The department is a lively community that is recognised internationally as one of the top centres for research and teaching in development studies.

Our courses offer excellent training for a career in international development or for advanced study, and attract students of the highest calibre from across the world.
“I had waited for 10 years before my dream to study in Oxford became a reality and the experience was truly beyond expectation”
Our students are taught to develop as critical and independent thinkers and when they leave us they are equipped with the knowledge and skills they need to bring about real change.
“My time at Oxford strengthened my critical analysis and provided me with a unique interdisciplinary grounding in history, politics and economics that has equipped me well in dealing with public policy issues and program development strategy.”
Our courses offer excellent training for a career in international development or for advanced study, and attract students of the highest calibre from across the world.
“I had waited for 10 years before my dream to study in Oxford became a reality and the experience was truly beyond expectation”
Our courses offer excellent training for a career in international development or for advanced study, and attract students of the highest calibre from across the world.
“I had waited for 10 years before my dream to study in Oxford became a reality and the experience was truly beyond expectation”
Our students are taught to develop as critical and independent thinkers and when they leave us they are equipped with the knowledge and skills they need to bring about real change.
“My time at Oxford strengthened my critical analysis and provided me with a unique interdisciplinary grounding in history, politics and economics that has equipped me well in dealing with public policy issues and program development strategy.”
Our students are taught to develop as critical and independent thinkers and when they leave us they are equipped with the knowledge and skills they need to bring about real change.
“My time at Oxford strengthened my critical analysis and provided me with a unique interdisciplinary grounding in history, politics and economics that has equipped me well in dealing with public policy issues and program development strategy.”
The purpose of the Refugee Studies Centre (RSC) is to build knowledge and understanding of the causes and effects of forced migration in order to help improve the lives of some of the world’s most vulnerable people. It was founded in 1982.
Andy Wheatley / DFID CC-BY-2.0
Nearly three decades after the establishment of the RSC, the study of forced migration has become a recognised academic discipline, embraced by numerous educational institutions across the world. The need for independent, objective and critical scholarship on factors determining and resulting from the forced displacement of populations has never been greater, and the Refugee Studies Centre remains in the forefront of shaping the agenda in today’s most critical debates.
This prominence is achieved by pursuing three interrelated activities: research, teaching and outreach.
The RSC provides multidisciplinary, independent and critical scholarship on factors determining and resulting from the forced displacement of populations. The Centre drives scholarship and social scientific debates on forced migration both through its own work and by encouraging collaboration between academics from a wide range of institutions and university departments.
The Centre’s teaching programme is designed to support and develop the next generation of scholars and thinkers, as well as to foster a culture of critical reflection within the wider humanitarian community.
A varied portfolio of publications, information resources and networking initiatives promotes influential engagement with a full range of academics, policymakers and practitioners. Details of ongoing activities and achievements are presented in an Annual Report and the RSC newsletter.
Tel: +44 (0) 1865 281720
Fax: +44 (0) 1865 281730
Email: rsc@qeh.ox.ac.uk
Website: www.rsc.ox.ac.uk