The Criminology DPhil Discussion Group is a space for doctoral students to share insights from ongoing thesis research; collaborate with peers across the Faculty of Law; and offer advice relevant to the successful completion of the DPhil. In collaboration with occasional speakers from the Centre for Criminology as well as from outside the Faculty, the group aims to address quantitative and qualitative research; ethical questions; fieldwork developments; and areas of scholastic interest.
For the current academic year, the discussion group will meet on Thursdays of the even weeks of term at 14.15. Normally, we invite a student speaker from the Centre for Criminology - sometimes also an external speaker - who would present for about 20 minutes, followed by a Q+A or discussion session. Topics in the past have included youth justice, dealing with imposter syndrome, working with vulnerable populations, and melding theory with praxis.
The DPhil Discussion Group is a resource for DPhils and exists to provide current students a supportive and casual space to share their research and receive constructive feedback. We are also keen to open the space up to discussions on academic publishing, conference presentations, and the realities of the academic job market.
In Michaelmas Term 2026, we have a busy term card, with diverse sessions on ethnographic research in prisons, the transition from PhD to postdoc, and succeeding in the first year of the DPhil. We have also organised an informal 'ideas workshop' to give current students the opportunity to receive constructive feedback on ideas in development.
If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact the group convenors Lauren Fox and Andrew Lika: lauren.fox@lincoln.ox.ac.uk and andrew.lika@lincoln.ox.ac.uk.
