1. Applying for the Oxford DPhil in Theology and Religion

2. Identifying a project The pragmatic questions:
What are the intellectual “growth areas”?
Where is the funding?
Where are the jobs?
The direct questions:
What do you want to do?! Why do you want to do it? Who do you want to do it with? Where is the best place to do it?
What are you good at?
Reasons for failure at application stage:
Poor academic record/references
Supervision unavailable/no research community
Project lacks coherence or focus
Lack of originality

3. 2. Setting the limits
Need to conceptualize a project capacious enough to occupy three years and 100,000 words, but sufficiently limited to be manageable.
Factors to consider:
Intellectual lacuna: what will be the CONTRIBUTION of the thesis?
The conservative approach: neat survey, offering useful collation of data and restrained conclusions
The ambitious approach: bold, paradigm-busting new thesis
The middle way: a fresh question or assessment of sources which draws on current directions in the field
Body of sources: the more significant/influential/complex the thinker, the more intensive the analytical work involved. More obscure figures may need interlocutors.
Scale of problem and adequacy of illustrative case study/ies.

4. 3. Refining the proposal Approaching possible supervisors:
Do your homework, don’t ask for too much
Writing the proposal:
Remember this is NOT an essay.
Summarize the research problem: main question and subsidiary issues
Set out the current state of scholarship in the relevant field, and ideally draw attention to its deficiencies
Explain how your project intervenes, and what it offers that is distinctive and significant
Account for your motivation and fitness for this project
Outline structure and timetable
Describe your research methodology (theoretical framework? Interdisciplinarity?)
Explain what advantages Oxford offers for this particular project (seminars? Libraries?)

5. 4. Preparing the application
Note deadlines: 24th January and 14th March (Advantage of early application: funding!!! But also supervisory/college availability)
What to include on the CV:
Personal details
Education after school (16 +)
Any awards
Brief details of work and voluntary experience
Keep brief: rather like UCAS personal statement, not deal-breaker!
Academic references x 3:
Reputable institutional affiliation
(Recent) knowledge of your work!!
Sympathetic supporter

6. Funding issues
All applicants considered for the Big Two: AHRC (Home/EU) and Clarendon (overseas)
Other significant studentships:
Faculty of Theology and Religion Graduate Studentships (online application)
Ertegun Scholarships (upload supporting statement with your application)
See Fees, Funding and Scholarship Search:
Examples:
Keble Gosden-Water Newton scholarships (for current or prospective ordinands)
OCIS Scholarships (for Muslim students applying from developing world)
Regent’s Park Eastern European scholarship
Crewdson Trust Awards (for Theology graduates, especially working on role of religion in promoting peace; mature students)

7. 6. What can you do with a DPhil in Theology?
Academic research and teaching?
Post-doctoral research
Lectureships
Alternative careers:
Publishing
Research (think-tanks, public policy, media)
Academic administration
Consulting (esp. US)
Non-profit organisations and charities
Teaching
Ministry
...