for applicants from outside the UK there will be a similar consideration of the applicant’s seniority).
Successful applicants’ University tuition fees will be fully funded at the Home fee rate. Overseas students will need to pay the difference between Home fee rate and Overseas fee rate, or arrange new third-party funding themselves to cover this.
It is a pre-condition of commencing the course that the applicant must be entitled to both study and work in the UK. Applicants from overseas will need to have an appropriate visa by the point that the course commences, and if such a visa cannot be obtained then the offer will be withdrawn.
To maintain eligibility to practice with the GMC, students will arrange a separate contract with the NHS to enable them to continue clinical practice (while ensuring they dedicate most of their working time to their studies/work for the University). It is the student’s responsibility to arrange this.
Further information about this course and employment aspects can also be found on the department's website.
Attendance
The course is full-time and requires attendance in Oxford. Full-time students are subject to the University's Residence requirements.
Provision exists for students on some courses to undertake their research in a ‘well-founded laboratory’ outside of the University. This may require travel to and attendance at a site that is not located in Oxford. Where known, existing collaborations will be outlined on this page. Please read the course information carefully, including the additional information about course fees and costs.
Each project will include close working with GSK, which may require travel to and attendance at GSK offices in Stevenage, UK.
Resources to support your study
As a graduate student, you will have access to the University's wide range of world-class resources including libraries, museums, galleries, digital resources and IT services.
The Bodleian Libraries is the largest library system in the UK. It includes the main Bodleian Library and libraries across Oxford, including major research libraries and faculty, department and institute libraries. Together, the Libraries hold more than 13 million printed items, provide access to e-journals, and contain outstanding special collections including rare books and manuscripts, classical papyri, maps, music, art and printed ephemera.
The University's IT Services is available to all students to support with core university IT systems and tools, as well as many other services and facilities. IT Services also offers a range of IT learning courses for students, to support with learning and research.
In addition to the University-wide resources described above, you will have access to experimental facilities appropriate to your research and library services such as the Radcliffe Science Library and the Cairns Library.
The provision of project-specific resources will be agreed with the relevant supervisor during the planning stages for the research project.
Supervision
For this course, the allocation of graduate supervision is the responsibility of the Medical Sciences Doctoral Training Centre, and it is not always possible to accommodate the preferences of incoming graduate students to work with a particular member of staff. Under exceptional circumstances a supervisor may be found outside the Medical Sciences Doctoral Training Centre and/or closely-related departments.
Supervision will include relevant therapeutic and data science expertise, with representation from both Oxford and GSK.
Students are expected to meet with their supervisors at least once a fortnight, on average, across a year.
Assessment
All students will be initially admitted to the status of Probationer Research Student (PRS). Within a maximum of four terms as a PRS student you will be expected to apply for transfer of status from Probationer Research Student to DPhil status.
A successful transfer of status from PRS to DPhil status will require the submission of a report on progress to date on research and future plans. Students who are successful at transfer will also be expected to apply for and gain confirmation of DPhil status within nine terms of admission, to show that your work continues to be on track.
Both milestones normally involve an interview with two assessors (other than your supervisor) and therefore provide important experience for the final oral examination.
You will be expected to submit an original thesis of up to 50,000 words after three or, at most, four years from the date of admission. To be successfully awarded a DPhil in Biomedical and Clinical Sciences (Oxford GSK) you will need to defend your thesis orally (viva voce) in front of two appointed examiners.
Graduate destinations
Most Biomedical and Clinical Sciences graduates continue in academic research in prestigious laboratories worldwide.
Changes to this course and your supervision
The University will seek to deliver this course in accordance with the description set out in this course page. However, there may be situations in which it is desirable or necessary for the University to make changes in course provision, either before or after registration. The safety of students, staff and visitors is paramount and major changes to delivery or services may have to be made if a pandemic, epidemic or local health emergency occurs. In addition, in certain circumstances, for example due to visa difficulties or because the health needs of students cannot be met, it may be necessary to make adjustments to course requirements for international study.
Where possible your academic supervisor will not change for the duration of your course. However, it may be necessary to assign a new academic supervisor during the course of study or before registration for reasons which might include illness, sabbatical leave, parental leave or change in employment.
For further information please see our page on changes to courses and the provisions of the student contract regarding changes to courses.
Entry requirements for entry in 2025-26
Proven and potential academic excellence
The requirements described below are specific to this course and apply only in the year of entry that is shown. You can use our interactive tool to help you evaluate whether your application is likely to be competitive.
We know that factors such as socio-economic circumstances and school performance can make it difficult for students to demonstrate their full potential. This course is taking part in an initiative to use contextual data to help us to better understand your achievements in the context of your individual background. For further details, please refer to the information about improving access to graduate study in the How to apply section of this page.
Please be aware that any studentships that are linked to this course may have different or additional requirements and you should read any studentship information carefully before applying. Contextual data may also be used in the assessment of studentships.
Degree-level qualifications
As a minimum, applicants should hold or be predicted to achieve the following UK qualifications or their equivalent:
- an undergraduate degree with honours in Medicine; and
- a qualified doctor, at ST4 or above
It is desirable that applicants hold a first-class or strong upper second-class undergraduate degree with honours (including intercalated) in an applied experimental science subject.
For applicants with a bachelor's degree from the USA, the minimum overall GPA that is normally required to meet the undergraduate-level requirement is 3.5 out of 4.0.
If your degree is not from the UK or another country specified above, visit our International Qualifications page for guidance on the qualifications and grades that would usually be considered to meet the University’s minimum entry requirements.
GRE General Test scores
No Graduate Record Examination (GRE) or GMAT scores are sought.
Other qualifications, evidence of excellence and relevant experience
To be eligible to apply, it is essential that candidates:
- are medically qualified and eligible to undertake clinical practice in the UK (having General Medical Council registration or proven eligibility for registration). Successful applicants will be required to hold an honorary clinical contract and therefore must ensure that they can fulfill all the criteria required by the GMC, their LETB and the National Health Service Trust;
- have clinical experience at ST4+ level or equivalent, typically having obtained MRCP or equivalent, but not CCT or consultant status;
- possess a strong academic record as evidenced by undergraduate degree and/or research outputs; and
- have demonstrable interest in data science and/or related fields such as statistics or programming.
It is also desirable that candidates have:
- higher specialist training in neurology, respiratory medicine or gastroenterology and/or interest in relevant therapeutic area, however applicants from any clinical specialty will be considered;
- an interest in therapeutics and/or drug development; and
- experience undertaking academic research.
English language proficiency
This course requires proficiency in English at the University's standard level. If your first language is not English, you may need to provide evidence that you meet this requirement. The minimum scores required to meet the University's standard level are detailed in the table below.
| Test | Minimum overall score | Minimum score per component |
|---|---|---|
| IELTS Academic (Institution code: 0713) | 7.0 | 6.5 |
TOEFL iBT, including the 'Home Edition' (Institution code: 0490) | 100 | Listening: 22 Reading: 24 Speaking: 25 Writing: 24 |
| C1 Advanced* | 185 | 176 |
| C2 Proficiency† | 185 | 176 |
*Previously known as the Cambridge Certificate of Advanced English or Cambridge English: Advanced (CAE)
†Previously known as the Cambridge Certificate of Proficiency in English or Cambridge English: Proficiency (CPE)
Your test must have been taken no more than two years before the start date of your course. Our Application Guide provides further information about the English language test requirement.
Declaring extenuating circumstances
If your ability to meet the entry requirements has been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic (eg you were awarded an unclassified/ungraded degree) or any other exceptional personal circumstance (eg other illness or bereavement), please refer to the guidance on extenuating circumstances in the Application Guide for information about how to declare this so that your application can be considered appropriately.
Supporting documents
You will be required to supply supporting documents with your application, including references and an official transcript. See 'How to apply' for instructions on the documents you will need and how these will be assessed.
Performance at interview
Interviews are normally held as part of the admissions process.
Applications are reviewed by a panel of academics associated with the course and a representative from GSK. A short-list of applicants is confirmed, based on assessment of their academic record, academic references, and research experience to date/publication record.
By preference, interviews will be conducted in person, but when this is not possible, candidates will be interviewed via telephone or video link and it will be ensured that applicants are not disadvantaged by using these forms of communication.
It is expected that the ratio of interviewed candidates to places will be around 3:1.
Offer conditions for successful applications
If you receive an offer of a place at Oxford, your offer will outline any conditions that you need to satisfy and any actions you need to take, together with any associated deadlines. These may include academic conditions, such as achieving a specific final grade in your current degree course. These conditions will usually depend on your individual academic circumstances and may vary between applicants. Our 'After you apply' pages provide more information about offers and conditions.
In addition to any academic conditions which are set, you will also be required to meet the following requirements:
Financial Declaration
If you are offered a place, you will be required to complete a Financial Declaration in order to meet your financial condition of admission.
Disclosure of criminal convictions
In accordance with the University’s obligations towards students and staff, we will ask you to declare any relevant, unspent criminal convictions before you can take up a place at Oxford.
Academic Technology Approval Scheme (ATAS)
Some postgraduate research students in science, engineering and technology subjects will need an Academic Technology Approval Scheme (ATAS) certificate prior to applying for a Student visa (under the Student Route). For some courses, the requirement to apply for an ATAS certificate may depend on your research area.
Entitlement to study and work in the UK
It is a pre-condition of commencing the course that the applicant must be entitled to both study and work in the UK. Applicants from overseas will need to have an appropriate visa by the point that the course commences, and if such a visa cannot be obtained then the offer will be withdrawn.
Other factors governing whether places can be offered
The following factors will also govern whether candidates can be offered places:
- the ability of the University to provide the appropriate supervision for your studies, as outlined under the 'Supervision' heading in the About section of this page;
- the ability of the University to provide appropriate support for your studies (eg through the provision of facilities, resources, teaching and/or research opportunities); and
- minimum and maximum limits to the numbers of students who may be admitted to the University's taught and research programmes.
Medical Sciences Doctoral Training Centre
The Medical Sciences Doctoral Training Centre (MSDTC) accommodates the interdisciplinary, cross-departmental DPhil programmes in medical sciences.
Several are structured DPhil programmes, which provide students with the opportunity to undertake two or three 'rotation' projects and relevant course work in their first year of each four-year structured programme. The main doctoral project starts in the second year of such programmes. Other programmes are wholly research based, allowing students to take a research project from the initial proposal through to submitting their thesis. Most of our programmes receive external core-funding, for example from Cancer Research UK and EPSRC.
The MSDTC also accommodates the NIH Oxford-Cambridge Scholars’ Programme, the DPhil in Cancer Science programme funded by CRUK which welcomes applications from clinicians, basic scientists, and medical undergraduates, and the DPhil in Inflammatory and Musculoskeletal Disease which is funded by the Kennedy Trust for Rheumatology Research and is open to medical students wishing to undertake DPhils in the fields of musculoskeletal disease, inflammation and immunology.
Each programme has a distinctive intellectual flavour, designed to nurture independent and creative scientists. Students are supported in their development through:
- supervision and mentoring by world-class academics training in a wide range of research techniques;
- a nurturing research culture with development of student resilience and maintenance of mental health and wellbeing from the start and throughout each programme; and
- being part of a supportive community within individual programmes and across the multi-disciplinary MSDTC.
Funding
All students will have a salaried employment contract with the University of Oxford for the three-year duration of the course. Please refer to the About the course section of the page for further details about the student and employment contracts.
Successful applicants will be offered a salary for three years at band E63/E64 (details of the current salary scales can be found on the Finance Division website). The salary offered will reflect the applicant’s existing seniority, with consideration of the BMA’s published salary scales for resident doctors in the NHS (and for applicants from outside the UK there will be a similar consideration of the applicant’s seniority).
Successful applicants’ University tuition fees will be fully funded at the Home fee rate. Overseas students will need to pay the difference between Home fee rate and Overseas fee rate, or arrange new third-party funding themselves to cover this.
Further information about the funding and employment aspects of this course can also be found on the department's website.
Costs
Annual fees for entry in 2025-26
Fee status | Annual Course fees |
| Home | £10,070 |
| Overseas | £33,370 |
Information about course fees
Course fees are payable each year, for the duration of your fee liability (your fee liability is the length of time for which you are required to pay course fees). For courses lasting longer than one year, please be aware that fees will usually increase annually. For details, please see our guidance on changes to fees and charges.
Course fees cover your teaching as well as other academic services and facilities provided to support your studies. Unless specified in the additional information section below, course fees do not cover your accommodation, residential costs or other living costs. They also don’t cover any additional costs and charges that are outlined in the additional information below.
Continuation charges
Following the period of fee liability, you may also be required to pay a University continuation charge and a college continuation charge. The University and college continuation charges are shown on the Continuation charges page.
Where can I find further information about fees?
The Fees and Funding section of this website provides further information about course fees, including information about fee status and eligibility and your length of fee liability.
Additional information
There are no compulsory elements of this course that entail additional costs beyond fees (or, after fee liability ends, continuation charges) and living costs. However, please note that, depending on your choice of research topic and the research required to complete it, you may incur additional expenses, such as travel expenses, research expenses, and field trips. You will need to meet these additional costs, although you may be able to apply for small grants from your department and/or college to help you cover some of these expenses.
Living costs
In addition to your course fees and any additional course-specific costs, you will need to ensure that you have adequate funds to support your living costs for the duration of your course.
Living costs for full-time study
For the 2025-26 academic year, the range of likely living costs for a single, full-time student is between £1,425 and £2,035 for each month spent in Oxford. We provide the cost per month so you can multiply up by the number of months you expect to live in Oxford. Depending on your circumstances, you may also need to budget for the costs of a student visa and immigration health surcharge and/or living costs for family members or other dependants that you plan to bring with you to Oxford (assuming that dependant visa eligibility criteria are met).
Further information about living costs
The current economic climate and high national rate of inflation make it very hard to estimate potential changes to the cost of living over the next few years. For study in Oxford beyond the 2025-26 academic year, it is suggested that you budget for potential increases in living expenses of around 4% each year – although this rate may vary depending on the national economic situation. For further information, please consult our more detailed information about living costs, which includes a breakdown of likely living costs in Oxford for items such as food, accommodation and study costs.
College preference
Students enrolled on this course will belong to both a department/faculty and a college. Please note that ‘college’ and ‘colleges’ refers to all 43 of the University’s colleges, including those designated as societies and permanent private halls (PPHs).
If you apply for a place on this course you will have the option to express a preference for one of the colleges listed below, or you can ask us to find a college for you. Before deciding, we suggest that you read our brief introduction to the college system at Oxford and our advice about expressing a college preference.
If you are a current Oxford student and you would like to remain at your current Oxford college, you should check whether it is listed below. If it is, you should indicate this preference when you apply. If not, you should contact your college office to ask whether they would be willing to make an exception. Further information about staying at your current college can be found in our Application Guide.
The following colleges accept students on the DPhil in Biomedical and Clinical Sciences (Oxford-GSK):
Before you apply
Before you begin an application, we recommend that you consult the Medical Sciences Graduate School's website to identify the most suitable course for your intended area of research.
Our guide to getting started provides general advice on how to prepare for and start your application. You can use our interactive tool to help you evaluate whether your application is likely to be competitive.
This course is not using a standard application deadline. The Admission status indicator will provide up to one week's notice of the deadline, so please check this regularly.
Application fee waivers
An application fee of £20 is payable for each application to this course. Application fee waivers are available for the following applicants who meet the eligibility criteria:
- applicants from low-income countries;
- refugees and displaced persons;
- UK applicants from low-income backgrounds; and
- applicants who applied for our Graduate Access Programmes in the past two years and met the eligibility criteria.
You are encouraged to check whether you're eligible for an application fee waiver before you apply.
Readmission for current Oxford graduate taught students
If you're currently studying for an Oxford graduate taught course and apply to this course with no break in your studies, you may be eligible to apply to this course as a readmission applicant. The application fee will be waived for an eligible application of this type. Check whether you're eligible to apply for readmission.
Application fee waivers for eligible associated courses
If you apply to this course and up to two eligible courses during the same application cycle, you can request an application fee waiver so that you only need to pay one application fee. We recommend that you use your application fee waiver to apply only for eligible courses that are closely related in research area to this one.
To be considered eligible for an application fee waiver, each additional course must be:
- doctoral level eg a Doctor of Philosophy (DPhil) or Centre for Doctoral Training (CDT) course; and
- offered by one of the departments in the MPLS Division or one of the departments in the Medical Sciences Division.
If this is the first eligible course that you are applying to, you can request an application fee waiver for an additional course after you have submitted your application for this course. If you have already applied to another course that the meets the eligibility criteria shown above, you should request an application fee waiver before starting an application to this course.
Remember to state clearly in your request which course(s) you intend to apply to. If your request is successful, you will receive an application fee waiver code that is valid for this admission cycle (ie for entry in the 2025-26 academic year). Our Application Guide provides instructions for entering your application fee waiver code.
Do I need to contact anyone before I apply?
You do not need to make contact with the department before you apply. As part of your application, you will provide details of your preferred research theme (following the instructions below) and will first be considered for projects and supervision within this theme. You may also be considered for projects and supervision in other research themes that align with your academic background. If you are shortlisted for interview, you will receive details of the project(s) that you are being considered for and the relevant supervisor(s). At this stage you will be able to rank projects by preference and the panel will endeavour to find the best match between successful applicants and available projects.
Improving access to graduate study
This course is taking part in initiatives to improve the selection procedure for graduate applications, to ensure that all candidates are evaluated fairly.
Socio-economic data (where it has been provided in the application form) will be used as part of an initiative to contextualise applications at the different stages of the selection process.
Completing your application
You should refer to the information below when completing the application form, paying attention to the specific requirements for the supporting documents.
For this course, the application form will include questions that collect information that would usually be included in a CV/résumé. You should not upload a separate document. If a separate CV/résumé is uploaded, it will be removed from your application.
If any document does not meet the specification, including the stipulated word count, your application may be considered incomplete and not assessed by the academic department. Expand each section to show further details.
Proposed field and title of research project
Please indicate your preferred research theme from the following therapeutic areas: neurodegeneration, liver fibrosis and respiratory medicine.
Proposed supervisor
Please leave this field blank. If you are shortlisted for interview, you will receive details of the project(s) that you are being considered for and the relevant supervisor(s).
Referees:
Three overall, generally academic
Whilst you must register three referees, the department may start the assessment of your application if two of the three references are submitted by the course deadline and your application is otherwise complete. Please note that you may still be required to ensure your third referee supplies a reference for consideration.
Your references should generally be academic, though professional references are acceptable if they are relevant to the course.
Your references will support intellectual ability, academic achievement, motivation, ability to work in a group.
Official transcript(s)
Your transcripts should give detailed information of the individual grades received in your university-level qualifications to date. You should only upload official documents issued by your institution and any transcript not in English should be accompanied by a certified translation.
More information about the transcript requirement is available in the Application Guide.
Statement of purpose/personal statement:
A maximum of 500 words
You should provide a statement of your research interests, in English, describing how your background and research interests relate to the programme. If possible, please ensure that the word count is clearly displayed on the document.
It will be normal for students’ ideas and goals to change in some ways as they undertake their studies, but your personal statement will enable you to demonstrate your current interests and aspirations.
The statement should focus on academic or research-related achievements and interests rather than personal achievements and interests.
This will be assessed for:
- your reasons for applying;
- evidence of motivation for and understanding of the proposed area of study;
- the ability to present a reasoned case in English;
- capacity for sustained and focused work; and
- understanding of problems in the area and ability to construct and defend an argument.
Start or continue your application
You can start or return to an application using the relevant link below. As you complete the form, please refer to the requirements above and consult our Application Guide for advice.
After you've submitted your application
Your application (including the supporting documents outlined above) will be assessed against the entry requirements detailed on this course page. Whether or not you have secured funding will not be taken into consideration when your application is assessed. You can find out more about our shortlisting and selection process in our detailed guide to what happens next.
Find out how to manage your application after submission, using our Applicant Self-Service tool.