Indian PhD student says Oxford ‘betrayed’ her with forced transfer

AN INDIAN PhD student at the University of Oxford claims she was transferred to a master's course without her consent, despite spending nearly £100,000 to pursue a doctoral degree.

Lakshmi Balakrishnan, a student from Tamil Nadu, India, holds two master’s degrees and stated that Oxford’s English faculty initially accepted her PhD research proposal but later rejected it during her fourth year, according to the BBC.

Balakrishnan said the university "forcibly removed" her from the PhD programme, shifting her to a master's level course, a move she described as a "betrayal."

She said that she had worked hard to reach Oxford, making sacrifices as the first in her family to study abroad.

She claimed her PhD programme was unexpectedly halted after two assessors ruled that her Shakespeare thesis did not meet doctoral standards—a decision she disputed through Oxford's appeals process without success.

The University of Oxford explained that all students are informed their progression depends on academic assessments, the BBC reported.

They confirmed the appeals process had concluded, stating, "To achieve Confirmation of Status, progress must demonstrate a strong likelihood of completing a doctoral thesis."

Queen's College, where Balakrishnan studied, raised concerns about her case, suggesting errors in the appeals process and questioning the decision to downgrade her.

Two professors specialising in Shakespeare studies supported her research as PhD-worthy. However, the Office of the Independent Adjudicator (OIA) upheld the university’s decision, supporting Oxford’s assessment and appeal procedures