Danielle Watkis is a DPhil candidate in Education at the University of Oxford whose research examines how Black-British doctoral students navigate the ‘spaces’ of the elite, advancing a theoretical framework for understanding agency within institutional structures.
She specialises in translating research and lived experience into institutional strategy, governance, and system-level change across the education section.
Her work sits at the intersection of psychology, education, and policy, with a particular focus on how institutions move beyond access to address participation, belonging, and outcomes.
Alongside her doctoral research, she works as a Graduate Access Consultant at Oxford, contributing to a university-wide review of support for underrepresented graduate students. She previously worked at the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission, contributing to widening participation policy and international scholarship programmes across governments and universities.
Her work is characterised by psychologically informed and methodologically innovative approaches, including the development of Virtual Walking Interviews, and has informed institutional strategy, policy development, and sector-wide engagement.