Postgraduate Studies

The NPEU is a multi-disciplinary unit with experienced senior staff who undertake supervision of postgraduate students, and clinical and public health trainees. It offers a stimulating and dynamic environment in which to conduct doctoral studies in perinatal health. The NPEU is moving to the Nuffield Department of Women's and Reproductive Health (NDWRH) which offers extensive training opportunities to postgraduate students.

DPhil students

Examples of current and recent DPhil projects in the NPEU include:

• Inequalities in maternal health outcomes: In a developed country, which elements of socio-economic disadvantage are associated with an increased risk of severe maternal morbidity
• Developing an evidence-based, comprehensive model for the facility-based stillbirth review process in India: a mixed methods study
• Physical and psychological consequences of primary postpartum haemorrhage
• Investigating birth outcomes and maternity care experiences for women with pre-existing mental health problems
• Investigating the dynamic process of expressing breastmilk for very preterm infants and the influence of a relaxation intervention, with the aim of improving clinical recommendations
• Ethnic inequities in healthcare utilisation during infancy and early childhood in England

Potential applicants can apply for an advertised DPhil project or develop their own DPhil idea with input from a potential supervisor. Details about both processes are available on the NDWRH website. The type of projects vary each year, and typically suit candidates with backgrounds in health sciences including epidemiology, statistics, health services research, psychology, and health economics. Some projects may be of particular interest to doctors or midwives interested in academic research.

The NPEU also holds, or has access to, a range of perinatal datasets, some of which may be suitable for a DPhil project. These include:

• UKOSS – the UK Obstetric Surveillance System – a national system to study rare disorders of pregnancy.
• MBRRACE-UK – Mothers and Babies: reducing risk through audits and confidential enquiries.
• National Maternity Surveys – regular surveys of women's experience of maternity care in 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018, 2020 and 2024.
• Routine data such as Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD) and Hospital Episode Statistics (HES).
• Randomised Controlled Trials – the Clinical Trials Unit has a large number of ongoing and completed trials.

For an informal discussion about pursuing doctoral studies in the NPEU, please contact Maria Quigley in the first instance

For more information about the University of Oxford application process for DPhil studies and for details of other study opportunities within the NDWRH, please visit the NDWRH website.

Studentships

All funded studentships available in the NDWRH are listed on the NDWRH website.

Public Health Trainees

The NPEU is an accredited training location for public health trainees. All placements will have to be approved by the trainee's Training Programme Director but informal enquiries can be made to Marian Knight or Gracia Fellmeth in the first instance.