University of Oxford
Department of Social Policy and Intervention
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Social Intervention and Policy Evaluation Doctoral study

DSPI doctoral students in the Barnett House garden looking at a book together

Credit: John Cairns

Our DPhil in Social Intervention and Policy Evaluation attracts graduate students from across the world. As a doctoral research student, you will be a key member of our academic community, fully involved and immersed in the life of our department, one of the top-ranked in its field.

We welcome DPhil candidates who are interested in a wide range of areas of social intervention and policy evaluation research.

Topics related to the world-leading expertise of our supervisors may focus on:

  • policy and intervention research in areas such as violence and injury prevention
  • neighbourhood and urban health
  • reduction of poverty and social inequality
  • alcohol and drug misuse
  • mental health and antisocial behaviour in children and youth,
  • parenting and family interventions including those delivered across the perinatal period
  • school-based interventions
  • HIV prevention
  • AIDS-affected children
  • the Sustainable Development goals
  • violence against children and cross-cultural adaptation of interventions.

Methodological approaches that our supervisors have experience in include:  

  • Evaluation methodology  
  • Quantitative research methods
  • Qualitative research methods
  • Randomised controlled trials and advanced quasi-experimental methods
  • Evidence synthesis, systematic reviews and critical appraisal of evidence
  • Methods for designing, testing, and the cross-cultural adaptation of interventions
  • Co-production and participatory research methods 

Application deadline

Monday 7 January 2027, 12:00 midday UK time.

Before applying

Before applying, we strongly recommend:  

  1. Learning more about our department to see if the methods, research areas, and expertise in our department aligns with your areas of interest.
  2. Familiarising yourself with the requirements to apply.
  3. Researching the research areas of potential supervisors using their profiles on our website. Supervisors will usually only support an application where there is a good fit with the research topics and methods they work with.  
  4. Contacting your first-choice supervisor to determine supervisor fit and availability. Potential supervisors should be contacted by email, with a CV and a brief statement (up to 1 page) of your research interests, your proposed DPhil research, and the methods that you hope to use. Please also see our guidance on contacting supervisors and the Oxford University Careers Service website for further advice. 

If you are starting the DPhil following a 1-year MSc, you will usually finish after 3-4 years. The graphic below gives an impression of the usual DPhil trajectory. 

Social Intervention and Policy Evaluation doctoral study course structure diagram

The DPhil programme is also available on a part-time basis. The part-time version of the degree has the same high standards and requirements as the full-time degree, but is spread over 6-8 years. If you are seeking the flexibility of part-time study, this degree is particularly well suited to you. Part-time study also provides an excellent opportunity if you are a professional looking to undertake rigorous long-term research that may be relevant to your working life. For more information, please contact admissions@spi.ox.ac.uk. 

Our approach to graduate study focuses on your ability to work independently to explore and develop your research under an academic supervisor (or one primary supervisor and one co-supervisor).  

Each member of academic staff has expertise in particular areas of social policy and intervention and you will only be accepted for a DPhil if there is an appropriate supervisor available. For this reason, before you apply, you should identify an academic member of staff who is willing and able to supervise your research. The guidance below outlines how to identify and contact potential supervisors.

Researching the areas of expertise of potential supervisors using their profiles on our website 

Before applying, you should identify a potential supervisor whose research interests and methodological expertise align with your proposed project and check whether they are accepting students in the 2026–27 admissions cycle, either as a primary supervisor, a co-supervisor, or both.

As admission to the DPhil programme depends on the availability of suitable supervision, we encourage you to use the ‘Primary and Co-Supervisors’ drop-down below to identify potential supervisors and explore their research profiles on our website. Supervisors will usually only support applications that are a strong fit with their expertise.

Applicants should also note that the Department offers two distinct DPhil programmes. If you are applying to the DPhil in Social Intervention and Policy Evaluation, your proposed primary supervisor must be selected from the staff listed under the Primary and Co-Supervisors’ drop-down below.

Familiarising yourself with the requirements to apply

Before contacting potential supervisors, please first check that you meet the programme’s entry requirements on the University Website.

Contacting your first-choice supervisor to determine supervisor fit and availability

If you meet the programme's entry requirements and identify a supervisor whose expertise aligns with your proposed research and who is accepting new DPhil students, you should contact them by email and attach a CV and a brief summary of your proposed research. In your email, briefly explain how your proposed project aligns with the supervisor's research interests and expertise.

We strongly encourage you to carefully select and contact your potential academic supervisor before 1 December 2026. Supervisors will do their best to respond to all requests for supervision. They are more likely to reply to enquiries that provide relevant information and demonstrate a clear fit with their research areas and methodological expertise.

Please note that supervisors are not expected to provide detailed feedback on research proposals or application materials at this stage. If you do not hear back within two weeks, please assume that the supervisor is unlikely able to supervise your DPhil. This is often due to capacity and time constraints rather than the quality of the proposed research or the applicant.

Please do not send bulk emails to potential supervisors. Instead, contact supervisors individually with personalised emails that clearly explain the fit between your proposed research and their expertise. Each email should be tailored to the supervisor you are contacting. You should contact one potential supervisor at a time and allow up to two weeks for a response before approaching another supervisor. Supervisors have limited capacity, so the more care you take in identifying an appropriate supervisor, the greater your likelihood of securing their support.

Applying without prior supervisor support

If you have not secured potential supervisor support by the 1 December 2026, you may still apply to the DPhil programme, listing your first-choice supervisor. If this supervisor feels an application is particularly strong and well-aligned to their interests, they will make direct contact with you to determine support after you have applied. However, these cases are rare, and the department is unable to offer a place if there is no suitable supervisor who is willing to support your application.  

Primary Supervisors

Jane Barlow is wearing a black top and jacket, with short gray hair, smiling for the camera.

Professor Jane Barlow

Chair in Evidence-Based Intervention and Policy Evaluation
Wearing a pink top with mustard flower patterns and shoulder-length brown wavy hair, Anita smiles gently at the camera.

Dr Amiya Bhatia

Associate Professor
Smiling woman with long brown wavy hair and is wearing a grey dress and silver necklace.

Professor Lucie Cluver

Professor of Child and Family Social Work
Woman with long brown hair, smiling at the camera and wearing a black dress with white pattern.

Dr Michelle Degli Esposti

Associate Professor of Evidence Based Social Policy and Intervention
Mark Fransham is wearing a plaid shirt, with short blonde hair, a short bear and mostashe and smiling gentle at the camera.

Dr Mark Fransham

Senior Academic Fellow
Smiling woman with light brown hair, wearing a patterned dress and standing in front of a dark blue door

Professor Frances Gardner

Professor of Child and Family Psychology
david humphries has short brown hair, glasses and wearing a white shirt.

Professor David Humphreys

Professor of Social Policy Evaluation
jamie lachman is wearing a blue top, smiling directly at the camera.

Professor Jamie M. Lachman

Professor of Child and Family Global Health
Dr Gabriela Pavarini has shoulder length dark hair, wearing a black top smiling gently at the camera.

Dr Gabriela Pavarini

Senior Research and Teaching Fellow
William Rudgard has short brown hair and round red glasses. He is wearing a shirt and blazer and smiling at the camera.

Dr William Rudgard

Associate Professor of Climate Change and Child Health

Secondary Supervisors (to supervise alongside a primary supervisor)

Jessica Lorimer has long curly brown hair. She is wearing a black dress and bright green blazer. She is standing outside in a large garden.

Dr Jessica Lorimer

Departmental Lecturer in Evidence Based Social Intervention and Policy Evaluation
Dr Munoz has short black hair and black facial hair. He is wearing a short-sleeved blue shirt and standing outside a brick building.

Dr Ismael G. Munoz

Departmental Lecturer in Evidence Based Social Intervention and Policy Evaluation
Bridget Steele has long brown hair and is wearing a black and white striped shirt. She is sitting on some outdoor steps in front of a blue door and smiling.

Dr Bridget Steele

Departmental Lecturer in Evidence-Based Intervention and Policy Evaluation
Alex Sutherland has short fair hair and is wearing a light blue shirt with a navy jumper. He is standing outside in a garden, smiling at the camera.

Professor Alex Sutherland

Professor in Practice Criminology & Public Policy

As a doctoral student, you will be offered a graduate programme for doctoral researchers, tailored to your individual needs as agreed with your supervisor. In addition to individual supervision, we offer a wide range of seminars, workshops and advanced training opportunities to enhance your graduate research experience. Further training and exchange opportunities are provided by colleges and the University.

DPhil students are also members of a college, providing opportunities for exchange with other students and fellows across disciplines. Oxford colleges offer a unique academic community. Student college membership ranges across the University as the DSPI has an association with many colleges.

Yvonne has long black braided hair, is wearing glasses and a cerise pink top

Yvonne Agengo

DPhil student
Maria has long black hair and is smiling at the camera. She is wearing a multi-coloured jacket over a black top.

Maria Ambrosio

DPhil Student and Teaching Fellow
Sophia has long blonde hair. She is wearing a white shirt and navy blazer. She is sat outside in a garden with a red-brick building behind her.

Sophia Andresen

DPhil student
Gerry has short dark hair and a beard. He's wearing glasses and a navy blue jumper. He's standing in front of a hedge.

Gerry Byrne

DPhil Student
Looking directly at the camera, Katongo is wearing a white top, black jacket and shoulder-length black braids.

Katongo Chileshe

DPhil student
Hal Cooper, with short brown hair, is wearing a dark blue shirt and jacket, smiling at the camera

Hal Cooper

DPhil Student and Research Manager
Bothaina has long black hair and is smiling at the camera. She's wearing a white top with a black and white horizontally-striped cardigan

Dr Bothaina Eltigani

DPhil Student and Research assistant
Charlotte Evans is wearing a purple top , standing sideways at the camera, with shoulder length blonde hair smiling at the camera.

Charlotte Evans

DPhil Student
Aya has shoulder length black hair and a fringe. She's wearing a white top and pale grey jacket.

Aya Fujita

DPhil Student
Alice has long dark hair swept back from her face. She is wearing a green and pale blue jumper

Alice Hawryszkiewycz

DPhil Student
Kayanat Iltaf stands with folded arms wearing academic dress in front of an out-of-focus tree in the background.

Kayanat Iltaf

DPhil Student
Jinseo Kim is wearing graduation gown, with dark shoulder length hair smiling at the camera.

Jinseo Kim

DPhil Student
Zamakhanya Makhanya has afro hair, with black rimmed glasses, weating a green jacket smiling at the camera.

Zamakhanya Makhanya

DPhil Student
Sopuruchukwu has short black hair and is wearing glasses. She's wearing a red top with small white and pink patterns.

Sopuruchukwu Obiesie (MBBS)

DPhil Student
Yi Qie is wearing a black dress and pearl drop earrings with a short hair cut. She is smiling at the camera.

Yi Qie

DPhil student

Many graduates of the DPhil programme in Social Intervention and Policy Evaluation go on to pursue academic careers in world-leading research universities. Other alumni hold influential positions in government, non-governmental and international organisations such as the World Bank, the World Health Organisation and the UN.

The DSPI, colleges and the University provide several scholarships for DPhil students. You can find out more on our Funding and Scholarships page. 

You can find full details about how to apply to the full-time and part-time courses on the DPhil in Social Intervention and Policy Evaluation University Admissions page.