By: Jagat.

 
 
Oxford University 
https://www.ox.ac.uk/ 
 
Courses​: 
 
Graduate: 
​https://www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/graduate/courses 
 
 

Application Requirements 
 
1. Personal Details 
 
Contact Details 
- Name 
- Address 
- Email and phones 
- Nominated third party 
 
About you 
- Nationality 
- Passport Details 
- Ordinary  residence  [Current  country  of  ordinary residence, EU nationals, Indefinite 
leave to remain] 
- Equality, diversity, and access 
- Declaring a disability or long-term health condition 
- Accommodation 
 
 

 
 
  
2. References 
 
● You  should  choose  three  referees  who  can  give  an  informed  view  of your academic 
ability and suitability for the course. 
● However,  you  need  only  two  references  submitted  in  time  for  the  deadline  to  be 
considered ready for assessment, as long as your application is otherwise complete. 
● If  you  are  a  current  or  recent  master’s  student,  one of your referees should be your 
supervisor or course director from this course. 
 
 
Please note: if we have reasonable cause to suspect that your references aren't genuine, we 
will take reasonable steps – including contacting third parties – to determine their validity.  
Please remember: 
● You  should  register  each  referee  using  their  institutional  or  professional  email 
address. For more information, refer to Reference requirements. 
● Each  referee  you  register  will  receive  an  email  notification.  After  this,  we  will  not 
contact your referees again. 
● It  is  your  responsibility  to  make  sure  that  your  references are submitted in time for 
the deadline to which you are applying. 
● You  do  not  need  to  wait  until  your  references  have  been  received  to  submit  your 
application. 
For more information: 
https://www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/graduate/applying-to-oxford/application-guide/refe
rences 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
3. Supporting Documents 
For detailed information: 
https://www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/graduate/applying-to-oxford/application-guide/sup
porting-documents 
 
 
3.1 Personal statement 
 
● Many  courses  require  you  to  submit  a  statement  of  purpose  (sometimes  called  a 
'personal statement') and/or a research proposal. 
● If  your  course  requires  both  a  statement  of  purpose  (or  personal  statement)  and  a 
research  proposal,  you  should  submit  them  within  the  same  document  with  a clear 
subheading for each. 
● Your  research  proposal  or  personal  statement  is  not  considered  to  be  a  piece  of 
written work. 
 
A personal statement is usually one or two pages long. 
 
Guidelines  given  vary  from  the  simple  “Provide  evidence  in  support  of your application” to 
the  more  common  “Tell  us why you are interested in the course to which you have applied. 
Describe  your  academic  interests  and  reasons  for  applying  to  XXX”.  For  some  courses, 
there  may  be  a  much  more  prescriptive  and  structured approach, which you should follow 
carefully. 
 
In your statement, you should demonstrate: 
 
● Motivation,  enthusiasm,  and  a  clear  understanding  of  why  you  are  making  the 
application to this particular course, and to this particular institution. 
● How  your  academic  background  and  other  experiences  have  shaped  your  decision 
to apply and how the course contributes to your plans for the future. 
● Evidence  that  you  have  the  ability,  experience,  skills, and motivation to successfully 
contribute to the course, and to complete it. 
 

 
 
PRACTICAL ADVICE
 
● Writing  effective  personal  statements  takes  time.  Expect  to  go  through  several 
drafts  and  ask  tutors,  peers,  career  advisers,  and  others  to  review  your  statement 
before you submit it. 
● Good English, grammar, and spelling are essential. Avoid jargon and make sure it can 
be understood by non-experts. 
● Keep  the  tone  positive,  fresh,  and  lively  in  order  to  convey  enthusiasm  and  make 
yourself  stand  out,  but  remember  that  this  is  a  document  introducing  you  in  a 
professional capacity. 
● It’s  a  good  idea  to  mention  relevant  individuals  whose  work  has  truly  inspired  you, 
but  avoid  name-dropping  for the sake of it, and excessive and evidence-free flattery 
of the institution or the course. 
● If  you  refer  to  any  papers  or  books  then  reference  these  correctly in a bibliography 
at the end of the statement. 
● Pay  attention  to  any  word  limits.  If  none  are  stated  then  aim  for  no  more  than  two 
sides of A4 or 1000-1500 words. 
● It  is  usually  possible  to  apply  for  multiple  courses  at  a  single  institution.  Many 
(including  Oxford)  will  require  you  to complete a separate application form for each 
course that you wish to apply for. 
 
 
STRUCTURE AND CONTENT

Opening 
 
● The  opening  paragraph  sets  the  framework  for  the  rest  of  the statement, think of it 
as your ‘trailer’. This is where you can grab the reader’s attention or lose it.  
● You  might  start  with  a  powerful  anecdote,  a  brief  narrative  of  your  initial 
inspiration, or a thought-provoking statement linked to your academic interests. 
 
 
 

 
 
Main body 
Within the main body of the essay you should aim to cover: 
 
Why you want to study this topic or field 
● Is it a natural extension of your current interests?  
● How did you become interested in this area?  
● Why does it continue to fascinate you?  
● What  have  you  done  within  your  degree  or  outside  of  your  study  to  fuel  this 
interest?  
● Would the course provide a step towards a longer-term goal? 
 
Why you have chosen this specific course and institution 
● Are there particular options or modules that interest you?  
● Is there particular expertise in that department?  
● Has  access  to  specific  resources  such as museum collections, libraries or laboratory 
equipment been a factor? 
● Has  the  reputation  (through  recommendations  or  other  means)  of  the  course 
inspired you?  
● Are you attracted by opportunities for collaboration or work placements?  
● Have you attended any Open Days or other visits? 
 
How your experience equips you for the course 
● Consider the subjects you studied at the undergraduate level;  
● your  relevant  skills  (technical,  language,  computing,  research  methods); 
independent study or research;  
● prior (relevant) experience; 
● academic awards and other achievements.  
 
The  focus  here  is  likely  to  be  on  your  academic  suitability  for  the  course,  but  if  you  have 
relevant  work  experience  or  extra-curricular  activities  that  provide  further  evidence  of 
your interest or ability then include them too.  
Your  non-academic  achievements  might  also  provide  evidence  of  project  management, 
resilience, effective communication, and so on. 

 
 
 
Where the course might lead you 
● You  don’t  need  to  have  a  detailed  career  plan,  but  you  do  need  to  show  how  this 
course fits in with your general aspirations.  
● Are you intending to continue on to a Ph.D.? 
● Do  you  have  a  broad  interest  in  contributing  to  a particular issue or field, e.g. social 
enterprise, public policy, human rights, sustainability? 
● Or do you have a more specific goal in mind?  
● How will your chosen course help you to achieve your goals? 
 
Closing paragraph 
Use  your  closing  paragraph  to  summarise  your  application,  return  to  any  themes  you 
introduced at the beginning, and to restate your enthusiasm for the course. 
 
TOP TIPS 
 
■ Check your spelling and get someone else to read it over. 
■ Don’t start every sentence with “I”. 
■ Give evidence for all your claims. 
■ Be enthusiastic! 
■ Don’t repeat your whole CV. 
 
 
3.2 Official Transcript 
● Must  submit  a  detailed  record  of  all  your  university-level  education  up  to  the 
present, including courses taken and grades achieved.   
● To  be  considered  official,  your  transcript  should  come  from  the  institution  where 
you studied. 
● Any  transcript  you  provide must clearly display your name, institution, qualification, 
and breakdown of grades to be accepted.  
 
 
 

 
 
If your official transcript is in any language other than English, you must submit: 
● the original official transcript, and 
● a translation of the transcript into English which is either: 
○ issued and stamped by the institution that issued your transcript, or 
○ translated  by  a  professional  translator  and  visibly  certified  –  ie  signed  and 
stamped – by the professional translator or an authorized notary. 
 
3.3 Other documents 
- CV/résumé 
- English language test score report/certificate 
- Certificate of language proficiency (Non-English) 
- Scholarship supporting statement 
- Portfolio 
- Admissions exercises 
 
Adapted Advice from the Oxford University Careers Service on CV Writing 

http://www.careers.ox.ac.uk/the-application-process/cvs/ 

TOP TIPS 

■ Make sure your CV says the right things about you in a clear and accessible way. 
■ Keep it short – ideally one page, no more than two pages. 
■ Highlight what you’ve achieved, to make the reader want to learn more by 
meeting you. 
■ Target your CV – don’t just make one CV and send it out to multiple universities. 
■ Find out what skills and experience the institution is looking for. Study the 
university's website. Make sure that you highlight areas of your experience that 
demonstrate that you have the qualities they seek. 
■ Get the tone right – you don’t want to be too bashful ​or ​too boastful. 

 
 
 TRADITIONAL (REVERSE CHRONOLOGICAL) 

■ The most common style of CV 

■ Lists your education and work experience in reverse chronological order 
■ Skills and achievements are worked into the content against relevant experience 
■ Easy for assessors to spot relevant information 
■ Gives a complete picture of you in a clear, well-structured way 

Example: ​Traditional CV (PDF) 

SKILLS-BASED CV 

■ Often used by people changing direction and seeking to highlight the 

transferability of their skills 
■ Information arranged to highlight the skills developed 
■ The work experience section is kept brief and details are presented in different 
skills categories 
■ Key skills are clearly shown on the first page 
■ If you have a lot of experience, you can focus on skills that are most relevant 

However,  this  is  a  difficult  style  to  adopt.  Hard  evidence  is  required  to  make  the  skills 
sound  meaningful.  This  CV  may  require  significant  re-working  for  each  application.  For 
the average undergraduate, we generally wouldn’t recommend a skills-based CV. 

Example: ​Skills-based CV (PDF) 

 
 
 
 

 
 
4. Qualifications, languages, and funding 
In  order  to  take  up  a  place on one of our courses, you must be able to demonstrate English 
language  proficiency  at  the  University's  standard  or  higher  level.  Each  ​course  page  states 
the required level for that course. 
 
For scholarship and entry qualifications: 
https://www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/graduate/applying-to-oxford/application-guide/qual
ifications-languages-funding 
 
Application Guide  
 
Getting Started 
https://www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/graduate/applying-to-oxford/getting-started 
 
 
This  guide  explains  how  to  apply  for  graduate  study  at  Oxford,  including  how  to complete 
the application form and provide supporting documents. 
https://www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/graduate/applying-to-oxford/application-guide 
 
How to apply to Oxford University? 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GN86YOJe6So