Dr. Oliver Philcox

Assistant Professor

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Biography

Oliver Philcox is an Assistant Professor in Physics, affiliated with the Kavli Institute for Astrophysics & Cosmology at Stanford University. He has previously held positions as a Junior Fellow at the Simons Society and an Acting Assistant Professor at Stanford. His research interests lie in theoretical, statistical, and observational cosmology, with a particular focus on galaxy surveys and the Cosmic Microwave Background. Philcox has completed his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees at Cambridge’s Institute of Astronomy where he worked with Blake Sherwin and spent a year at Harvard’s Center for Astrophysics under Daniel Eisenstein. He was also a doctoral student at Princeton University in the Department of Astrophysical Sciences and a visiting graduate student at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey, where he was advised by David Spergel and Matias Zaldarriaga. Acknowledged for his contributions in 2024, he received the New Horizons Prize in Physics. Philcox has written a brief guide on Effective Field Theory in Large Scale Structure, and you can find a number of his public codes available on GitHub.

Research Interests

Requirements for Stanford University

Doctorate Program
Requirements
GPA Requirement
Required:3.5
TOEFL
Listening
Required:26
Reading
Required:26
Writing
Required:26
Speaking
Required:26
Total
Required:100
GRE General
Verbal
Required:160
Quantitative
Required:165
Analytical Writing
Required:4.5
Overall
Required:4.5
Prerequisites
Bachelor degree from an accredited institution Strong background in mathematics and programming
Application Checklist
  • Statement of Purpose
  • Three letters of recommendation
  • Official transcripts
  • Resume/CV
Specialization Notes

The Computer Science department emphasizes research potential. GRE General is currently optional but recommended for some tracks.