Cookies on this website

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you click 'Accept all cookies' we'll assume that you are happy to receive all cookies and you won't see this message again. If you click 'Reject all non-essential cookies' only necessary cookies providing core functionality such as security, network management, and accessibility will be enabled. Click 'Find out more' for information on how to change your cookie settings.

Accept all cookies Reject all non-essential cookies Find out more

About the Online School

2025 and 2026 dates

The International Online School will run three times in the 2025-2026 academic year, 8 - 12 December 2025, 16 - 20 March 2026 and 22 - 26 June 2026.

About the Online School

Join us online for an immersive and transformative learning experience with the Refugee Studies Centre at the University of Oxford.

The International Online School in Forced Migration offers an intensive, interdisciplinary, and discussion-based programme that brings Oxford-level academic rigour to your screen, wherever you are in the world.

Building on Oxford’s tradition of research excellence, the School combines cutting-edge scholarship with stimulating, participative teaching and reflection.

Over five days, participants engage deeply with the conceptual, moral, legal, and political dimensions of forced migration through live seminars, expert-led discussions, and carefully curated learning materials. The School creates a global classroom, connecting practitioners, policymakers, and scholars from across continents to reflect critically on the forces and institutions that shape the lives of displaced people.

Course Structure

The programme combines core modules with optional thematic sessions, allowing participants to tailor their learning to their professional or academic interests.

Core modules include:

  • Conceptualising Forced Migration
  • The Moral Foundations of Refugee Protection
  • International Law and Refugee Protection
  • The Politics and Ethics of Humanitarianism

Each module is taught through pre-recorded lectures, selected readings, structured debates, and expert-led group reflection.

Optional modules have recently included

  • Colonial Past, Refugee Present
  • Palestinian Refugees: History and Law
  • Psycho-social Support for Refugees
  • Contextualising Refugee Resettlement
  • The Rise of Citizenship Stripping Across the West
  • The Protection of Trafficked Persons in International Law

who is the School for?

The International Online School is principally designed for policymakers, academics, graduate students and practitioners working on refugee protection and related issues, normally with at least five years of professional experience.

Participants typically include:

  • Staff of the main refugee, migration, and humanitarian international organisations
  • Staff from refugee, human rights, and humanitarian NGOs
  • Government officials working on refugee protection and related issues
  • Practitioners with lived experience of displacement, especially those in advocacy and community groups
  • Academics, postgraduate and postdoctoral researchers focused on forced migration
  • Practicing lawyers and advocates in refugee and human rights law
  • Journalists, commentators, and activists working on refugee and human rights issues

Distinctive advantage: The Online School enables participants to join from wherever they are in the world, eliminating the need to travel and enabling participants to balance their professional and personal commitments.

Tutors and Guest Lecturers

Our Online School is internationally respected thanks to the excellence and commitment of those who teach on it. The School’s academic tutors provide focus and guidance throughout the week.

Tutors for the Online School include:

Professor Catherine Briddick - Andrew W Mellon Associate Professor of International Human Rights and Refugee Law, Oxford University

Professor Matthew Gibney - Elizabeth Colson Professor of Politics and Forced Migration, Oxford University

Professor Tom Scott-Smith - Associate Professor of Refugee Studies and Forced Migration, Oxford University

In addition to the core faculty, teaching is enriched by guest speakers from UNHCR, international organisations, NGOs, and practitioners with lived experience of displacement.

Fees

Fees: £670

Includes access to Canvas (Oxford’s virtual learning platform), pre-recorded lectures, readings, all tuition, live classes and seminars, discussions, and extra-curricular events.

Bursaries: A limited number of fully funded places (the David Turton Awards) are available for refugees and others with lived experience of displacement.

Please see our Frequently Asked Questions for more information.

Admissions and entry requirements

Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis and close once capacity (around 50 participants per School) is reached.

Applicants should have:

  • Substantial professional experience in work relating to refugees or forced migrants
  • A first degree
  • Proficiency in English (IELTS 6.5 / TOEFL iBT 88 or equivalent)

English language requirements may be waived for those who have studied at degree level in English for at least nine months.

Cancellation policy

100% refund if cancelled 2-3 weeks before the start date.

50% refund if cancelled 2 weeks before.

No refund if cancelled less than 1 week before.

Participants can also, in some cases, transfer their place from one course to the next appropriate School.

Contact

For all enquiries, please contact:

Refugee Studies Centre
Oxford Department of International Development
University of Oxford
3 Mansfield Road
Oxford
OX1 3TB
UK

Email: summer.school@qeh.ox.ac.uk

In this section