Ways to study at Oxford

Apply for Recognised Student status

Step 1: Contact the academic department 

The first step is to contact the academic department where you intend to apply and obtain provisional agreement from them. In some cases, the department will also require you to obtain provisional acceptance from a member of the academic staff who is prepared to act as your Academic Advisor or to apply by a deadline earlier than those recommended below.

To find the contact details for the department you will need to select a course from the A-Z listing that is similar to your area of intended research and refer to the 'Further information and enquires' section of the course page.

Step 2: Completing the form

If the department agrees to consider your recognised student application, you will then be asked to complete an application form. We recommend that you refer to our Form Guidance that explains how to complete the form.

Form guidance  Application form (2024-25 entry) Application form (2025-26 entry)

Do not submit the form at this stage. An application fee is required to complete the application and should be paid prior to submitting your application, as detailed below. 

Step 3: Paying the application fee

Recognised Students are required to pay an application fee of £50. This should be paid via the University of Oxford Online Stores (accessed from the button below) prior to submitting your application.

In some circumstances, the application fee can be waived: If you are resident in a country on the list of eligible low-income countries and you are not able to pay the application fee, you can request a waiver of this fee within the application form.

Pay the application fee

Your application will not be considered unless you have paid the application fee or been granted a fee waiver. After you have submitted an application your application fee cannot be refunded, even if you decide to withdraw it later or if it is not accepted. The payment will not form any part of the tuition and college fees you need to pay if you are offered and accept a place at Oxford.

Step 4: Submitting the application form

Once you have completed Step 3, you will receive an application fee payment/waiver code. Please enter this into the application form and answer any remaining questions. You can now submit the form.

The recommended submission date for the form varies by the term of admission. Please also note that some departments may impose earlier deadlines for departmental reasons. 

Please avoid submitting your recognised student application from early December to the third week in January, because the main application deadlines for graduate study occur during this period and we will not be able to process your application until February at the earliest.

If your recognised student placement would also require an ATAS certificate, please build in extra time for ATAS processing. We recommend that if ATAS is required, that you apply at least 3 months before the visa deadline above.

Please note that it is your responsibility to check how long it will take to obtain a Visa in your country and to plan the submission of your application accordingly. You should ensure that the start of your stay corresponds with the start date of an academic term (see the dates of term page for further details).

Step 5: Submitting your supporting documents

You will also need to submit the required documentation to the Graduate Admissions and Recruitment Office using the upload portal. As part of the application, you are required to provide:

1. evidence of degrees previously obtained;
2. a statement of between 500 and 1,000 words outlining the proposed subject of your research;
3. two reference letters from senior academic members at your current university;
4. for applicants whose first language is not English, you must submit evidence of achievement of the Standard or Higher score as would be required for graduate level students in this department. Further information about the English language requirements and further information about English language test waivers can be found in our Application Guide.

Upload application documentation

If you have any difficulties with uploading your application documents, please contact the Graduate Admissions and Recruitment Office by email.

Assessment of your application

Disability

The University is committed to making reasonable adjustments to enable students with disabilities (including dyslexia, dyspraxia and other specific learning difficulties, sensory or mobility impairments, Autism Spectrum Condition, long-term health conditions or mental health difficulties) to participate fully in student life. If you have a disability you are strongly advised to refer to the further information in the Disability section of our website and contact the Disability Advisory Service by email (disability@admin.ox.ac.uk) before you arrive in Oxford to discuss any disability-related study support requirements you might have.

Criminal convictions

Please note that in accordance with the University’s obligations towards students and staff, we will request information about relevant, unspent criminal convictions during the offer-stage process for Recognised Students so that appropriate steps can be taken to facilitate effective support and/or assess whether a prospective student poses an unacceptable risk to students and staff.

The University has adopted the following policy where an applicant with an offer for a Recognised Student place has a relevant, unspent criminal conviction which has either been declared by an applicant to the University or which has otherwise come to the University’s attention (such as where information is disclosed by a third party). Full details of the University’s process for prospective students declaring a criminal conviction can be found in our University Policies pages.

If you are in receipt of an offer to become a Recognised Student, you will in due course be asked to declare any relevant unspent criminal convictions.

'Relevant' convictions are:

• any kind of violence including (but not limited to) threatening behaviour, offences concerning the intention to harm or offences which resulted in actual bodily harm;
• offences listed in the Sex Offences Act 2003;
• the unlawful supply of controlled drugs or substances where the conviction concerns commercial drug dealing or trafficking;
• offences involving firearms;
• offences involving arson; and
• offences listed in the Terrorism Act 2006.

Convictions that are 'spent' (as defined by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974) or will be spent at the point of starting your time as a Recognised Student do not need to be declared. If you are uncertain as to whether your conviction is spent, please seek independent advice.

If you require a visa or you are extending your visa, then you must declare any unspent criminal convictions, including driving offences, when you apply to the UK Home Office. Please see the relevant sections of the Home Office document 'Immigration Rules part 9: grounds for refusal' for information regarding possible circumstances under which a visa application may be refused.

Arriving at Oxford

For information about arriving in Oxford please refer to the Recognised Students page on the Oxford Students section of our website.