Academic Visitors
Academic Visitors - Affiliation with Contemporary China Studies
The Contemporary China Studies Programme (CCSP) offers a fixed number of places to Academic Visitors each year. Academic visitors have complementary research interests with those of our faculty and spend up to three terms (one academic year) at Oxford to pursue a relevant independent research project. As an Academic Visitor you will be able to access many of the research resources of Oxford University and will also be able to attend the lectures, seminar events and other activities of the University China Centre (but not course classes). You will also have access to many of the events organised by the Oxford School of Global and Area Studies (OSGA), of which CCSP is part.
Please note that to in order to be eligible to apply to become an Academic Visitor you should be an in-post academic at another university or related institution and not a student (current doctoral students interested in an affiliation with CCSP should apply via the Recognised Student process).
Academic Visitors must pay fees of £600 per eight-week term or £1,750 per academic year and will be provided with a University card, access to the library, and an email address, but no access to college facilities. We are not able to offer desk space.
The application process to become an Academic Visitor with us is in two parts. First, secure a sponsor for your application from within the CCSP faculty. Second, submit your application to be an Academic Visitor to the Academic Visitor review panel at chinesestudies@area.ox.ac.uk with ‘Academic Visitor Application’ in the subject line.
- Identify a potential sponsor for your application
- Make contact with a member of CCSP faculty whose interests overlap with your own (academic/faculty member profiles can be found here).
- Send this faculty member your research proposal outlining your plans for your time at Oxford, together with your CV.
- If the faculty member agrees to act as a sponsor for your application then they will reply to you directly by email indicating their support. Please note that this is not a confirmation of acceptance as it is the review panel rather than individual faculty members who select from among the applications received.
- Forward the email from your faculty sponsor, together with your research proposal and CV attached, to the Contemporary China Studies Programme administrator using chinesestudies@area.ox.ac.uk. Please use the email subject line "Academic Visitor Application".
- The review of your application by the panel
- Applications are considered individually on their merits by the Programme's review panel twice during the academic year, not on a rolling basis, and you should ensure that you send your application in time for review at one of these dates.
- The first review date is 31st January each year and you should expect to receive a decision on your application by end of March.
- The second review date is 1st May each year and you should expect to receive a decision on your application by end of June.
- If your application is successful then you will be sent an official letter of invitation from the Programme to confirm that you have been accepted and outlining the dates when you can make plans to arrive in Oxford. You are responsible for securing visas, where needed. You are also responsible for arranging your accommodation and covering your subsistence costs whilst you are based in Oxford as the Programme cannot help with this.
We receive many academic visitor applications. But places to be an Academic Visitor with our Programme are limited in number each year. In selecting from the applications, the panel will aim for a balance across different research interests. The panel is therefore unlikely to be able to offer invitations to all applications received.
