Academic Visitor Scheme

The DPIR Visitor Programme exists to facilitate links and collaboration with other universities, governments and organisations, both in the UK and overseas, and to allow academics and practitioners the opportunity to collaborate in joint research with DPIR academics.

Our academic visitors generally hold an academic appointment at a university elsewhere and visit DPIR to pursue their research agenda within one of the Department’s research centres or programmes, or within the Department more generally.

Practitioners likewise can visit to collaborate in joint research with our academics. Post-doctoral applicants are also welcome to apply.

Academic Host

Each visitor has an Academic Host who will supply a letter of support as part of your application. During the visit, they will provide advice on collaborations, events and other research activities, and introduce the visitor to relevant members of staff and other contacts.

DPIR academic visitors are responsible for managing their own research activities and work agenda whilst in Oxford and normally will work independently. The visitor's Academic Host will offer advice and support wherever possible, although this may in practice be limited due to the host’s term-time teaching and other commitments.

It is recommended that the prospective applicant consider who in the Department might be able to offer you such support and contact them for advice before applying to the DPIR Visitor Programme. 

Browse a list of DPIR academic staff.

During your visit

Academic Visitors may join the department for a minimum of one month and a maximum of one year.

Visitors will normally be given the title of ‘Visiting Research Fellow’ and will use this title in all references to their association with the department and the University of Oxford. ‘Senior Visiting Research Fellow’ may be given where appropriate.

We ask all visitors to supply a short biography and outline of their current research for the DPIR website. 

In order to improve the DPIR visitor experience, we will ask you to complete a feedback form at the end of your visit.

Visitor Charges

Departmental visitors will normally apply for research funding schemes through their home institution in order to fund the cost of their visit. Please note that the department does not provide salary or other financial payments to visitors, unless these form part of a visiting fellowship grant (see External Funding Schemes below). The costs are as follows:

• Shared desk - £750 per term / £2,500 per year

  • Includes: University card, University email account, access to library services, printing facilities and a workspace in our visitor area, IT support.

Fees should be paid before arrival at DPIR via the University of Oxford Online Store.

External Funding Schemes for Visitors

If you wish to apply for funding through the Department, please make a case for exceptional consideration at least two months in advance of the funder's deadline. Applications through the Department to external funding bodies will be considered separately from the application to visit, by the Department's Research Committee.

Please note that the Department does not have any funding of its own available for visitors to apply for directly in order to support their visit to the Department.

Enquiries regarding external research funding schemes should be made to the Department's Research Facilitation Team. A number of Oxford colleges also offer Visiting Fellowships – details of their schemes are available on their respective websites.

How to Apply

Your application to the DPIR Visitor Programme must include:

• A completed DPIR Visitor Programme Application Form (see below) 
• A current CV
• A Letter of Support from a full member of DPIR willing to act as your Academic Host
• A letter from your home institution, confirming approval of your proposed visit

Completed applications should be emailed to enquiries@politics.ox.ac.uk.

Applications by prospective Academic Visitors will be considered by the Department's General Purposes Committee and will be assessed on the suitability of the applicant’s qualifications, background and experience, the proposed contribution to the Department's activities, and the strength of the letter of support from the Academic Host. Once we have processed your application, we will write to you confirming the outcome, and if successful, confirm the details of your visit.

Visas and Work Permits

Please contact enquiries@politics.ox.ac.uk well in advance of your proposed visit start date in order to discuss visa arrangements. Please note that you will need to wait until you are accepted as a DPIR Visitor before you apply for a visa. Once accepted we will provide a letter of support to facilitate your visa application. Further information on relevant visitor visas is available at: Types of Standard Visitor visas | Staff Immigration (ox.ac.uk). 

ATAS (Academic Technology Approval Scheme)

A check will need to be made regarding whether the academic visitor should apply for an ATAS certificate. This applies to those to conduct research in certain sensitive subjects. Nationals from the EU, EEA, Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, Switzerland, South Korea and the USA are exempt. Further information can be found at: Academic Technology Approval Scheme (ATAS) | Staff Immigration (ox.ac.uk).

College Association

If you wish to apply for association with a college for the duration of your visit, you will need to contact the relevant college directly as being accepted as a student visitor to the Department does not automatically come with College affiliation. Please find a list of colleges here. Please note that there is a separate fee for college association: you will find details on individual college websites.

Terms and Conditions

Visitors who are accepted onto the DPIR Visitor Programme will be required to adhere to the University's Statutes and Regulations during their visit and to sign the University's Visitor Agreement.