How to apply
Application deadline
Please note that it is now too late to apply for a place to
begin studying an undergraduate course here in 2010, as the
deadline has passed. If you have already applied, you may
like to use the links below to find further information about
tests, written work and interviews.
Details of how to apply for entry in 2011,
or for deferred entry in 2012, will be published here shortly.
Application calendar
1 September 2009
First day for submitting UCAS applications. Deadline for submission
of choral and organ scholarship applications (see information
for choral and organ scholarship candidates).
By early September
Candidates must check to see if there is a written test for
their subject, and ensure that they have registered, where
required (for details see course pages).
20 September
Closing date for receipt of overseas interview application
forms, for students from Hong Kong and Singapore (see arrangements
for international interviews).
15 October 2009
Closing date for all UCAS applications.
Closing date for receipt of application forms for the accelerated
medical course.
September–October 2009
Law National Admissions Test (LNAT)
4 November 2009
BioMedical Admissions Test (BMAT)
English Literature Admissions Test (ELAT)
History Aptitude Test (HAT)
Physics Aptitude Test
Aptitude Test for Mathematics and Computer Science
Thinking Skills Assessment for PPE, Economics & Management,
Experimental Psychology and PPP
10 November 2009
Closing date for submissions of written work, if required
by your subject.
14 November 2009
Closing date for submissions of portfolios for Fine Art.
6-16 December 2009
Interviews take place in Oxford (for exact dates for your
subject, see the interview timetable). Written tests, for
those subjects which require them during the Oxford interview
period in December (for details see course pages).
By mid January 2010
You will be notified of the outcome of your application.
August 2010
If you have been made a conditional offer and you meet the
conditions of the offer, your college will confirm your place
after the publication of examination results.
International students
Oxford's university community is truly international. Students
currently come from 138 countries around the world and study
a wide range of subjects. They make up one third of our student
body, including 14 percent of our full-time undergraduate
students and 63 percent of our full-time postgraduates.
Why study at Oxford University?
Undergraduate education
Postgraduate education
Undergraduate education
Oxford offers a distinctive form of undergraduate education,
unique in the world to Oxford and Cambridge. What makes us
distinctive is:
The English form of higher education. Students apply for a
3 or 4 year degree in 1-3 subjects and they study those subjects
exclusively. At Oxford, they do so in depth, and to a very
advanced level. We do not have 'general education' or 'core
curriculum' requirements that, for example, require humanities
students to do science courses.
Admission on academic ability and academic potential alone.
We attract many future leaders to Oxford. Our students run
numerous extracurricular clubs and engage in community service.
But like most U.K. universities, we do not assess our applicants
on those characteristics. We select for academic ability and
academic potential, as judged by secondary school results
(examination results and/or predicted grades), a personal
statement, an academic reference and, if required for the
subject, an admissions test or written work.
Tutorial teaching. Oxford students attend lectures and seminars,
and have practical laboratory sessions in the sciences. But
a major focus of their learning is in small teaching groups,
known as tutorials. Every week, an Oxford student meets with
his/her tutor - typically a leading academic - and 1 or 2
other students and engages in an intensive exchange of ideas
about the week’s work.
College communities. All Oxford undergraduates live, eat and
study in one of Oxford’s 38 residential colleges or
6 permanent private halls. These small communities of typically
30-70 academics and 300-500 students from across disciplines
are the focus for teaching and for social and sporting life.
The research university setting. Oxford is a research-intensive
university where academics are conducting cutting-edge research
in disciplines ranging from art history to zoology. The University's
collegiate system allows academics and students across subjects
and year groups and from different cultures and countries
to come together to share ideas.
The global strength of our reputation and qualifications.
Our qualifications are recognised and valued around the world.
Graduates of Oxford go on to further study and/or to work
in a range of professions in some of the world's finest organisations.
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Postgraduate education
Oxford is an exciting place to pursue postgraduate/graduate
education. We offer two types of programmes:
Master’s: these are 1 or 2 year degrees. Many people
take these degrees as a professional qualification, and then
leave to work. For others, usually in the humanities and social
sciences, these are the essential first step on the road to
a doctorate and an academic or research-based career.
Doctorate: our doctorate is known as a D.Phil rather than
a Ph.D. It is a research-intensive degree, lasting 3-4 years.
What makes us distinctive for postgraduate study is:
Outstanding researchers across disciplines. Few universities
in the world can match Oxford for breadth and depth of research
across all the major disciplines: humanities, social sciences,
mathematics, physical and life sciences, and medicine.
College communities. As a postgraduate student, your department
will be your main academic home. But you will also be a member
of a college, another intellectual and social community within
this large university. College life will give you the chance
to engage with academics and fellow students across disciplines.
This is a distinctive advantage over universities organised
solely on departmental lines.
The international character of the university. With the majority
of our postgraduates coming from outside the U.K., you will
encounter a more international peer group at Oxford than at
almost any other top university in the world. Our European
location gives us a distinctly international outlook. Presidents
and prime ministers, academics and commentators come to Oxford
to talk about the leading issues of the day.
The global strength of our reputation and qualifications.
Our qualifications are recognised and valued around the world.
Graduates of Oxford go on to further study and/or to work
in a range of professions in some of the world's finest organisations.