Assessing your application
Contents
How your application is assessed
Your application will be assessed purely on your proven and potential academic excellence and other entry requirements described under that heading on the course page.
References and supporting documents submitted as part of your application, and your performance at interview (if interviews are held) will be considered as part of the assessment process. Whether or not you have secured funding will not be taken into consideration when your application is assessed.
An overview of the shortlisting and selection process is provided below. You can also find a timeline overview of the assessment process in our Decision Timeline.
After you submit
When you submit your application, it is checked by a member of staff in Graduate Admissions to make sure that it is complete and meets the application requirements for your chosen course. If your application is complete, the Graduate Admissions team will let the academic department know that they can start assessing your application.
The academic department that offers the course you have applied to will assess the academic quality and suitability of your application. After this is complete, the department will send you formal notification of their decision by email.
The average waiting time for a decision is around 8 to 10 weeks after the deadline you apply to.
For the January deadlines, for example, you would usually hear around late March to early April. Unfortunately it is not possible to give more specific dates in advance.
If the course you have applied to has remained open to applications after the last standard University deadline in March, there is no formal timetable for the assessment process, but you can usually expect to be notified of the outcome around 6 to 8 weeks after completing your application.
Shortlisting and interviews
After you apply, and before the department makes a final decision on your application, you may be called for interview and/or asked to send further documents. This could include a third reference if there are only two in your application.
Some courses will interview applicants during the selection process, but many do not conduct interviews. You can check whether shortlisted applicants will be interviewed, and the usual length and structure of interviews, in the 'Entry requirements' section of the course page.
Your academic department may want to hold interviews by video call, by phone or in person. They will contact you directly to arrange this, if necessary.
Selection process
Applications are academically assessed against the entry requirements for the course and relatively in terms of the quality of previous academic excellence and future potential, in comparison with the applications received from other candidates for the course.
The University seeks to admit the very best candidates who apply for the courses it offers. The entry requirements for each course and the number of applications and places available are provided on our course pages.
Meeting the entry requirements may not be sufficient to guarantee a place and competition for places is very strong.
Departments receive many more excellent applications than they have places available, so it is important that you take care over your application to best illustrate your academic achievement and future potential.
Admissions panels and assessors
All recommendations to admit a student involve the judgement of at least two members of the academic staff with relevant experience and expertise, and must also be approved by the Director of Graduate Studies or Admissions Committee (or equivalent within the department).
Admissions panels or committees will always include at least one member of academic staff who has undertaken appropriate training.
Equal opportunities at Oxford
The University of Oxford and its colleges seek to admit students of high academic ability and potential. Students are considered for shortlisting and selected for admission without regard to age, disability, gender reassignment, marital or civil partnership status, pregnancy and maternity, race (including colour, nationality and ethnic or national origins), religion or belief (including lack of belief), sex, sexual orientation, as well as other relevant circumstances including parental or caring responsibilities or social background. However, please note the following:
- socio-economic information may be taken into account in the selection of applicants and award of scholarships for courses that are part of the University’s pilot on selection procedures and for scholarships aimed at under-represented groups;
- country of ordinary residence may be taken into account in the awarding of certain scholarships; and
- protected characteristics may be taken into account during shortlisting for interview or the award of scholarships where the University has approved a positive action case under the Equality Act 2010.
Information about processing special category data for the purposes of positive action and using your data to assess your eligibility for funding, can be found in our Postgraduate Applicant Privacy Policy.
Decisions on admission are based solely on the individual academic merits of each candidate and the application of selection criteria appropriate to the course. Admissions procedures will be kept under review to ensure compliance with this policy.
Tracking your departmental decision
Both successful and unsuccessful applicants will be notified by email and the outcome will also be displayed in your Graduate Applicant Self-Service. If your application was incomplete at the deadline, you will only be contacted if the academic department chooses to assess your application.
It is not usually possible to know the outcome any earlier since applications are assessed comparatively, against all other applicants. However, if you need to know the outcome earlier so you can make a decision ahead of a deadline set by another institution, you can contact the academic department to ask if this is possible.
If more than ten weeks have passed since your application deadline date and you have not received a decision, or if you have any questions about the progress of the academic assessment, please contact the academic department directly via the contact details on the course page.
Graduate Admissions is not authorised to disclose decisions from academic departments, colleges or funding bodies.
If you have a complaint about the admissions process, please see our page on Complaints and appeals.
Potential outcomes of your application
If your application was complete and eligible for academic assessment at the application deadline date, you will be notified by email of one of the following outcomes. The outcome will also be shown in your Self-Service:
Successful outcome
An offer of a place from your department constitutes an overall offer of a place at Oxford. You are then guaranteed a college place, unless you have been accepted to a non-matriculated course for which a college place is not offered.
Your certificate of offer will be available to download via Self-Service together with your Course Information Sheet, University Terms and Conditions and Student Handbook.
The certificate of offer will give full details of your offer and any academic conditions, such as achieving a specific final grade in your current degree course. The department will ask you to confirm, also via Self-Service, whether you wish to accept the offer and give you both a deadline for responding to the offer and a deadline to fulfil any conditions.
Offer holders will also be asked to complete the Criminal Convictions Declaration in Self-Service.
Please note that Self-Service will not show college outcomes or any funding you have been awarded. This will be received by email to your registered email address.
Unsuccessful outcome
If your application is unsuccessful, you will also be notified of this. Due to the high volume of applications the University receives, it is a University policy that we do not provide feedback on unsuccessful applications.
If you are unsuccessful, you will no longer be considered for college places or funding.
Re-evaluation in a later deadline
In some cases, the academic department may feel that you have performed well against the entry requirements for the course but they wish to consider your application against the applications received in the next deadline. In this case, you will receive an email to inform you that your application will be re-evaluated and you can expect a final decision around 8 to 10 weeks after the date of the deadline into which you are being re-evaluated.
If your application is re-evaluated from the January deadline into the March deadline, you will no longer be considered for funding opportunities where a departmental offer is required as part of the December of January deadline.
Waiting list
If the academic department feels that you have performed well against the entry requirements for the course but there are no more places available, you may be notified that you have been added to a waiting list in case any additional places do become available.
If your application is put on a waiting list, you will no longer be considered for funding opportunities where a departmental offer is required as part of the January deadline.