Application Guide

This guide is intended to assist prospective students in preparing an application for graduate programmes offered by the University of Oxford. It provides information on:

• Completing the online or paper application form
• The materials you will need to supply to support your application
• Academic references
• Meeting the appropriate application and funding deadlines
• The decision-making process

For an overview of the application process and guidance on possible outcomes - including information about the allocation of college places and the post-offer process - please consult the Graduate Prospectus online at www.ox.ac.uk/graduate/

The prospectus is also available in hard copy from the Graduate Admissions Office on request.

Exceptions 

Please note that this Application Guide and the online and paper application forms to which it refers do not cover applications to the programmes of study listed below at the University of Oxford.

Please consult the following online resources for admissions information relating to these programmes of study:

• PGCE :www.education.ox.ac.uk
  

• Saïd Business School :www.sbs.ox.ac.uk

• Software Engineering :www.softeng.ox.ac.uk

• BM, BCh [Clinical Medical Degree] : www.medsci.ox.ac.uk

• Oxford Doctoral Course in Clinical Psychology : www.leeds.ac.uk/chpccp

Please also note that the following programmes of study offered by the Department for Continuing Education do not accept online applications:

• MSt in Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy
  
• PG Diploma Cognitive Therapy
• PG Diploma Mathematical Finance

Changes to Published Information 

The web-based version of this Application Guide is definitive and contains the most current and comprehensive details regarding the admissions process and requirements; however, please note that this document may be subject to change. Applicants should consider the version currently available online as the definitive source of information at any given time.

Applicants interested in graduate studies commencing after the 2010/11 academic year should contact the Graduate Admissions Office from September 2010 onwards to obtain revised materials appropriate to the next admissions cycle. This is a guide to entry in 2010/11 and should not be used for applications for admission in subsequent years.

The University accepts both online and paper applications for the majority of programmes.  Where possible we encourage applicants to submit their application online.

Courses that do not accept online applications are listed in the Introduction section of this Application Guide.

The benefits of the online application system include:

• Instant confirmation by email of the submission of your application
• Faster processing times for your application
  
• The option for referees to submit their references online
• Facility to upload supporting materials for your application electronically
• An Application Inspector to help you check that you have completed all mandatory questions

In all instances, with the exception of the programmes listed below, paper applications should be sent to:

Graduate Admissions Office
PO Box 738
University of Oxford
Wellington Square
OX1 9FB
United Kingdom
 

The following exceptions apply:

Each programme of study may have one or multiple application deadlines.

Please check Appendix 2: Key application information by course to see which application deadlines are available for your chosen programme of study and submit your complete application (with all its supporting material) as early as possible and in time for the deadline.

All applications in a given admissions year are for programmes of study that will commence in October 2010, unless stated otherwise in the Graduate Prospectus at www.ox.ac.uk/graduate/course_guide/

Application Deadlines for entry in October 2010 

Application deadlines are strictly enforced. Your application and all supporting materials, including references, must be received by the deadline. The postmark on your application package is not taken into account, therefore it is strongly recommended that you apply in good time.

If you are intending to apply for Research Council funding, such as AHRC, or for any of the scholarships specified on the application form you must submit a completed application by the relevant January deadline.

Your name will form the basis of your student record, so please ensure it is full and accurate. If you hold a passport or other official document, you should state your name exactly as it is printed there. We use your name to identify and match all supporting materials to your application and for dealing with your enquiries, so please ensure that wherever you give your name it is provided in the same format.

If your address or contact details change at any time during the admissions process, you must notify us in writing, or via email at graduate.admissions@admin.ox.ac.uk, so that we can update our records. We may need to contact you by letter or email throughout the admissions process.

COUNTRY OF RESIDENCE 

Please include all countries that you have nationality of and give an effective date if you have not been a national of that country from birth. Please do not give an end date unless your nationality of that country has ended. If you are NOT a national of an EEA country (including UK, Channel islands, Isle of Man) or Switzerland, please give the number of the passport that you intend to use to enter the UK. Please only give one passport number.

DISABILITY & SPECIAL NEEDS 

The University is committed to making reasonable adjustments to enable students with disabilities or long-term health conditions to participate fully in student life. In order to provide study support, relevant departments and colleges of the University may need to share information about your needs. Information will be shared on a need-to-know basis with relevant people such as the lecturers and tutors who will teach you, and relevant library and support staff. The information provided is also used to monitor rates of participation in Higher Education by particular groups of people, which is a statutory requirement; it does not form part of any assessment of your application.

If you wish to discuss this section of the application form, or anything to do with University provision for such needs, please contact the

Disability Advisory Service:

Tel. +44 (0) 1865 280459
Fax. +44 (0) 1865 280300
e-mail. disability@admin.ox.ac.uk
Website.  www.admin.ox.ac.uk/eop/

NOMINATED REPRESENTATIVE

Online Applications Only The online application form does not allow you to nominate an agent for the purposes of handling your confidential data.  If you wish to do this, you can send an email to the Graduate Admissions Office stating your agent's full name, their date of birth and their relationship to you, and confirming in writing that you are prepared for us to discuss your application with this person.  Please note that anyone you appoint will then be able to give us instructions relating to your application.

Paper Applications Only In section E, you may nominate an agent for the purposes of handling your confidential data. We will not discuss your application with anyone other than you, unless you have agreed for an individual to act as an agent on your behalf. Please complete this section only if you wish to nominate someone to act in this capacity, otherwise please leave it blank. Please note that anyone you appoint will then be able to give us instructions relating to your application.

ETHNICITY MONITORING

The University is required under statute to seek and return information about the ethnic background of all its applicants for HESA (the British Government’s Higher Education Statistics Agency). The information provided is used to monitor rates of participation in Higher Education by particular groups of people.

This information will not form part of any assessment of your application.

If you are an international applicant and unsure about how your degree compares with a UK equivalent, contact the UK National Academic Recognition Information Centre (UK-NARIC) for advice: www.naric.org.uk

We would expect that anyone applying for graduate study at Oxford should usually have at least the equivalent of an upper second-class result with honours in a UK Bachelor’s degree. Please consult individual subject entries in the Course Guide for further information about your eligibility: www.ox.ac.uk/graduate/course_guide

Please ensure that you include details of all qualifications gained at degree level and above.

• Reading
• Writing
• Speaking
• Understanding

English is the language of instruction for all programmes offered at Oxford and it is mandatory that all theses or examination papers are written in English. The University has approved both a standard and a higher level of required ability in English. For all Taught programmes the higher level is mandatory. For Research programmes departments have selected the level that is most appropriate on an individual per programme basis.

If your first language is not English, you must supply suitable evidence that you have reached the relevant higher or standard level before any offer of a place can be confirmed. The University recognises only certain English tests. The standard and higher level requirements are given in full, along with details of recognised English tests, in our Guidance for international students: www.ox.ac.uk/apply/guidance_for_international_students

Please note that your evidence should be an original certificate giving results of a test that was taken within the previous two years. If you are submitting your application online you can upload a scan of the original. If you are later offered a place you may be asked to supply the original; there is no need to post it to us unless we request it.

The requirement to provide proof of proficiency may be waived, at the discretion of the University, in cases where an applicant has successfully completed a programme of study at a recognised institution where the medium of instruction is English. If you wish to apply for a waiver to the normal requirement, please include a letter with your application outlining the reasons why you should be exempted from the requirement. Online applicants may upload this letter to the relevant section within the application form.  Please do not use the English Language Test results section to do this.

If you want to apply for more than one programme, you will need to submit separate applications along with full supporting materials and an application fee for each.

Please note that we need both the course code and the name of the programme of study. You can find details of course codes in Appendix 2: Key application information by course.

COLLEGE CHOICE

Please specify your first and second choices of college in the boxes provided. Details of which colleges accept each course can be found on our website: www.ox.ac.uk/graduate/college_guide/

If you are offered a place on a course by a department or faculty then you will be guaranteed a place at a college or hall. Please note, however, that this may not necessarily be your first or second  choice college.

Please note that the Department for Continuing Education offers some “non-matriculated” courses that do not confer membership of the University. Non-matriculated students do not become members of an Oxford College. If you are applying to one of these courses using the online application form then please select the “No College” option.

You must complete this section. Do not include here details of the scholarships which you will apply for in Section M. We suggest that you consult  www.admin.ox.ac.uk/studentfunding/, which has information about fees, finance & scholarships. There is also an online tool to help graduate applicants determine which sources of funding they may be eligible for at www.admissions.ox.ac.uk/fundingsearch

You will need to secure adequate funds for the full duration of your programme of study, and you will be required to provide evidence of these financial arrangements that is satisfactory to the college accepting you.

The information you supply in this section is important to the colleges that will consider your application, and it is in your interest to give as clear and complete a picture of your financial situation as possible.

For OUDCE non-matriculated courses, the Department may require you to provide satisfactory evidence of your financial arrangements.

AMOUNT 

Please state the value of each source of funding in pounds sterling (GBP/£) and not in your local currency. 

PERIOD COVERED 

For each source, please indicate the period the funds will cover, e.g. first year; all years. Please also indicate if you do not know what period your funding will cover.

EXPENSES COVERED 

For each source, please indicate which expenses it will cover e.g. University fees, College fees, living expenses etc. Also state whether your funds will cover travel costs. If you do not know the answer to this question, please make this clear on the form. If you will be accompanied by members of your family who will be dependent on you, you should demonstrate how their expenses would be covered.

If you are intending to apply for Research Council funding, such as AHRC, or for any of the scholarships specified on the application form you must submit a completed application by the relevant January deadline.

If you are intending to apply for other types of funding you should also ensure that your completed University application is received by the deadline set by the relevant funding body. If you require a formal offer before your funding application can be made, ensure that you have allowed time for this. 

STUDENTSHIPS

If you are applying in response to an advertisement for a studentship competition, you will need to quote the studentship code shown on the advertisement.

AHRC STUDENTSHIPS 

The University of Oxford has secured 81 doctoral studentships and 57 Master’s studentships starting in October 2010 under the new Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) Block Grant Partnership scheme. The studentships are available in 19 of the subject areas funded by the AHRC. To be eligible to apply for an award you must meet certain academic criteria and be ordinarily resident in the UK or in another European Union country.

If you wish to apply for an AHRC studentship, please read the AHRC Notes of Guidance and follow the procedures that are outlined in detail on our website, given below.

If you wish to apply for an AHRC studentship, you must read the AHRC guidance notes thoroughly and ensure that:

• You meet the eligibility criteria
• Awards are offered for the type of degree and subject area that you are applying for
• You tick the box indicating that you wish to apply for an AHRC studentship
• You inform your referees that you are applying for an AHRC studentship and ask them to comment in detail on your recent work and your ability, aptitude, commitment and preparedness for postgraduate study, and on your suitability to receive AHRC funding.
• You read the AHRC studentship terms and conditions, available via the website, and tick the box indicating that you have read these terms and conditions
  
• You provide any other information and/or documentation stipulated in the AHRC guidance notes

You must apply for an AHRC funding at the same time as you submit your application for graduate study. You will not need to fill in a separate form and you do not have to provide an AHRC-specific statement of purpose or research proposal with your graduate application.

You should nominate referees who can provide an informed view of your academic ability and suitability for your chosen programme of study.

You will need to ensure, in good time, that your referees are willing and able to write a reference for you. We must receive your references before the application deadline. We will not contact referees for missing references on your behalf.

If someone listed on your application form is subsequently unable to act as a referee, you may arrange for another person to send us a reference, as long as that person is also able to comment on your academic performance and suitability for graduate study.

There is no special reference form. References should be in the form of a letter. You should ask your referees to comment on your academic fitness and general suitability for the proposed programme of study, and for any other information they consider to be relevant to your application. If they have knowledge of your recent study, it would be helpful if they could indicate the standard attained. Please note that all references must be received by the application deadline.

Online Applications On Page 4 of the application form you must give contact details for your referees, including their email address in a valid format. You will also be asked to specify the date by which your referees need to submit their references so that they are aware of the application deadline you are using. If you would like the system to send your referees an automated email informing them of the online reference process and asking them to submit an online reference on your behalf via a secure server, you will need to register them in addition to completing Page 4 of the application form. To register your referees, please click on the "References" button listed on the left-hand side menu: Please note that you will not be able to see or access your references, but you will be able to track their status by going to the "References" section. You will receive an email notification when a reference has been submitted. If you choose not to register your referees, then you must contact them yourself to ask them to supply a reference. If your referees would rather send a paper copy of a reference they are welcome to do so. Please ask that each of your referees provide their reference in a sealed envelope, and that they have signed across the seal and covered their signature with a clear adhesive tape. They must state your name and the programme of study that you are applying for.

Paper applications  Please ask each referee to provide their reference in a sealed envelope, and to sign across the seal and cover their signature with clear adhesive tape. Alternatively, they can email their recommendations to graduate.admissions@admin.ox.ac.uk Your references should be returned to you in the sealed envelopes and you should submit them, unopened, with your application. Alternatively, please ask your referee to email their reference to graduate.admissions@admin.ox.ac.uk and ensure that they state your name and the programme of study that you are applying for.

Please read this section of the notes thoroughly and also refer to Appendices 1 and 2 for programme-specific information.

All supporting materials must meet the following criteria:

• In English (unless stated otherwise)
• Easily identifiable. Please clearly indicate your name as well as the type of document, e.g. transcript. on the document if this is not already clearly stated.
• Submitted at the same time as your application form wherever possible, so if you are applying online you should upload an electronic or scanned version if available.
• Approved by an official translator or the relevant issuing body if the original transcript is not in English

COMPULSORY SUPPORTING MATERIAL

The table below shows the supporting material sets that relate to each reference code.

Please check Appendix 2: Key application information by course to see which set your programme of study requires. Please also check Appendix 1: Detailed advice and requirements by course to see if the department you are applying to has supplied additional information relating to the supporting material they require.

	A	B	C	D	E
Statement of purpose OR research proposal
3 academic references
Transcript(s) of previous higher education
CV
1 piece of written work
2 pieces of written work
Portfolio
GRE test certificate

If you are applying online, you can either upload an electronic or scanned copy of your documents directly, or key the text of the written work or statement of purpose/research proposal directly into the online form. You can also scan and upload copies of your official transcript(s) or English language test certificates. If you are offered a place you will be asked to supply the original transcripts and test certificate; there is no need to submit the original unless we request it.

If your original documents are not available when requested, a copy will only be accepted in lieu if it is attested to be a true version of the original by a notary public or a member of staff at your current/previous university. 

Please note that supporting materials will not be returned. 

TRANSCRIPT 

You should submit a detailed official record of your higher education up to the present, including programmes of study taken and grades achieved. It can be produced for you as an official document by the institution where you studied. Please note that a degree certificate is not considered a valid transcript. 

If you are applying online you should scan and upload your official paper transcript in the first instance, or an official electronic transcript if this is available to you. The original document may be requested at a later date.

Please note that unofficial and/or self-certified transcripts are not acceptable.

Current and former Oxford students are not exempted. Please see the Examination Schools website for details of where to obtain your transcript.

CV

This should include a summary of your recent achievements, including details of qualifications, publications and any experience relevant to your application.

STATEMENT OF PURPOSE 

If you are applying for a taught programme, you should submit a brief ‘statement of purpose’, explaining your motivation for graduate study at Oxford. You may wish to consider a number of issues such as:

• What relevant academic, research, or practical experience do you have?
• Why are you applying to this particular programme of study?
• What areas of study in the subject interest you?

The statement of purpose should be one page long and should be submitted as a separate sheet enclosed at the end of your application.

Some departments have chosen to offer specific advice to their applicants on the content of their statement of purpose. Please refer to Appendix 1: Detailed advice and requirements by course for details.

RESEARCH PROPOSAL 

You should supply a research proposal if you are applying to a research programme (the DPhil, MSc by research or MSt in research methods, including the MSt in Legal Research).

The research proposal should be an outline of your research plans of approximately two pages in length (unless a department states otherwise). The amount of detail required will vary between different subject areas, and you should check Appendix 1 for further information. You may also wish to seek further advice from the department or faculty before writing your proposal; contact details are given in the Graduate Studies Prospectus.

For example, if you are applying for research programmes in the humanities and social sciences you will usually be expected to submit a comparatively well-developed proposal, giving an outline of how you intend to structure and undertake your research, and where possible, a preliminary title for the thesis. In other subjects you will simply need to describe the preparatory reading and coursework that has motivated your choice of subject area.

Some departments have chosen to offer specific advice to their applicants on the content of their research proposal. Please refer to Appendix 1: Detailed advice and requirements by course for details.

Please note that your statement of purpose or research proposal does not count as any written work that you may have to submit as supporting material for the purposes of your application.

WRITTEN WORK 

A single piece of written work should be around 2,000 words in length. Please do not supply documents that are significantly longer than this as they may not be considered. You may wish to submit a clearly defined extract from a longer piece of work in order to meet the suggested word limit.

Where two pieces of written work are required they should usually be on separate topics. They should relate as far as possible to your chosen programme of study.

Any written work supplied must enable the assessors to make a judgement about your suitability for your chosen programme of study. It is your responsibility to supply written work of the appropriate type and length.

If necessary, you should arrange for translation of your written work into English. Where written work has been translated you must ensure that the fact it has been translated, and the person and method of translation, is clearly identified. 

The application fee is £25 per programme.

You must submit your payment in £ UK Sterling at the same time as the application, and payment must be included with each individual application submitted.

If you do not include full payment, your application cannot be processed.

Please complete the checklist to confirm that you have completed all the required sections of the application form and the ethnicity form, and that you have enclosed all the required documentation for your programme.

If you are applying online, the Application Inspector (Step 5 of the application form) will check that you have completed all mandatory fields. 

Please note that confirmation of submission is not equivalent to confirmation that your application is complete for the purpose of assessment.

If the form is incorrectly completed, or if required materials have not arrived in the Graduate Admissions Office by the deadline, your application may not be processed or assessed. We will endeavour to contact applicants where possible to advise of any problems of this kind, but it is your responsibility to ensure that you have followed the instructions in this Application Guide and in the Graduate Studies Prospectus.

Completed applications are sent on to the appropriate admitting body for an academic assessment. Details of the University's assessment criteria are available in the Graduate Studies Prospectus, available online and in print. There are five potential outcomes to the assessment of your application:

• Offer of a place without academic conditions
  
• Offer of a place with academic conditions
• Re-evaluation, i.e. your application will be assessed again in the next application deadline
  
• Application placed on a waiting list.This only applies when there are no more application deadlines in which you can be re-evaluated and there are no places currently available.Should places become available, you might be offered a place with or without conditions
• Unsuccessful application

Timetable for Admissions Decisions

If you are intending to apply for Research Council funding, such as AHRC, or for any of the scholarships specified on the application form you must submit a completed application by the relevant January deadline.

Occasionally applicants may hear from the department or colleges before the decision dates given above.  All decisions are communicated in writing, by letter, from the departments.

If you receive an offer of a University place, you will be informed that you have a guaranteed college place unless you have received an offer for an OUDCE non-matriculated programme of study.

First, the college you chose on your form will review your application. If that college cannot offer you a place, your application may be referred to your second choice or your department will attempt to find you a college place. If necessary, your file will be returned to the Graduate Admissions Office for placement with a college. The final college decision date listed in the table above is for guidance only; in a minority of cases this process can take considerably longer.

Once you have been offered a place by a college you will need to provide evidence that you can completely fund your programme. 

Please note that the Graduate Admissions Office is not permitted to disclose the outcome of your application.

If you submit applications for more than one course, and subsequently receive more than one offer, you may be set a deadline by when you must choose your preferred offer. 

For questions of an academic nature about specific programmes of study 

Please contact the relevant department. Contact details for departments can be found at www.admin.ox.ac.uk/postgraduate/caz/

If you have questions about funding 

Please visit the Student Funding Services website at www.admin.ox.ac.uk/studentfunding/

If you have general questions about the University or the application and admission process 

Please visit www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/graduate

Further enquiries should be addressed to:

The Graduate Admissions Office
PO Box 738
University of Oxford
Wellington Square
OX1 9FB
United Kingdom

Tel: (+44) 01865 270059
Fax: (+44) 01865 270049

Email: graduate.admissions@admin.ox.ac.uk