Entrance Requirements

Many students who apply to Oxford are taking A-levels but please note that any candidate who has already taken, or who is currently studying, any other equivalent qualifications is also most welcome to apply.

The information below outlines the general entrance requirements. Please see also the specific subject requirements, either on the individual course pages or in this summary table of subject requirements.

Conditional offers for A-level students are likely to be AAA. Providing that any specific subject requirements have been met, all A-levels are approved for admissions purposes, with the exception of General Studies.

Oxford University does not require its candidates to disclose information on the unit grades that have been achieved through their AS and A2 studies, but a candidate may choose to include this information in their UCAS application. Any conditional offer would usually be made on the basis of final grades alone.

The University will not use the A* grade when making offers for 2010 or 2011 entry. A review of this policy will take place in time to advise those applying entry in the 2011/12 admissions cycle, utilising information gained from applicant performance and in the light of developments with other universities who have competitive courses.

Where applicants have undertaken the Extended Project (EP), the University will not make this a condition for an offer (as the EP is not a compulsory element of post-16 study) but recognises that the EP will provide an applicant with the opportunity to develop research and academic skills relevant for study at Oxford. Candidates are encouraged to draw upon their experience of undertaking the project when writing their personal statement, particularly if the topic is allied to their chosen degree course.

The Advanced Diploma in Engineering (Level 3) will be suitable for entry for Engineering Science courses at Oxford, (Engineering Science, and Engineering, Economics and Management) provided candidates also obtain both an A-level in Physics and the new Level 3 Certificate in Mathematics for Engineering. These qualifications can be presented as the Additional Specialist Learning Component of the Diploma. Offers will be formulated itemising performance in A-level Physics, the Level 3 certificate in Mathematics for Engineering, the Extended Project and the Principal Learning of the Diploma on an equivalent basis with existing Level 3 qualifications.

The University is involved in the development of the Phase 4 Diplomas in Science, Humanities, and Modern Languages, as these are areas of study that clearly link to courses at Oxford. Diplomas in other subjects will only be suitable preparation for admission where candidates have opted for Additional Specialist Learning in relevant A-levels.

Oxford University will accept the Pre-U Diploma as a valid qualification for admissions purposes. Students may also take principal Pre-U subjects in place of A-levels.

The University has accepted that a D3 grade in a Principal Subject at Pre-U equates to an A grade at A-level.  Where students are taking three Principal Subjects we will expect them to achieve D3D3D3, and where a Principal Subject is being taken in place of an A-level then a D3 grade will be used as an equivalent. This policy will be reviewed for the 2011/12 admissions cycle in the light of evidence on applicant performance.

The University has seen a significant increase in applications from International Baccalaureate candidates. All degree schemes have now established an offer of between 38 and 40 points. This offer is applied consistently within the subject and includes any points awarded for the extended essay, the Creativity, Action, Service element, and the Theory of Knowledge. The University will be reviewing the scores expected of candidates at Higher Level later in this academic year, to determine whether a standard offer of 7,6,6 at Higher Level can be used as a consistent element of the conditional offer across all courses.

Students with Scottish qualifications would usually be expected to have AAAAB or AAAAA in Scottish Highers, supplemented by two or more Advanced Highers. The University currently sets conditional offers that require AAB if a student is able to take three Advanced Highers; where this is not possible then a student would be expected to achieve AA in two Advanced Highers, as well as an A grade in an additional Higher course taken in Year 6.

Conditional offers for students of the Irish Leaving Certificate would usually be for Higher or Honour grades of at least AAAABB.

Candidates with vocational qualifications equivalent to A-levels are welcome to apply, although they may need to take additional academic qualifications to make a competitive application. For further information please refer to  the vocational qualifications page.

Successful candidates would typically have an excellent High School record supplemented by SAT I scores of at least 1,400 in Critical Reading and Mathematics and preferably also 700 or more in the Writing Paper, giving a combined score of at least 2,100, or ACT with a score of at least 32 out of 36. We would also expect Grade 5 in three or more Advanced Placement tests in appropriate subjects or SAT II in three appropriate subjects at 700 or better.

Further details about different international qualifications can be found on the International Qualifications page.