Oxford Postgrad Deferral Experiences

Hello, all,

I recently received good news from two Oxford master's programs (in the Education and Social Policy departments). But I find myself in a bit of a bind.

I was also offered an amazing professional fellowship, similar to a Fulbright research grant but involving a yearlong, curated professional placement abroad. There's no way that I can turn down this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, so I'm now trying to figure out the postgrad deferral process at Oxford.

Does anyone have any experience with requesting a deferral at the postgraduate (master's) level? The site says that you may apply for deferral due to "unforeseen and unforeseeable circumstances that are outside your control," providing you've met all entry requirements. I certainly didn't foresee getting both of these opportunities, but I assume they stress the "outside of your control" piece, here.

How do we think deferral requests play out for established fellowships that folks would commonly apply for in tandem with a master's? Do we think this might vary by department? Or is it really all up to the admissions office?


Thanks!