[ba_mhaith_liom]

Getting into Oxbridge for Postgraduate Study

This is a recurring question and topic of conversation on The Student Room postgraduate forum, and so it was thought that people may find it beneficial if a single thread could provide links to previous threads that had discussed this subject. This should provide quick answers to many of the questions.

LSE, Imperial and other top UK universities are not included in this post due to the fact that it is much easier to search for ‘Oxbridge’ than it is to look for each university’s name individually. Furthermore it is specifically Oxford and Cambridge that are the objects of most yearnings, ‘twould seem.

This thread is divided into two main sections; firstly, links to application information on the universities’ websites and, secondly, a Frequently Asked Question (FAQ) section. As some threads asked very specific questions, such as “I have a degree from university X, will I be able to get into Oxbridge?” whereas others covered several questions such as “I am interested in studying subject A in Oxbridge, but I got Y grade and I went to Z university.” To accommodate more people, threads are listed under different questions. Some threads are listed more than once because different elements of applying were addressed.

Threads are listed in no particular order, within question categories, and this list is by no means complete.

(If this could become a sticky, that would be great).

1. The Official Line.

Cambridge
Entry requirements for postgraduate study

Variations may occur between different faculties, so one should check the specific admission criteria for individual courses.

Cambridge provides a statistical breakdown of applications received, overall and for individual courses, at CamDATA. Many faculties also provide their annual reports for download.

E-mail: admissions@gradstudies.cam.ac.uk

Oxford
Qualifications normally required

Again, variations may occur between different faculties, so it is best to also check the specific requirements of individual courses.

As far as I can see Oxford do not offer statistics on their applications in the same way as Cambridge does.

E-mail: graduate.admissions@admin.ox.ac.uk

If you are not from the UK and you are unsure as to whether your degree is comparable to undergraduate degrees provided in the UK, Oxford recommends that you utilise this website: http://www.naric.org.uk/ (National Recognition Information Centre). Be aware that you have to pay for this service.

2. Frequently Asked Questions

These are:
(i) General, ‘how do I get into Oxbridge?’ questions.
(ii) Do they take GCSEs or A-levels into account?
(iii) I went to a top tier uni, what do I need to get into Oxbridge?
(iv) I went to a second/lower tier uni; can I get into Oxbridge?
(v) I did a joint honours degree, will that affect my application to Oxbridge?
(vi) Subject specific
(vii) Applying/Accepted
(viii) TSR meta

General, ‘how do I get into Oxbridge?’ questions

Oxbridge Postgraduate

Postgrad at Oxbridge

Oxbridge Chances

Oxbridge postgrad study

Chances of getting into an MSc at Oxbridge

Joint honours a disadvantage for Oxbridge Masters?

Postgrad degrees

Taught Masters Application

MA – chances from lower tier uni

Graduate application to Oxford

Module Results

Admission easier for postgrad?

Stepping up a university level at postgrad

Does the ranking of your university effect where you can go for postgrad?

Anyone ever managed or heard of anyone who has got into Oxbridge with a 2.1?

Applying for PhD at Oxford

oxbridge grad application

How hard is admission to LSE/Oxbridge?


Do they take GCSEs and/or A-levels into account?

Masters at Oxbridge, importance of A-levels

Oxbridge postgrad study


I went to a top tier uni, what do I need to get into Oxbridge?

Going on to Oxbridge after Uni of London

Oxbridge Chances

Graduate application to Oxford

Postgrad at Oxbridge


I went to a second/lower tier uni; can I get into Oxbridge?

Does the ranking of your university effect where you can go for postgrad?

Stepping up a university level at postgrad

Module Results

MA – chances from lower tier uni

Oxford Brookes to Oxford?

Do Oxbridge Accept OU graduates?


I did joint honours, will that affect my application to Oxbridge?

Joint honours a disadvantage for Oxbridge Masters?

Oxbridge English postgrad study

Postgrad degrees


Subject specific

Computer Science
Chances of getting onto an MSc at Oxbridge?

Development Studies
LSE Development Management MSc or Cambridge Development Studies MPhil?

Economics
Economics: LSE or Cambridge

Economics LSE/Cambridge

English
Oxbridge English postgrad study

Applying to English Masters in Oxbridge

Postgrad at Oxbridge

Medieval Literature Postgrad

Oxford's MPhil in English (medieval)

Finance
Mphil Finance at Cambridge or Msc Finance at Warwick

History
Joint honours a disadvantage for Oxbridge Masters?

Islamic Studies
Islam/Finance/Oxbridge

Law
Oxford BCL and Cambridge LLM Applicants

Politics
Political Masters courses

Oxford/MPhil in Politics?

MSc/MPhil/DPhil Politics Oxford applicants

MSc. LSE or Oxford?

International Relations Masters - Cambridge or Warwick?

MPhil International Relations at Cambridge

Russian Studies
MSc Russian Studies at Oxford


Applying/Accepted

Why were you accepted at Oxford, Cambridge, LSE, Warwick etc??!

Cambridge Graduate Students 2008/2009

Oxford graduate students 2008/2009

Cambridge Graduate Applicants Questions/Chat '09/'10

Oxford graduate applicants 2009/2010


TSR meta

Why do people think…

**

Other sources

Cambridge Graduate Union Forum
Cambridge's GU provide a forum for applicants to post their queries and discuss concerns they may have regarding the application process.

**

Please let me know if links are broken, or if there are other threads that you think should be added to this list.

I hope this proves helpful.

ETA 1: I'm not sure of the etiquette on acknowledging pos reps, so I'll just say thank you here:

Thank you!

ETA 2: Fixed link in "joint honours section". Please do feel free to note broken links in this thread.
ETA 3: New section added (Applying/Accepted) and new threads under various headings.
ETA 4: New threads added.

[the_alba]

Excellent thread ba_mhaith_liom!

But who decided to move it to the Oxbridge forum? The reason we decided we needed this thread was that we'd get asked endlessly about it ini the POSTGRAD forum. This question pops up on the Oxbridge forum sometimes, as it did recently, but it's more or less a permanent feature in the postgrad section.

Maybe you could change the name of the thread? Instead of Oxbridge put 'top universities'? This really should be in the postgrad forum. It won't serve its purpose otherwise.

[ba_mhaith_liom]

Thanks, I hope that it will be of use. I have made my case to the relevant authorities. I think the title of the thread, as you suggest, was a misnomer and I should also have phrased my request a little more exactly when I asked for it to be made a sticky.

I'm waiting to see whether the mods can move it back to the postgrad forum.

[Dalimyr]

Personally I still think it could do well in Oxbridge...but I've copied it over to Postgrad as well

[ba_mhaith_liom]

You are a lovely person.

Sorry for being so nit-picky!

Thanks!

[the_alba]

Yeah, thanks. It's a topic that seems to crop up so much in the postgrad forum...

[The Boosh]

cor blimey - very thorough!!!

[ba_mhaith_liom]

Originally Posted by The Boosh

cor blimey - very thorough!!!

Thanks, it's not comprehensive at all as I simply stopped collecting threads once I got bored but it should be helpful to a certain degree.

[hobnob]

Originally Posted by ba_mhaith_liom

Thanks, it's not comprehensive at all as I simply stopped collecting threads once I got bored but it should be helpful to a certain degree.

Oh, so you mean this isn't a list of all posts ever written on that subject? I'm appalled!

[ba_mhaith_liom]

I tried...honest...

[hobnob]

Originally Posted by ba_mhaith_liom

I tried...honest...

Oh well, I'll give you an F for F-fort, then - I'm out of rep for today, I'm afraid.

[ChemistBoy]

God, that is bloody depressing.

[ba_mhaith_liom]

Originally Posted by hobnob

Oh well, I'll give you an F for F-fort, then - I'm out of rep for today, I'm afraid.

No rep?!

[hobnob]

Originally Posted by ba_mhaith_liom

No rep?!

Look again.

[ba_mhaith_liom]

:o

thanks

(as you can see I've developed a penchant for smilies, they're so succint )

[Lady_Muck]

I was going to post this in the mid section, but thought it'd never get looked at.

Is it highly unlikely of being offered a place for an Oxford MA if I have previously studied at Oxford Brookes? I'm looking to transfer to English Language and Linguistics...

[the_alba]

Originally Posted by Lady_Muck

I was going to post this in the mid section, but thought it'd never get looked at.

Is it highly unlikely of being offered a place for an Oxford MA if I have previously studied at Oxford Brookes? I'm looking to transfer to English Language and Linguistics...

Of course it's not 'highly unlikely'. Depending on which course you want to do, a high 2:1 would normally suffice, unless it's a really competitive course (such as MSt English 1900 - Present, in which case you usually need a First). This whole thread was created for the purpose of reassuring people from lower-tier universities that they have as much chance of getting onto Oxbridge Masters courses as anyone else, provided they get the grades. Get the grades (and the references, and the convincing postgrad statement), and it won't matter which university you come from . Honestly.

[The Boosh]

Originally Posted by Lady_Muck

I was going to post this in the mid section, but thought it'd never get looked at.

Is it highly unlikely of being offered a place for an Oxford MA if I have previously studied at Oxford Brookes? I'm looking to transfer to English Language and Linguistics...

not at all. english is one of brookes strong areas - with a high research (5b) rae2001 score and high teaching scores, it was in the top 10 at one point, before a-level points and staff-student ratio were privileged. it's a good department so, providing you get the grades (2.1+) you should be in with a chance.

edit: by this, i mean that the course is good and thus if you apply yourself, the skills and knowledges you develop should shine through on your application.

[hobnob]

Originally Posted by the_alba

Of course it's not 'highly unlikely'. Depending on which course you want to do, a high 2:1 would normally suffice, unless it's a really competitive course (such as MSt English 1900 - Present, in which case you usually need a First).

The Linguistics MSt probably won't be quite as competitive as that, though so it's likely she'd have a chance with a good 2.i.

[forpolarbears]

Great & helpful thread

Are there by chance any good threads for people deciding between the merits of a MPhil vs MSt, etc if both are offered, ie threads that deal with the actual course content? thanks