Graduate

Seven of the thirty-eight colleges of the University of Oxford cater exclusively for graduate students. Magdalen has both graduate and undergraduate members and its graduate community is large, cosmopolitan and flourishing.

Work for graduate degrees at Oxford is done within the relevant University Department or Faculty, but all graduate students must also be admitted to membership of a college. A number of terms of residence are specified for each degree, and you must keep these as a full-time member of a college. Residence involves both College and University fees, and your college has to certify this residence when putting you forward as a candidate for a degree.

Details of degree courses are supplied in the University's Graduate Studies Prospectus where it is available to download or you can order a print copy. The Graduate Admissions Office also processes all graduate applications. Magdalen does not produce a prospectus for potential graduate students: its prospectus is designed for would-be undergraduates only.

If you have specific questions about graduate admissions at Magdalen, you should email the Tutor for Graduate Admissions using the following address: graduate.enquiries@magd.ox.ac.uk. But please note that the period that between mid-November and late December is predominantly taken up with undergraduate admissions and we cannot guarantee a prompt response during this time.

Your application to study for a graduate degree is first sent to the appropriate Department or Faculty. If you are accepted by the Faculty, your application will be sent to the college of your choice.

When your application is received by Magdalen, it first goes to the appropriate subject tutor, and, if deemed acceptable by him or her, it is then sent to the Tutor for Graduate Admissions who may forward it to the College's Graduate Admissions Committee, whose task is to maintain parity of standards across a range of subjects. If, prima facie, it is thought that your financial assurances as given on the University graduate application form are insufficient, you may be asked for clarification. If you have not indicated whether you intend to stay on at Oxford to read for a doctorate after completing a one- or two-year Master's degree, you will certainly be asked for clarification of your long-term intentions before making a decision.

It is not permissible for graduate students to finance their course of graduate study through paid employment. Graduates are not normally permitted to migrate to another college during the continuance of a course for which they were admitted unless the individual will be holding a Fellowship or Scholarship covering fees and maintenance.

If Magdalen cannot take you, your application is then passed on to other colleges. A large number of excellent students compete for graduate places at Magdalen and each subject area is allocated a very small number of places. If you are accepted, an offer letter is sent from the College setting out the terms of acceptance and requesting financial assurances for the entire period of intended study. The offer is valid only for the course specified in the offer letter. In the case of students who have made multiple applications, an offer will not be transferable to a different programme of study. The offer of a place is conditional on satisfactory and comprehensive financial assurances, as colleges are required by the University to satisfy themselves that graduates will not suffer financial hardship during their time at Oxford. A form is also enclosed with the offer letter, asking if College accommodation will be required.

Magdalen guarantees new graduates accommodation for the first two years of their course provided that they have been offered a firm place by the College and submitted acceptable financial guarantees by 1 June of the year of entry. After that, your name goes onto a waiting list - but Magdalen is currently well provided with graduate accommodation and in practice most new graduates get a College room for their first two years.

Supervisors of research students are appointed by the appropriate Faculty or Department and it is not necessary to be a member of the same college as your supervisor. At Magdalen, a tutor in your subject or a related subject is appointed as your adviser to provide a focal point for your relationship with the College. The College's Tutor for Graduates has general responsibility for Magdalen’s graduate students and monitors your academic progress and your discussions with your adviser. If major problems arise, the Tutor for Graduates will deal with them.

For details of our Graduate Admissions Selection Criteria please click here.