Initiatives to improve access to graduate study

The University's Graduate Student Access Strategy encompasses the range of initiatives and activities designed to ensure that Oxford admits and supports talented postgraduate candidates from all backgrounds, and supports an admissions process underpinned by values of fairness, equality and social justice. 

By fostering a more diverse and inclusive approach to graduate student recruitment, Oxford attracts and retains students with the greatest potential which improves academic excellence, supports outstanding knowledge production, and helps Oxford to lead globally through its teaching and research.

The University is also taking positive action under the Equality Act 2010 to tackle the underrepresentation of UK students from Black, Bangladeshi and Pakistani backgrounds at Oxford and to encourage more students from these groups to apply for graduate study.

A standard application for graduate study requires the payment of an application fee. These fees are used to support the University’s graduate access and widening participation initiatives for applicants or students from disadvantaged or underrepresented groups at Oxford. This helps us particularly to support applicants and potential applicants from all backgrounds, at every stage of their journey into graduate study at Oxford. A range of application fee waiver schemes are available to applicants who meet defined eligibility criteria.

Further information about application fee waivers can be found in our Application Guide, including full details of the various schemes and their eligibility criteria.

The scholarship programme is aimed at increasing the number of women from low and middle-income countries taking up offers for postgraduate science courses at Oxford. The programme has been made possible by a generous donation from the Optiver Foundation.

A second aspect of the donation funded research into how contextual factors among international postgraduate applications could be identified for scholarship assessment. Read the report: Assessing the socio-economic background of international postgraduate students. 

The Close the Gap project aimed to transform doctoral student selection to develop a socially and epistemically just and inclusive environment for research. It was an equal partnership between the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge. It was one of thirteen projects to improve access to doctoral study for UK Black, Asian and minority ethnic students, which were partially funded by the Office for Students and Research England.

Close the Gap developed and tested new disciplinary-specific, race-literate, fair selection processes that were designed to bring about meaningful change in postgraduate research and doctoral candidate selection. In particular, it worked to address the underrepresentation of Black British, British Bangladeshi and British Pakistani students in postgraduate research in the UK overall and in all major discipline groups at doctoral level in the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge.

In the following short film, students from Oxford and Cambridge describe the importance of widening access to postgraduate study.

What initiatives did Close the Gap trial?

Working with external partners and collaborators Blueprint for All, CRAC, Rare Recruitment and Leading Routes, Close the Gap trialled a number of initiatives in some of the participating departments. These included:

Improving applicant and supervisor guidelines and information

This initiative aimed to improve transparency in the application process, by improving guidelines for applicants and supervisors on contacting supervisors at the pre-application stage, and what to expect.

Improving the design and use of assessment and selection criteria: this initiative reviewed assessment and selection criteria with the aim of better assessing research potential, and has developed guidelines and support materials on assessing applications from applicants with non-traditional academic or work trajectories, or from diverse backgrounds.

Using socio-economic data in the assessment and selection process

The University currently collects socio-economic data from candidates who apply for graduate study. Where provided by candidates, this information is used for research purposes, to understand the demographics of those applying and of those who are offered places. This data is also used by the courses taking part in this initiative to better understand the context of an applicant’s achievements and the challenges that they might have faced in their education to date. This data may be used at several stages in the assessment and selection process.

Coaching and support

All departmental staff involved in implementing interventions are being supported through technical briefings, for example, on how to use contextual data, as well as wider coaching to support change management and specific aspects of assessment (eg interviewing).

Developing a strategic admissions framework

Close the Gap also contributed to the development of a strategic admissions framework to embed its work and that of all other widening participation initiatives at the level of the University. Through fair and just postgraduate taught and research admissions and recruitment processes, the University of Oxford aims to contribute to a more plural, diverse, and, hence, richer research and teaching environment.

The Toolkit for Fair Doctoral Admissions

The final output of Close the Gap is the Toolkit for Fair Doctoral Admissions for Ethnically and Racially Minoritised Applicants (PDF). It offers an overarching, collaborative approach to reviewing and reforming doctoral admissions to promote fairer practices for ethnically and racially minoritised groups.

The toolkit was championed at its launch in October 2025 by the Vice-Chancellor of Cambridge, Professor Deborah Prentice, and the Vice-Chancellor of Oxford, Professor Irene Tracey, who provided the opening addresses and contextualised the project's significance.

Toolkit Structure

The Toolkit is structured around three components:

1. Understanding the Issue – identifying where disparities exist and potential underlying causes of inequalities.
2. Developing and Implementing Solutions – co-developing tailored admissions initiatives based on insights from analysis.
3. Evaluating and Sustaining Change – refining initiatives and embedding long-term improvements within institutional practice.

It also includes nine detailed resource packs for specific, tested initiatives, covering topics such as:

• Communications with prospective supervisors
• Competency-based admissions
• Contextual data usage
• Race-equitable interview practices

Using the Toolkit

Designed for those shaping PhD admissions policy and strategy within UK higher education, the Toolkit combines a clear review of the factors driving inequities with practical tools to address them. Institutions can work through the whole Toolkit or use specific sections and resource packs to tackle particular challenges, supporting fairer and more inclusive admissions.

If you'd like to share your feedback on the toolkit or seek advice on how to incorporate its recommendations into your admissions processes, please reach out to the Close the Gap team at [email protected].