Thesis word limit

You must state the approximate number of words in your thesis. If a thesis exceeds the permitted length, the Medical Sciences Board may decline to forward the thesis to examiners and may return it to you for revision. If the examiners find that a thesis which has been forwarded to them exceeds the permitted length they should report the fact to the Medical Sciences Board and await further instructions before proceeding with the examination.

Word limits (exclusive of bibliography, appendices, diagrams and tables)

Table with Word count by dept and course
Department/programme	DPhil	MSc by Research
All departments and programmes other than the below	50,000	30,000
Department of Experimental Psychology	100,000	50,000
1+3 DPhil Neuroscience	50,000	-

Word limit extensions

In exceptional circumstances the permission of the Medical Sciences Board may be sought to exceed the word limit. An application to do this should be made and approved in advance of submitting the GSO.3 form and in advance of submitting the thesis. There is no GSO form for a word limit extension - instead a letter should be submitted to the Graduate School Assistants stating the requested increased word count, the reason for the request, and signed by the student, supervisors and Director of Graduate Studies.

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Please note that AI can only be used within assessments where specific prior authorisation has been given, or when technology that uses AI has been agreed as reasonable adjustment for a student’s disability (such as voice recognition software for transcriptions, or spelling and grammar checkers). See the University Plagiarism Guidance.

Re-use of published material in thesis

Prior publication of material arising from research undertaken while studying is fully acceptable. You should note that the acceptance of such material for publication does not of itself constitute proof that the work is of sufficient quality or significance to merit the award of the degree concerned. This remains a judgement of the Medical Sciences Board on the recommendation of its examiners.

If re-using material from your previously published papers in your thesis, you should ensure that the following conditions are satisfied:

You actually authored/produced the material (e.g. text or figures) to be reused with no more input/advice than would be considered appropriate or acceptable for a thesis. Ideally you should be the first author on the publication, but definitely should have authored the text or figures that you reproduce. If there are other authors you should make it clear that you produced the material. You should get written confirmation from your co-authors/supervisor that you wrote/produced the material and permission from them to reuse parts in your thesis.
You should fully and clearly acknowledge that parts of the thesis have previously been published, and indicate which parts. You should point this out in the acknowledgments section as well as in footnotes/references to the relevant sections. If there are other authors you should indicate that you wrote/produced the material reproduced and confirm that the other co-authors have given you permission to include the material in your thesis.

Submitting your thesis

It is strongly advised that you submit your application for appointment of examiners (GSO.3) form at least 6 weeks prior to the submission of the thesis. Consult the How to apply for examiners page for full details.

As of Michaelmas term 2019, students should submit the examiners’ copy of their thesis online only, via Research Theses Digital Submission. A quick reference guide for Research Thesis Digital Submission can be found here. Hard copies of the thesis should no longer be submitted. Hard copies may only be requested by examiners from the Examination Schools, who would arrange for the thesis to be printed and sent.

Please note:

Theses must be submitted in English unless, for exceptional reasons, the Medical Sciences Board determines otherwise in the term in which you were first admitted as a Probationer Research Student.
If you have reached your maximum submission date and failed to submit, your status will lapse and you will be unable to apply for examiners again, unless you are reinstated.

Resources for thesis submission

GSO.20a form: Notes of guidance for research examinations for students submitting their thesis includes full details on the preparation of the thesis and the submission and examination process, including information on:
- Examiners copies of the thesis
- Binding and presentation
- Abstracts
- The oral examination (viva)
- Minor corrections
- Resubmission
- Deposit and consultation of thesis,
Information on the standard required for a DPhil thesis may be found via:
- Section 7.3 of the University’s Policy on Research Degrees
- Characteristics Statement: Doctoral Degree (qaa.ac.uk) (Annex 3 contains the qualification descriptors)

After submission: thesis embargo

When depositing your thesis, you may select to immediately release your thesis via Oxford University Research Archive (ORA), or you may choose a one year or three year embargo period (starting from the date you were granted leave to supplicate), enabling you to pursue publishing all or part of your research as a printed monograph or journal article(s) should you wish. If you want to extend the embargo on all or parts of your thesis beyond a three year period you will need to apply for dispensation from consultation via a GSO.3c form (this form is submitted via the My Student Record section of Student Self-Service). You may change access to your thesis to open access at any time during the embargo period, but may wish to consult with your supervisor before doing this. Further information can be found here.