DPhil in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy

Alongside your independent research, you will be encouraged to engage with Oxford’s vibrant academic community through seminars and informal events. You will be supported by an experienced Oxford-based supervisor, and where appropriate, a field supervisor for practice-based work.

A strong supervisory partnership underpins the programme, ensuring expert guidance, regular engagement, and sustained progress throughout your doctoral journey.

This course is ideal if you want to undertake focused, doctoral-level research in cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and contribute to advancing the field.

You’ll have the opportunity to develop research within key areas such as:

• improving understanding of the cognitive and behavioural aspects of specific problems
• developing or refining CBT approaches for particular disorders
• exploring theoretical or methodological issues in cognitive behavioural practice

Your research will centre on a primary topic relevant to CBT theory and practice, which may include individual and group interventions, third-wave approaches, self-help models, and clinical supervision.

As a part-time programme, this course is designed to be flexible, but it does require regular engagement in Oxford. You should expect to attend for a minimum of 30 days each year for supervision, training, seminars, and key assessments, and to meet with your supervisor at least once per term.

While there is flexibility in how your attendance is arranged, this will be agreed in advance with your supervisor. The course is best suited to those who can balance independent research with these in-person commitments over several years.

Oxford College affiliation

As a matriculated postgraduate degree student, you will become a member of one of the University’s multidisciplinary colleges, enabling you to encounter new perspectives in your field or learn more about many other subjects from fellow college members.

The collegiate system makes studying at Oxford a truly special experience. Oxford colleges are friendly and diverse communities, where you could find yourself absorbed in fascinating conversations with students and academics from a variety of disciplines at college seminars, dinners, and informal occasions.

For a list of colleges that accept students on the DPhil in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, please see the Graduate Admissions course page.

To find out more about Oxford University colleges, please consult the University’s Graduate Admissions website.

The Course Director for this course is Dr Sarah Rakovshik.

As a student on this course you will have an identified Oxford-based supervisor who is interested in your research ideas and, in some instances, you will also need to identify a field supervisor who can closely monitor and advise on your practical research.

You will begin the programme as a Probationary Research Student (PRS), developing your research topic and skills through training provided within the Oxford Lifelong Learning Graduate School and across the University.

Progression is assessed at key milestones:

• Transfer of Status (Terms 6-8): You submit a piece of written work, assessed by two independent assessors. This confirms that your project is viable and of DPhil quality. After successful transfer, you will typically move into a period of primary research and data collection.
• Confirmation of Status (Terms 12-18): A further submission is assessed to review your progress, the quality of your work, and your plan for completing the thesis within the required timeframe.

The DPhil is awarded on the basis of a thesis of around 50,000 words, submitted after 18-24 terms (6-8 years). You will then defend your work in a viva voce (oral examination) with two examiners.

Degree-level qualifications

As a minimum, applicants should hold or be predicted to achieve the following UK qualifications or their equivalent:

• a first-class or strong upper second-class undergraduate degree with honours in a related field of study.
• Alternatively, this requirement can be demonstrated by successfully completing a course equivalent to the PGCert in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, PGCert in Enhanced Cognitive Behavioural Therapy or PGDip in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy.

Although a previous master’s degree is not required, it will strengthen your application to have completed a master’s with a distinction grade in a relevant 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.

English language proficiency

This course requires proficiency in English at the University’s higher level. If your first language is not English, you may need to provide evidence that you meet this requirement. Further information on English language requirements can be found here.

Please visit the DPhil in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy page on the University of Oxford Graduate Admissions website for details of course fees and costs.

Please see our funding page for help and information with regard to funding postgraduate studies. We further recommend that applicants search for funding opportunities via the online Fees, Funding and Scholarship search tool.

In order to be considered for many scholarships, applicants are required to apply by the January deadline. However, applicants should note that some scholarships require additional application materials and may have different deadlines, so applicants should make sure they check the application process for each scholarship carefully.

Applications for this course should be made via the University of Oxford Graduate Admissions website. This website provides information on fees and entry requirements, along with help on preparing and submitting your application.

Application deadlines

12:00 midday UK time on:

• Stage 1: Friday 14 November 2025 (Applications more likely to receive earlier decisions)
• Stage 2: Wednesday 28 January 2026 (Latest deadline for most Oxford scholarships)
• Stage 3: Tuesday 3 March 2026

When to apply

Early application for the programme is strongly advised. After the March deadline, the course will only stay open for that year’s entry if places are still available.

Remember that it can take a number of weeks to obtain all of the documents you need and to prepare a competitive application. You should also allow your referees plenty of time to submit your references. We therefore recommend you apply as soon as possible.

Interviews are normally held as part of the admissions process within six weeks of the application deadline.

Contact us

Prior to application, you should contact OCTC academic staff to discuss the feasibility of your research and secure the agreement of one or more potential supervisors for your work. If you would like to discuss your application or any part of the application process before applying, please contact the course administrator: tel: +44 (0)1865 286938 – email: pgr@conted.ox.ac.uk.